What is Elizabeth Connell?
'''Elizabeth Connell''' (22 October 1946–18 February 2012) was an [[opera singer]] born in [[South Africa]]. During her career she sang mainly in the [[United Kingdom]] and [[Australia]]. Connell was noted for her [[:wikt:performance|performance]]s of the [[:wikt:heroines|heroines]] in the great [[opera]]s by [[Richard Strauss|Strauss]], [[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]] and [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]]. ==Biography== Elizabeth Connell was born in [[Port Elizabeth]], [[South Africa]] on 22 October, 1946.<ref name=Macy93>''The Grove Book of Opera Singers'', ed. Laura Williams Macy (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 93</ref> She was the daughter of Raymond Connell and Elizabeth Scott.<ref name=Who348>''The International Who's Who 2004'' (London: Europa Publications, 2003), p. 348</ref> She studied opera at the [[London Opera Center]].<ref name=Macy93/> Connell made her [[:wikt:debut|debut]] performance at [[Wexford]] in 1972 as a [[mezzo-soprano]].<ref name=Lenz66>Harris M. Lentz, ''Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2012'' (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2013), p. 66</ref> That same year she won the Maggie Teyte prize.<ref name=Who348/> Following her debut she sang at the opening of the [[Sydney Opera House]] in 1973. She was with the [[English National Opera]] for five years. She then became a [[:en:wikt:freelance|freelance]] artist.{{efn|Meaning she worked for herself. She was not under a [[:wikt:contract|contract]] to a particular opera house and could perform wherever she wanted.<ref> Leslie Mitchell, ''Freelancing for Television and Radio'' (London; New York: Routledge, 2005), p. 1</ref>}} In 1981 she cancelled all her performances. She began singing again in 1983 but as a [[soprano]].<ref name=Macy93/> Elizabeth Connell appeared at the [[opera house]]s of [[London]], [[Paris]], [[Vienna]], [[Berlin]], [[Munich]], [[Hamburg]], [[New York (state)|New York]] (at the [[Metropolitan Opera]]), [[San Francisco]], [[Milan]] (at [[La Scala]]), [[Naples]] and [[Geneva]]. She sang in a wide variety of operatic