Rosina Raisbeck, Kyra Vayne, Norman Lumsden &Richard Lewis "Dio Proteggi" LA VESTALE (Spontini) 1951

Rosina Raisbeck was an icon in the history of opera in Australia. She was born in Ballarat in 1916 but moved to Newcastle as a girl. In 1942 she entered the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music and remained there for five years - singing as a contralto - and won important vocal competitions including the Sun Aria. Moving to London, she made her Covent Garden debut in 1947 in 'Rigoletto' as a mezzo-soprano. On the recommendation Sir Thomas Beecham, she successfully made the change to soprano and soon performed Ortrud , Senta Aida and other 'staples' of the heavier soprano repertoire,at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. She returned to Australia in 1962 to sing Mother Abbess in the Australian premiere of SOUND of MUSIC, debuted with Opera Australia soon afterwards as Marina in BORIS GODUNOV and stayed with the National Company in dozens of roles covering the mezzo repertoire. In her early days in London, Rosina Raisbeck was featured in the cast of several BBC opera broadcasts - Preziosilla in Verdi's LA FORZA DEL DESTINO with Joan Hammond, The Foreign Princess in Dvořák's RUSALKA with the Dutch soprano Gré Brouwenstijn and The Grand Vestal in Spontini's LA VESTALE with Russian soprano Kyra Vayne. From the latter broadcast, we hear the Trio Finale "Dio proteggi" with Rosina Raisbeck, Kyra Vayne, Richard Lewis, Norman Lumsden, Jennifer Vyvyan under conductor Roger Desormiere.