Born: 1955 - London, England

The English soprano, Tessa Bonner, began her musical career working for BBC Television as a production assistant. She then went to Leeds University where she obtained a music degree and began her vocal training with Honor Sheppard. She continued studying singing at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Margaret Lensky and Ellis Keeler.

Tessa Bonner has sung regularly with various ensembles, including the Taverner Consort, the Tallis Scholars, the New London Consort, the Lute Group, the Gabrieli Consort and the King’s Consort, and the Early Opera Project. She appeared frequently with Musica Secreta, notably at the Early Music Centre Festival, the Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music and at the National Gallery. As well as performing at London’s South Bank and the Wigmore Hall, she has made many appearances throughout Europe, the USA and Japan. With The Lute Group and Astraea she has also taken part in Early music Network tours of the UK. For Roger Norrington’s Early Opera Project she has performed the roles of Amore and Valletto in Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea as well as First Boy in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte for the 1990 BBC Promenade Concerts, a project which was subsequently recorded. She made Early Music Network Tour of Britain in November 1991 with programme Filiae Jerusalem (sacred music for women's voices by Monteverdi, Carissimi, Cavalli, Viadna, Grandi and Marco da Gagliano). Other repertoire includes works by Marenzio, Luzzaschi, Wert, Luigi Rossi and the women composers Francesca Caccini and Barbara Strozzi. She has taken part in lecture-recitals and workshops on performance practice and ornamentation.

Source: Liner notes to the CD ‘Vivaldi: Gloria & Ostro picta, Bach: Magnificat’ conducted by Richard Hickox (Chandos, 1991); International Who's Who in Music & International Directory (13^th Edition, 1992/93)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (August 2001, November 2005)

Recordings of Bach Cantatas & Other Vocal Works

Conductor

As

Works

Harry Christophers

Soprano

BWV 225-230

Richard Hickox

Soprano

BWV 243

Andrew Parrott

Soprano

BWV 198, BWV 227, BWV 229, BWV 245

Links to other Sites

Raphi's Serious Singers List: Sopranos: Tessa Bonner

Tessa Bonner - Soprano (University of Soputhampton)

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