Hammond, Dame Joan (Hood)
Hammond, Dame Joan (Hood)
Hammond, Dame Joan (Hood), prominent New Zealand soprano; b. Christchurch, May 24, 1912; d. Bowral, Australia, Nov. 26, 1996. She studied at the Sydney Cons., in Vienna, and with Borgioli in London. In 1929 she made her operatic debut in Sydney as Siebel. In 1938 she made her London debut in a recital, and then sang in Vienna. From 1942 to 1945 she appeared with the Carl Rosa Opera Co. in London. On Oct. 6, 1948, she made her debut at London’s Covent Garden as Verdi’s Leonora, and continued to sing there until 1951; she appeared there again in 1953. She made her N.Y.C. Opera debut as Cio-Cio-San on Oct. 16, 1949, and remained on its roster for the season. She also pursued an active concert career. After her retirement in 1965, she taught voice in Wellington at Victoria Univ. Her autobiography was publ, as A Voice, a Life (London, 1970). She was made an Officer (1953), a Commander (1963), and a Dame Commander (1974) of the Order of the British Empire. Among her finest operatic roles were Beethoven’s Leonore, Violetta, Marguerite, Tatiana, Rusalka, Salome, and Tosca.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire