SIMPSON, Adrienne 1943-

PERSONAL: Born November 26, 1943, in Wellington, New Zealand. Education: Victoria University of Wellington, M.A., 1964; University of London, M.Mus., 1966. Hobbies and other interests: Reading, wine and food, sport.

ADDRESSES: Home—New Zealand. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Routledge, 270 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016-0602. E-mail—a.simpson@clear.net.nz.

CAREER: Writer.

AWARDS, HONORS: Research fellow, National Library of New Zealand, 1991; John David Stout research fellow, Victoria University of Wellington, 1993.

WRITINGS:

(Editor) Opera in New Zealand: Aspects of History and Performance, Witham Press (Wellington, New Zealand), 1990.

(With Peter Downes) Southern Voices: InternationalOpera Singers of New Zealand, Reed (Auckland, New Zealand), 1992.

The Greatest Ornaments of Their Profession: The NewZealand Tours by the Simonsen Opera Companies, 1876-1889, School of Music, University of Canterbury (Christchurch, New Zealand), 1993.

(Editor) Classic Kiwi Sport: Cricket, HarperCollins Publishers (Auckland, New Zealand), 1996.

Opera's Farthest Frontier: A History of ProfessionalOpera in New Zealand, Reed (Auckland, New Zealand), 1996.

(With Geoffrey Newson) Alex Lindsay: The Man andHis Orchestra, School of Music, University of Canterbury (Christchurch, New Zealand), 1998.

Capital Opera: Wellington's Opera Company, 1982-1999, National Opera of Wellington (Wellington, New Zealand), 2000.

Alice May: Gilbert and Sullivan's First Prima Donna, Routledge (New York, NY), 2003.

Contributor to dictionaries, including The Oxford Companion to Music, edited by Alison Latham, Oxford University Press (London, England), 2002; and The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Volumes 2-5, edited by Claudia Orange, Auckland University Press (Auckland, New Zealand), 1993-2000. Contributor to books, including The Book of New Zealand Women, Bridget Williams Books, 1991; and Sport Society and Culture in New Zealand, edited by Brad Patterson, 1999.

WORK IN PROGRESS: New Zealand's Wicket Women: A History of Women's Cricket in New Zealand, and Hallelujahs and History: The Auckland Choral Society, 1885-2005.

SIDELIGHTS: Adrienne Simpson told CA: "The books of Geoffrey Trease and other writers of children's historical fiction made me interested in history from a young age. I subsequently combined my love of history with my enthusiasm for music and drama. When writing, I always strive to achieve the same sense of immediacy and free flowing style that so impressed me in the works of Trease. Two later major influences were the English musicologists Thurston Dart and Gerald Abraham, who taught me that scholarly writing need never be dull.

"I hope readers will feel that I have brought the past alive for them; that they will gain a new insight into the rich and diverse cultural life enjoyed by their forebears."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Library Journal, September 1, 2003, Timothy J. McGee, review of Alice May: Gilbert and Sullivan's First Prima Donna, p. 171.

Opera Quarterly, summer, 2004, Joe K. Law, review of Alice May, pp. 441-447.