{{Short description|British opera singer (1935–2008)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} thumb '''Enid Hartle''' (16 December 1935 – 1 December 2008) was an opera and concert singer born in Sheffield; she studied singing first at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and later with Vera Rózsa, with whom she had a long and fruitful relationship.
==Operatic career==
Enid Hartle's early appearances included Mrs Grose "a firmly sketched-in portrait of a comfortable old woman out of her depth" in ''The Turn of the Screw'' in 1966, London.<ref>Blyth, A. (Brief Chronicles, Obituary, and London Opera Diary) Review of Morley College Opera Group production of ''The Turn of the Screw'', February 1966. ''Opera,'' April 1966, p. 334.</ref>
She began singing in the chorus of Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 1968 and the following year made her debut on the Glyndebourne Tour, singing Filipyevna in ''Eugene Onegin'' by Tchaikovsky. This role was to take her to, among other places, Toronto, Amsterdam, and The Royal Opera House in London; she also took part in the Decca recording under Georg Solti. In February 1971 she sang Marfa in three concert performances of ''Khovanshchina'' given by Chelsea Opera Group "ideally a little too light for the sepulchral and sibylline side of Marfa, but she radiantly suggested the woman in love, and her prayer in Act 5 was beautifully and movingly sung".<ref>Forbes, Elizabeth. Review of ''Khovanshchina'' by Chelsea Opera Group at Lincoln's Inn Hall. ''Opera'', April 1971, pp. 353.</ref>
She was a lyric character mezzo-soprano and was employed by Glyndebourne both in the main season and on the tour for many years, where her roles included:<ref>Enid Hartle artist pen portrait, ''Glyndebourne Season Book, 1985'', p. 155.</ref> *La Natura and L'Eternità in ''La Calisto'' – Cavalli *Dryade in ''Ariadne auf Naxos'' – Strauss *Third Lady in ''The Magic Flute'' – Mozart *Forester's wife, Owl, Woodpecker in ''The Cunning Little Vixen'' – Janáček *The Fortune Teller in ''Arabella'' – Strauss *Florence in ''Albert Herring'' – Benjamin Britten *Baba the Turk in ''The Rake's Progress'' – Stravinsky.
She created the role of Miss Reid in ''Winter Cruise'' by Hans Henkemans which won her great praise from the Dutch press and whose "committed approach" allowed her to present act 1 "virtually a monologue for her... with consummate skill".<ref>Kasow, Joel. Holland – A Maugham opera. ''Opera'', May 1979, pp. 478–479.</ref>
When not at Glyndebourne or abroad Hartle often sang with Kent Opera, where her roles included: * Little Buttercup in ''H.M.S. Pinafore'' – Gilbert and Sullivan<ref>Milnes, R. Review of ''H.M.S. Pinafore'' at Canterbury in December 1973. ''Opera'', February 1974: "Enid Hartle's north country Buttercup was richly comic".</ref> * Arnalta in ''The Coronation of Poppea'' – Monteverdi, directed by Norman Platt * Maddalena in ''Rigoletto'' – Verdi * Mistress Quickly in ''Falstaff'' – Verdi, both of these Verdi operas directed by Jonathan Miller * The Nurse in ''The Return of Ulysses'' - Monteverdi * Nurse in ''King Priam'' – Tippett, directed by Nicholas Hytner * Auntie in ''Peter Grimes'' – Britten * Mrs Chin in ''A Night at the Chinese Opera'' – Judith Weir (role creation).<ref>Kent Opera, Twentieth Anniversary. Artist biographies in Programme booklet for the Kings Theatre, Southsea, June 1989 unnumbered.</ref>
Many of these operas were conducted by Roger Norrington.
One critic noted in ''La fille du régiment'' "Enid Hartle's impeccably timed and cleverly under-played Marquise de Birkenfeld ... which conquered all in the second half. Her piano accompaniment to Marie's song, at once hesitant and bold, was an especial joy, while the agonised examination of her music when Marie and Sulpice broke into the Song of the Regiment roused gales of delighted laughter from the audience."<ref>Forbes, E. Review of ''La Fille du régiment'' by Northern Ireland Opera Trust at the Grand Opera House, Belfast, March 1983, pp. 665–666.</ref>
An obituary writer stated that she was a "keen observer of life and character" and a sensitive interpreter of unstarry roles, who was "revered by her students, who became her step-family".<ref name="operaobit">Linda Esther Gray. Enid Hartle - obituary. ''Opera'', February 2009, Vol. 60 No. 2, p.164-5.</ref>
==Concerts and recordings==
Although primarily a stage performer, Hartle also sang with many of the leading orchestras at home and abroad, with whom she performed a wide range of works from Handel's ''Messiah'' to Berlioz’ ''Nuits d'Été'' and Schönberg's ''Pierrot lunaire''.<ref name="operaobit"/>
In 1973 she took part in a rare performance of van Dieren's ''Symphony from the Chinese'' for the BBC in Manchester, conducted by Myer Fredman.<ref>[http://arnoldbax.com/robert-barnett-interviews-myer-fredman/ Sir Arnold Bax website, Robert Barnett Interviews Myer Fredman.] Accessed 25 July 2015.</ref>
Her recordings include: two songs on a 1963 Saga LP entitled 'Music from Palm Court', ''La Calisto'' by Monteverdi (L’Eternità) realized and conducted by Raymond Leppard (1971), ''Eugene Onegin'' by Tchaikovsky (Filipyevna) with Georg Solti (1974), ''Ariadne auf Naxos'' by Strauss (Dryad) with Solti (1978), ''Suor Angelica'' by Puccini (Mistress of the Novices) with Richard Bonynge (1978), ''Cigale'' (solo, angel) by Massenet (1978), and ''Robinson Crusoe'' by Offenbach (Lady Crusoe) with Alun Francis (1980).
On video she appeared in Gilbert & Sullivan's ''The Sorcerer'' in 1982 (Mrs. Partlet),<ref>Shepherd, Marc. {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20100202091715/http://gasdisc.oakapplepress.com/sorwalk.htm The Brent Walker ''Sorcerer'' (1982)]}} at A Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, 5 April 2009, accessed 26 August 2010</ref> as the Nurse in the Kent Opera ''King Priam'' in 1985, and in Tchaikovsky's ''Queen of Spades'' from Glyndebourne in 1992 (Governess).
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==Sources== The original of this article was compiled based on material prepared by Enid's colleagues and friends, Linda Gray and Sarah Walker.
==External sources== *[https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38075119982 Enid Hartle: The Singer, The Friend, The Teacher]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartle, Enid}} Category:20th-century English women opera singers Category:Musicians from Sheffield Category:British mezzo-sopranos Category:1935 births Category:2008 deaths Category:20th-century British women opera singers