Deborah Riedel

Who was Deborah Riedel?

Deborah Riedel was an Australian operatic soprano. Hers is generally regarded as one of the greatest voices ever produced in Australia. She died of cancer at the height of her career, at the age of 50.

Riedel was born in Carlingford, New South Wales. She gained a Diploma of Music Education at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and taught for some time at Riverstone High School. She joined the chorus of Opera Australia in 1983. She won a number of important competitions, which enabled her to study overseas. Back in Australia, she sang mezzo roles with Victoria State Opera and West Australian Opera. At OA, her mentor Richard Bonynge guided her transition from mezzo to soprano. She first came to notice when she sang Leila in Georges Bizet's The Pearl Fishers with Victoria State Opera in 1986. This was backed up with Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro with OA in 1989. That year, she was so successful from her auditions in Europe that she was forced refuse a number of offers. She sang with such opera companies as the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, Paris Opera, Geneva Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Rome Opera, Vienna State Opera, and many others.