Plaque to be unveiled at Jennifer Vyvyan's Hampstead home

A plaque will be unveiled next week to honour British soprano Jennifer Vyvyan at her home in Hampstead. The presentation will be held by countertenor and former colleague of Vyvyan, countertenor James Bowman, on 8 December.

Vyvyan lived in Hampstead for the last 13 years of her life before dying in 1974 aged just 49. Despite her early death, Vyvyan made a vital contribution to classical music in the mid-20th century and was closely associated with composer Benjamin Britten who wrote operatic roles specifically for her including the Governess in The Turn of the Screw, Tytania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lady Rich in Gloriana and Mrs Julian in Owen Wingrave.

Throughout her career, Vyvyan worked to revive forgotten music including baroque opera, as well as making her work widely accessible through radio and TV appearances as well as commercial recordings, many of which have been reissued by Decca.

Vyvyan’s work was memorialised in 2020 with the launch of a new website chronicling her life and career in great detail, compiled by music critic Michael White. Vyvyan’s legacy has also been recognised through events including tribute concert at Wigmore Hall and in this year’s Highgate Festival, a BBC Radio 4 documentary and an event held by The Royal Academy of Music.