Rosina Buckman & Edna Thornton

as Aida and Amneris "AIDA" Giuseppe Verdi


Rosina Buckman
1881-1948
New Zealand/Australian Soprano

She studied in Britain, at the Birmingham School of Music and made her debut in 1906, back in Wellington as Zara in A Moorish Maid (Alfred Hill). She worked in Australia from 1909, joining Melba's company in 1911. Returning to the UK, she made her debut at Covent Garden in 1914 as a Flower Maiden, followed by Musetta. She joined Beecham's operation the following year, with a repertoire that extended to include Butterfly, Aïda and Isolde. In 1923 she worked with BNOC.


Edna Thornton
1875-1964
English Contralto

She worked at Covent Garden from 1905 to 1910, appearing in the Ring cycles of 1908 and 1909. These were conducted by Karl Richter, and her roles were Erda and Waltraute. She toured with the Quinlan and Beecham companies, returning to Covent Garden between 1919 and 1923. After the BNOC was established she worked with it extensively. Other roles in her repertoire for which she was noted included Dalila and Amneris as well as Brangäne. She also appeared in the premiere of Holst's comic opera The Perfect Fool at Covent Garden in 1923.