Amanda Holden | |
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| Born | Amanda Juliet Warren (1948-01-19)19 January 1948 London, England |
| Died | 7 September 2021(2021-09-07) (aged 73) |
| Education | |
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| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Parents |
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| Awards | Laurence Olivier Award |
Amanda Juliet Holden (née Warren; 19 January 1948 – 7 September 2021) was a British pianist,librettist, translator, editor and academic teacher. She is known for translating operalibrettos to more contemporary English for theEnglish National Opera, and for writing new librettos, especially in collaboration withBrett Dean. She contributed to encyclopedias such as theNew Penguin Opera Guide.
Amanda Juliet Warren was born in London,[1] the daughter of SirBrian Warren and DameJosephine Barnes. She was educated atBenenden School,[2] and studied atLady Margaret Hall, Oxford, withEgon Wellesz[3] where she gained aMaster of Arts (MA), atGuildhall School of Music and Drama and a MA at theAmerican University, Washington, DC. She also had degrees from theRoyal Academy of Music (ARCM andLRAM).[2] She first worked as a freelance pianist and accompanist, teacher at the Guildhall School, and therapist from 1973 to 1986.[1][4]
Many of Holden's operalibretto translations were commissioned by theEnglish National Opera (ENO).[3][4] She translated Mozart'sDon Giovanni forJonathan Miller in 1985.[4] For the ENO, she also translated Handel'sPartenope,[4]Rodelinda,[5]Ariodante,Alcina andAgrippina,[4] Donizetti'sLucia di Lammermoor, Rossini'sThe Barber of Seville, and Puccini'sLa bohème.[6]
Holden translatedHK Gruber'sGloria: A Pigtale[7] in 2002, which criticBernard Holland ofThe New York Times found heavy-handed but "rescued by Amanda Holden's clever English version".[8] She made a "highly acclaimed translation" of Puccini'sMadama Butterfly for David Freeman's production at theRoyal Albert Hall in 2011.[9] Holden prepared the "deft" narration for a concert performance of Weber'sDer Freischütz presented by theLondon Symphony Orchestra at theBarbican Centre in April 2012.[10] She translated Gluck'sOrpheus and Eurydice for the St. Louis Opera in 2018,Pascal Dusapin'sPassion for its UK premiere at theMusic Theatre Wales in 2018, andHans Abrahamsen'sThe Snow Queen for Munich in 2019.[5]
Holden's librettos for contemporary operas includeBliss, for the Australian composerBrett Dean which was premiered byOpera Australia.[6]The Age compared Holden's partnership with Dean in "long-distance collaboration" to the composer–librettist partnerships of Mozart andda Ponte, andRichard Strauss andHugo von Hofmannsthal.[11] She wrote the libretto forMark-Anthony Turnage'sThe Silver Tassie, which premiered at the ENO in 2000, and for which Holden and Turnage jointly received theLaurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera in 2001.[2][4] She also wrote texts for plays, songs, concert works and music theatre.[4]
Holden's publications include contributions toThe Mozart Compendium in 1990, theNew Penguin Opera Guide in 2001[1] and thePenguin Concise Guide to Opera in 2005.[2]James Oestreich, writing inThe New York Times, described theNew Penguin Opera Guide as a "valuable source" and "most impressive", though he would have liked the index to cover performers, places and events – rather than just the composers and librettists.[12]
Her works included:
Holden married writer and broadcasterAnthony Holden in 1971. They had three sons and divorced in 1988.[2] She died on 7 September 2021, at the age of 73.[6]
