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last performance, then quietly went to her dressing room, packed up her makeup and personal belongings, and went home to her beloved house at
Bayview, on the northern beaches of Sydney, and reverted to her married name of Betty Simmons. She later served on the Opera Foundation's board for a number of years.
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Her retirement was very low key; no one in the company knew of her impending retirement before she left. She did not want any fanfare or accolades at her last performance, and therefore only the management of the
Australian Opera knew of her decision to retire in the late 1980s. She simply gave her
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that she had an extramarital affair with the
Australian baritone Robert Simmons (they were later to marry), with whom she later had a son, John Simmons, now a Melbourne architect, and a daughter Geraldine 'Geri' Roggiero née Simmons now a Sydney wildlife artist. This caused a scandal in 1950s
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and in 1955 they engaged her services as principal soprano. It was at this point she became known as
Elizabeth Fretwell. Sadler's was where Fretwell's finest performances were given, and she gained rave reviews. This was no small achievement given that at that time
63:. As a child, she had hoped to become a ballerina. However, she grew too big for this profession. She focussed instead on singing, taking vocal studies in Melbourne. Her operatic career began in 1950. In 1954, she sang Antonia in
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was dominant on the London opera stage. From the early 1960s to 1970 she went back and forth between
Australia and the UK performing. In 1965 she gave her only performances at the
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189:) until her retirement. In her later career, she took on smaller roles, to give up-and-coming singers there a chance to further their careers as principal singers.
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After returning to
Australia she quickly started to make a name for herself, taking soprano roles in operas by
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who was on her first tour of
Australia. In order to gain greater skill, she moved to London to study under the
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in 1977. On 5 June 2006, she died suddenly at her
Bayview home, from a ruptured
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207:, aged 85. She was survived by her son and daughter, and four grandchildren.
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Stephens, Tony (3 July 2006). "Swimming and dancing's loss, opera's gain".
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Once in
Britain, Fretwell's first professional engagement was for
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in 1970. During 1973 she sang in the opening season of the
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company. Her performances there came to the attention of
325:(2nd ed.). London: Oxford University Press. 1979.
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Australian
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
185:. She remained a member of the Australian Opera (now
24:(1921 ? – 5 June 2006), known professionally as
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263:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2005-2008
234:"Elizabeth Fretwell: Sadler's Wells prima donna"
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110:Australia so she and Simmons headed for the
423:20th-century Australian women opera singers
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380:(Supplement). 10 June 1977. p. 7103.
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47:) through much of the 1950s and 1960s.
321:The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera
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196:She was appointed an Officer of the
177:, finally joining the ensemble of
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428:People from Murrumbeena, Victoria
167:In 1969 Fretwell sang opposite
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408:Australian operatic sopranos
266:. OUP Oxford. p. 415.
198:Order of the British Empire
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260:Goldman, Lawrence (2013).
413:Singers from Melbourne
163:Later career and death
45:English National Opera
347:"Fretwell, Elizabeth"
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84:who had also coached
70:The Tales of Hoffmann
51:Early life and career
179:The Australian Opera
28:, was an Australian
17:Betty Drina Fretwell
377:The London Gazette
183:Sydney Opera House
75:Queen Elizabeth II
26:Elizabeth Fretwell
332:978-0-19311-318-3
230:Forbes, Elizabeth
141:Royal Opera House
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137:Maria Callas
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403:2006 deaths
398:1920 births
372:"No. 47234"
128:Grand Opera
57:Murrumbeena
34:prima donna
392:Categories
279:29 January
211:References
169:Tito Gobbi
156:Il tabarro
65:Offenbach
61:Melbourne
356:22 April
245:22 April
205:aneurysm
174:Falstaff
38:London's
304:The Age
101:Puccini
73:before
43:Opera (
30:soprano
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124:Dublin
97:Mozart
147:, in
106:Tosca
79:tenor
358:2018
327:ISBN
281:2019
268:ISBN
247:2018
153:and
150:Aida
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171:in
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