This Is Your Life: Eva Turner 1

Eva TURNER (1892-1990)

THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Eva Turner, opera singer and teacher, was surprised by Eamonn Andrews outside the BBC Television Theatre, having met some old friends - seemingly by chance - on the street.

Eva, who was born in Oldham, studied at the Royal Academy of Music, graduating in 1915. She began her career with the Carl Rosa Opera Company before being summoned to Milan in 1924 to work with Toscanini. She returned to London in 1928 to play the title role in Turandot, to great acclaim, at Covent Garden.

Appearing in opera houses worldwide, she formed an international reputation with her strong, steady and well-trained voice, renowned for its clarion power in Italian and German operatic roles. Eva retired from the stage in 1948 and took up the post of visiting Professor of Voice at the University of Oklahoma the following year. She returned to London in 1959 and was appointed Professor of Singing at the Royal Academy of Music.

Eva Turner was a subject of This Is Your Life on two occasions - surprised again by Eamonn Andrews in February 1983 at London's Royal Opera House.

programme details...

Edition No: 101
Subject No: 101
Broadcast live: Mon 14 Sep 1959
Broadcast time: 7.30-8.05pm
Venue: BBC Television Theatre
Series: 5
Edition: 3

on the guest list...

Walter Midgley
Grace Tanner
Marie Burke
Gladys Parr
Vincenzo Bellezza
Ivor Owen
Amy Shuard
Giovanni Martinelli
John Barbirolli
Thomas Beecham
George Ivens
Dr George Lynn Cross
Judy Bounds Coleman
Mary Evelyn West
Joseph Benton
Spencer Norton
Bud Wilkinson
Leonard Haug

production team...

Researcher: Peter Moore
Writer: Peter Moore
Director: T Leslie Jackson
Producer: T Leslie Jackson

names above in bold indicate subjects of This Is Your Life

related pages...

Eva Turner

second tribute

Classical Life

a symphony of subjects

Life Second Time Around

surprised again!

John Barbirolli

Photographs of Eva Turner This Is Your Life

Linda Esther Gray recalls this edition of This Is Your Life in her book, Dame Eva Turner, A Life on the High Cs...

One of the first surprises which greeted Eva Turner on returning home to London was Eamonn Andrews clutching her This Is Your Life book. She seemed to enjoy every minute of the television occasion and shared enormous gales of laughter with her longest, dearest friend Gladys Parr. They both looked a million dollars, enormously well dressed and with a poise and command of body language and gestures which only the stage could have given them. Their love for each other was obvious as they shared laughter about times past and the money they had tried to save saying that they had lived mostly on hope. Gladys told the audience: 'Eva practiced and practiced and practiced and learned lots of principal parts in case someone happened to erhemm fall down and break their hhmm necks! (last word was barely audible followed by laughter.) Her aim was to get herself out of the chorus and in a very short time succeed.'

Walter Midgley said she was not to worry about her meal that evening as he had brought her favourite supper with him, fish and chips. A beautiful Amy Shuard said how much she owed to the teaching of Miss Turner and knelt at her side, in a collective photo call at the end, as if she was Kundry about to wash Parsifal's feet and with a reverence of which a disciple from the Bible would have been proud. Eva Turner in her turn paid huge spontaneous tribute to Amy's Turandot.

Sir Thomas Beecham and Sir John Barbirolli paid tribute to her as one of the greatest British artists; Vincenzo Bellezza came from Italy, bringing affectionate greetings from the country which had claimed her as a daughter-in-art, and she embraced him warmly, calling him Maestro and conversing immediately with him in Italian. George Ivens sent warm greetings from Canada and Jo Benton spoke to her from Oklahoma while Martinelli greeted his Aida with the impetuous embrace of Radames from times past.

Series 5 subjects