EDITH ELLEN FURMEDGE
(LONDON, 27 MARCH, 1890 — LONDON, 9 OCTOBER, 1956)
After secondary school she attended Homerton College, Cambridge to
train as a teacher. While in attendance she took up singing and abandoned a
career in teaching. She studied with Dinh Gilly whom she eventually married on
2 June 1932.
The first mention of Furmedge in the Musical Times from 1921 speaks of
her as a participating soloist the Sheffield Amateur Musical Society.
Endowed with a powerful voice she obtained small parts in Der Ring des
Nibelungen at Covent Garden. She participated in early acoustic recordings of
excerpts from The Ring.
She sang regularly under Sir Henry Wood in London and at provincial
festivals.
By the 1930s she was appearing regularly as Erda and Fricka in The
Ring. In addition to Wood, she sang under Thomas Beecham, Bruno Walter, Wilhelm
Furtwängler, Albert Coates and others.
She was a member of the British National Opera Company. Her
participation in radio broadcasts helped raise her profile among the public. As
noted in her obituary, "her impressive voice and majestic sense of style
came over particularly well on the air."
After a hiatus she returned to singing the Wagnerian roles in 1948–49.
For many years she taught in the "music school" (actually
their studio) her husband Dinh Gilly, had established, and continued teaching
after his death in 1940.
Her obituary in Opera magazine noted her "refreshing sense of calm" that she imparted to others. Furmedge's self-effacing character provided a sense of ease to her students and the many who came in contact with her.
TRACKLIST
Aida (Verdi) Neath The Chances Of Battle (w. Stiles Allen) X 546 X
1840D Edison Bell
Aida (Verdi) Tremble, Thou Art Discovered (w. Stiles Allen) X 546 X
1841J Edison Bell
Caller Herrin'
(H. Miller - Lady Neirne) 1169 9863F Edison Bell
Madame Butterfly Flower Duet Shake The Cherry Tree part 1 (w. Stiles
Allen) A 5682 EB 1202 Edison Bell
Madame Butterfly Flower Duet Shake The Cherry Tree part 2 (w. Stiles
Allen) B 5682 EB 1203 Edison Bell
Maritana (Wallace)
Alas! those chimes 1169 9617K Edison Bell
Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner) Disdain not the Master's ways (w.
chorus Trenton, Coltham, Glynne, Hubbard, Halland, B Jones, Radford & Peel)
D758 (3-0942) HMV, London 1922-12-18
Rheingold (Wagner) Alberich steals the gold (w. B Jones, Radford & Trenton) D677 (3-0814) HMV, London 1922-12-18
Rheingold (Wagner) The capture of Alberich & Closing, scene 3 (w. Radford)
D677 (3-0815) HMV, London 1922-12-18
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