Joan Hammond

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Dame Joan Hilda Hood Hammond (24 May 1912 - 26 November 1996) was a New Zealand-born Australian soprano and teacher.

Joan Hammond was born in Christchurch, New Zealand. She studied violin and singing at the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music in Sydney. She was a champion golfer, journalist, violinist with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and singer.

Accomplished in all these fields it was singing that was Joan Hammond's passion. A fateful encounter with the wife of the then Governor of New South Wales, Lady Gowrie, made Joan Hammond's dream of studying in Europe possible. Lady Gowrie heard the young Joan Hammond sing and was astounded by the beauty and power of this young voice. Dame Joan often referred to Lady Gowrie as her guardian angel. If there was another guardian angel it was her fellow golfers of New South Wales who together with Lady Gowrie raised enough money for Joan Hammond to leave Australia in 1936 to study in Vienna.

Prior to her departure for Vienna, she had played violin in the Sydney Philharmonic Orchestra for three years, before making her operatic debut in 1929. In addition to studying in Vienna, she studied with Dino Borgioli in London. She toured widely, and became noted particularly for her Puccini roles. She later became a renowned singing teacher.

Joan Hammond appeared in the major opera houses of the world, Covent Garden, La Scala, Vienna State Opera and the Bolshoi. Her fame in the British Isles was not just from her stage appearances but from her recordings. She made the Puccini aria, O Mio Babbino Caro, famous. Recorded in English under the title, O My Beloved Father, Joan Hammond was awarded a gold record in 1969 for this recording. Her recording of Rusalka's O Silver Moon was a huge seller for her too. A prolific and diverse recording artist Joan Hammond's repertoire encompassed Verdi, Dvorak, Handel, Puccini, Tchaikovsky, Massenet, Beethoven, folk song, art song and lieder.

A heart attack in 1965 forced her to retire. It was then she turned to teaching. She was the Head of Voice at the Victorian College of the Arts from 1975 to 1992. In that time she trained an extraordinary amount of Australian singers who have since made Australian and international careers.

She was made Dame Commander of the British Empire in 1974, was a life member of both the Victorian State Opera (now defunct) and the Australian Opera.

She died in 1996 in Bowral, New South Wales and is buried in the Bowral cemetry. A true pioneer, Joan Hammond lived at at time when Australians were compelled to travel overseas to establish an operatic career. Her hope was for an opera company which would employ Australians in their own country. She was instrumental in making that happen and worked tirelessly to ensure that both the Australian Opera and Victorian State Opera survived and flourished.

Never one to forget a loyalty, Joan Hammond's final performance was at the funeral of her guardian angel, Lady Gowrie. She also a committed supporter of New South Wales golfers who had so long ago supported her dream. It is for these qualities of loyalty, friendship, kindness and courage not just her glorious voice and commanding stage presence that Joan Hood Hammond will be remembered.