June Bronhill

June Bronhill, née Gough, was an Australian soprano whose career was spent largely in the United Kingdom. She was born in Broken Hill on 26 February 1929, and her career combined opera, operetta and musical theatre, a field in which she was notable for her versatility.

After winning a singing competition in Australia, she moved to England in 1952 to advance her career. She first trained with Dino Borioli and in 1954 joined the company of the Sadler's Wells Opera, with which she worked for much of the decade. Her roles included Norina, the Queen of the Night, Papagena, Leïla and Gilda. In 1960 she made her Covent Garden debut as Lucia in the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor.

Her name is nonetheless associated with Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow, a role she sang on numerous occasions and recounts in her autobiography. She also created the role of Elizabeth Moulton-Barrett in Robert and Elizabeth (1964), by Ronald Millar and Ron Grainer, a score with a high tessitura and a wide range that was unusual for the musical. She then performed Maria and, later, the Mother Superior in The Sound of Music.

On her return to Australia she demonstrated the breadth of her range in productions as varied as Women Behind Bars, A Little Night Music and My Fair Lady. Her recordings of Shadow in The Arcadians are regarded as the finest testament to her voice at its peak.