One of Haydn Gwynne’s first successes was in a starring role in an opera in which she did not sing a note. In the 1977 Nottingham University Opera Group’s production of Daniel Auber’s Masaniello, she played Fenella – a silent character who conveys everything though dance and mime. She was allowed one blood-curdling scream, and I still remember the shock that it provoked in the audience every evening. Even at that early stage in her career she had real stage presence and charisma and it was no surprise to any of us involved with the production that she went on to have such a successful career.
