Elizabeth Parcells - Bishop: Lo! Here the Gentle Lark, 1977

THE SONGBIRD: Born in Michigan, Elizabeth Parcells (1951 - 2005) studied in Boston, was a Met Opera Auditions Winner in 1977, and then a grant enabled her to move to Switzerland to launch her career. She lived in Germany until 1997, singing high coloratura roles in standard and adventurous contemporary operatic and concert works in major opera houses and festivals. When she settled back in the U.S., Parcells taught voice and sang in concerts and recitals, until she tragically died of cancer at the age of 54. She has many YouTube videos of her singing (posted posthumously), and I encourage everyone to sample more of her extraordinary artistry. THE MUSIC: Sir Henry Bishop composed this coloratura bird song for a musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors“ in 1819. A dozen or so of Bishop’s songs, duets, and glees were sprinkled throughout the plot, all drawing on lyrics from songs in other Shakespeare plays. “Lo, here the gentle lark“ is extracted from the lo