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About Delatour

Dela (Delatour) Zimmer

Delatour (a family name) was one of those phenomenal talents that come along only rarely in a lifetime. By the tender age of three, her favorite music was classical and she displayed a singing voice of unusual maturity that left her family and those who heard her astounded! A true child savant. As Dela puts it " I was a freak of nature"

As the word spread, by the age of 10 years, having won almost every English regional music contest available, Dela was invited to perform on many BBC Television and radio shows, as "The wonder child singing sensation with the golden voice"

At the age of twelve Dela was again invited by the famous BBC Concert Orchestra and Choir master Lesley Woodgate to present a concert in Wisbech N.England for the refugees from Hungary who at the time were fleeing their own country and coming to England among other places. This was the first night in England for these unfortunate people, and the City wanted to make them feel welcome by giving them the keys to the city and a concert, with a little girl celebrity. The roar of applause at the end of the concert and not a dry eye in the house is a memory to keep forever.

The Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, invited Dela to accept an education with them for Opera and Drama studies. At sixteen Dela was two years younger than the minimum enrollment of 18 years. At the completion of her studies, Dela was invited to join the iconic London Sadlers Wells Opera Company at the age of twenty. At the same time, Dela was invited to join the largest and most prestigious classical music touring company in England, The Tom Arnold company in a revival of ‘Lilac Time’ a musical operetta by Shubert, in the role of Willi. For the next several months Dela toured all over England and Scotland. Then quickly followed more National tours, television and radio features and recitals in France, Belgium and Bremen Germany and a performance in the Isle of Wight in the opera Faust. Interestingly Dela was trained as a Contralto/Mezzo and performed a lot of music to accommodate that range even though the higher register presented no problem! Top E Flat? Not a problem.

The next few years brought many engagements to include one at the altar! While juggling married life, and nightly performances at the famous London Palladium, Dela was invited by BBC Television and BBC Radio for an episodic television show called the ‘Two Ronnies’ and ‘Hark at Barker’ and a weekly broadcast on a BBC radio classical music program called 'Classically Speaking' including London weekend television programs and a BBC nationally televised Film of The Merry Widow by Franz Lehar.

A special performance at Clarendon House in England owned by J. Paul Getty of ‘The maid as Mistress’ by Pergolesi (1710-1736) a two person, two act opera buffa, was to be a most challenging role for Dela as the young Maid, fast and difficult music and a temperamental Bass in the role as the old Master!

Then two seasons as guest solo artist at the Old Players Theatre in London, which was televised weekly on London Weekend Television and broadcast on BBC radio. The Lyric Theater in Londons' West End theatre district came next, with a lengthy run of ‘Robert and Elizabeth’ Dela in the principal role of 'Wilson' based on the poets, Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

About Delatour continued...

Acting roles included two plays by William Shakespeare's contemporary Richard Sheridan performed in the original Olde English language of the time, performed in the original Elizabethan residence of a former Mayor of London of that period. A wonderful experience! Then an invitation to sing as a special guest soloist before Their Graces The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester at the world famous Royal Albert Hall to a standing ovation! This was quickly followed by another starring tour of England and Scotland and several summer season concerts, but this time with two small children and a Nanny! Dela says "I was so lucky to have appeared at such a young age, with the legendary stage luminaries, Sir Donald Wolfit, Sir Arthur Askey, Sir Jimmy Logan, Australian opera singers June Bronhill and Keith Michelle, Tom Hansen, Burt Bacharach, and Jeremy Brett to name a few.

Interestingly, Dela was to appear with Engelbert Humperdink, Tom Jones, Ronnie Corbet and Ronnie Barker, Charlie Drake (renowned TV personalities) in Television and stage shows, about as far removed from Opera as one can get!

A favorite performance was as the Mother in Menottis’ ‘Amahl and the night visitors’ presented at the Maltings in Farnham, U.K

When living in New Mexico Dela was to sing lead roles in many performances with the renowned former conductor of the Santa Fe Opera, Robert Baustian performing Opera, opera scenes and arias from Die Fledermaus, The marriage of Figaro, The Magic flute, Samson and Delilah, Tosca, Manon, Adriana Lecouvreur, Cosi Fan Tutti, La Boheme, Aida, Louis, Norma, La Wally, Suor Angelica, Madame Butterfly, Faust, Romeo and Juliet, Der Zigeunerbaron. Some of these concerts and operas were presented as Outreach programs for schools though out New Mexico.

Now a resident of Beautiful Palm Desert California. Dela has appeared with The California Desert Chorale as an invited guest soloist for several Christmas concerts and a Benefit events. Performances in various private venues in the Coachella Valley, Los Angeles and the West Valley, Phoenix and N. California. Benefits for charitable organizations include ‘Helping Hands’, ‘Bloom in the Desert ministries, and ‘Aid for Haiti’ at the Hotel Zoso Palm Springs with Peter Marshall, Bill Marx, Frankie Randall, Mike Costley and Liz Dreyfuss. There have been many performances with sister Liz in their two person show, Relatively singing, at the Hotel Zoso, Indian Wells Theatre, Indio Performing Arts Theatre, Sun city Palm Desert, Del Webb Shadow Hills, the I.W Club Indian Wells, and numerous Country Clubs throughout the Coachella Valley.

Dela has performed in Italian, French, German, Spanish, Latin, and Czechoslovakian.

Repertoire includes Spanish Zarzuelas, Songs of Victor Herbert, Leonard Bernstein, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Lowe, Selected Italian songs, German Lieder, Menotti, Claude –Michel Schonberg, Johann Strauss, Edward German and Timothy Bruneau.

Publicity T.V features on ‘Eye on the Desert’ CBS, The Melissa Randell show, radio interviews with Bill Feinstein, Dan McGraw, Joey English, articles in ‘Palm Springs Life’ The Desert Sun, Valley Entertainer.