ballo in maschera, a performance which Montague Haltrecht, in his biography of the first ROH general administrator David Webster, describes as "the young Joan Carlyle makes a pageboy with a delicious vocal glitter"; Ascanius in Les Troyens; and Mimi in Peter Brook's staging of La bohème which resulted in a BBC Television production of the opera. At Glyndebourne in 1965 she played the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro. Michael Tippett's The Midsummer Marriage was presented in the house in 1972 with Carlyle as Jenifer. She recorded the part in the first complete recording of this work. In Italian opera her successes include Desdemona in Verdi's Otello with James McCracken in the 1965–66 season, and subsequently with Vickers in 1972, where her performance was noted by Hope-Wallace as "experienced, dignified, and often very touching, though at first too pale, muffled and cautious." Her last Covent Garden performance was in 1976 as Freia in Das Rheingold. Career beyond England Carlyle appeared as Mimi in La bohème at La Scala in Milan under Herbert von Karajan. Performances were given at the Munich Festival (where her Zdenka in Strauss's Arabella opposite Lisa Della Casa prompted her interest in the title role), in Brussels, Monaco, and the Netherlands as well as at the Vienna State Opera, the Berlin State Opera, and the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. In 1968 she appeared at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. Other houses at which she sang included the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. Concert repertoire Carlyle pursued a concert career alongside her operatic engagements. Her concert repertoire included Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Mozart's Requiem, Brahms's German Requiem and the Szymanowski Stabat Mater, Poulenc's Gloria, Orff's Carmina Burana and Mahler's Fourth Symphony. Recordings In her first recording, Carlyle was featured as "The Voice From Heaven" in a Decca release of Verdi's Don Carlo in June/July 1965 with the ROH Orchestra conducted by Solti. Featured singers include Carlo Bergonzi, Renata Tebaldi, Grace Bumbry, Nicolai Ghiaurov, and Martti Talvela. Details of her other recordings appear on her website. Later life and death In retirement, Carlyle lived in Wales and taught singing privately. She previously taught master classes and workshops at such institutions as the Royal College of Music in London. Carlyle died on 31 October 2021, at the age of 90. References Notes Sources Haltrecht, Montague (1975),The Quiet Showman: Sir David Webster and the Royal Opera House, London: Collins. Hope-Wallace,