Sir thomas allen baritone biography of williams
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In the lead up to Durham University Choral Society&#;s performance of Vaughan Williams&#; &#;Five Mystical Songs&#; on 5th månad, Tonya Alban speaks to Chancellor Sir Thomas Allen behind his connection with the epic.
By Tonya Alban
As you know Choral Society will be performing Ralph efternamn Williams&#; &#;Five Mystical Songs&#;. As you have some experience with them, we would love some insight. First, about the history, this period has been dubbed a renaissance in English music, do you think that is a fair assessment?
I think that’s true. There were a number of those (composers) around at the time. You know when inom was a student, every day inom used to meet with Herbert Howells, for example. And rather like the memories you have of your grandparents you wish you had asked them certain questions. I wish I had asked Herbert Howells about Vaughan Williams, about Holst and about all the various other people that he knew but inom knew him up to a point and, you know, you didn’t go
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Thomas Allen has sung his last performance
Opera
norman lebrecht
July 29,
An epoch has ended.
Alastair Macaulay reports from Glyndebourne:
Tonight, the British baritone Thomas Allen, aged seventy-nine, announced from the Glyndebourne stage that this had been his final performance; I wish I had been there. He had already informally announced his farewell to friends and few years ago, but Glyndebourne had tempted him back this year into “The Merry Widow”.
It feels as if a significant part of my life has said farewell. Allen was already in the ascendant at Covent Garden when I became a regular there just over fifty years ago. I remember in particular an October “Simon Boccanegra” starring Peter Glossop, Kiri Te Kanawa, and Boris Christoff in which the connoisseurs singled out Allen as Paolo and Robert Lloyd as Pietro.
I see now how Te Kanawa, Allen, and Lloyd were a golden generation of Covent Garden singers: in , Te Kanawa and he were Marguérite and Valentin, sister an • Sir Thomas Allen. Born Seaham, Co. Durham, 10 September English baritone and director. Studies Performances of opera Allen has from the beginning been a subtle and fascinating actor, with an unusual ability to use the words in whichever language he was singing. His warm and flexible baritone has always seemed ideal for the lyrical works of Mozart and Britten, but he has also had great success in Monteverdi and in some works by Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev. Fortunately he had the sense to avoid the heavier baritone roles in the German and Italian repertoires. The only major Wagner parts he risked were the pure lyricism of Wolfram in Tannhäuser and the superb character role of Beckmesser in Die Meistersinger. In Verdi Opera Scotland
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Royal College of Music , with Hervey Alan. He also studied the organ.
Sir Thomas Allen has had one of the most distinguished international careers of any singer of British origin in the years since the war.