Allin debuted with the Beecham Company (1919), where he sang, among other
roles, King Marke, Mephistopheles, and the Aged Hebrew in Samson and Delilah. He
made his Covent Garden debut in 1919 as Konchak in Prince Igor and was their
first English Gurnemanz. He then helped found the British National Opera
Company, and sang there as principal bass from 1922-1929. He appeared at
Glyndebourne and ended his career with the Carl Rosa Opera Company (1942-1949).
Gounod Reine de Saba: She alone charmeth my
sadness
Handel Partenope: Hark the tempest
wildly raging
Handel Samson: Honour and arms
Famous in Gilbert and Sullivan due to his many recordings, Baker was never a
member of the D'Oyly Carte Company and never appeared on the professional stage
in any G&S opera. He made his first recordings in 1909 and his last in 1962,
two months before his 78th birthday — certainly one of the longest
recording careers. He sang with the Carl Rosa and British National Opera
Companies, appearing in such works as Schumann's Genoveva and
Cherubini's
The Water-Carrier as early as 1910. He was famous throughout England for
his recordings and as a star of concert, music hall and light opera.
Lehmann Myself when young (recorded 1918)
Sullivan Ivanhoe: Ho! Jolly Jenkin (recorded
1926)
Black had possibly the best voice of all of Sir Charles Santley's
successors. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, he made his oratorio debut in 1887 and
quickly became a mainstay of the English music festival circuit, creating many
parts, including Judas in Elgar's The Apostle.
Handel
Acis and Galatea: O ruddier than the cherry (recorded 1906)
Sullivan Sorcerer: Curate's Song, The (recorded
1905)
Born in Australia, Brownlee was discovered by Nellie Melba. He studied in
Paris under the fine baritone, Dinh Gilly. He made his operatic debut there in
1926 and sang with Melba at her farewell performance at Covent Garden in the
same year. He was at the Paris Opera from 1927-1936 and appeared in major houses
around the world. At the Metropolitan Opera (1937-57) he sang 33 roles in 526
performances. After his retirement from the stage he became the director of the
Manhattan School of Music.
Thomas
Hamlet: Come une pale fleur (recorded ~1928)
Thomas Hamlet: O vin dissipe (recorded ~1928)
Thought by many to have had the finest voice of any of the British tenors of
his day, Burke studied with Fernando de Lucia and sang throughout the world with
most of the great singers of his time. Like Horace Stevens, Burke suffered the
transition from acoustic to electrical recordings on labels that struggled with
the new electronic technology.
Puccini
Turandot: Nessun dorma
Tosti
My Dreams
The only native English-speaking tenor to appear on a complete opera
recording from La Scala, Cecil was the Pinkerton to Margaret Sheridan's
Cio-Cio-San in the 1931 Madama Butterfly issued on HMV. Though born in
Australia (?), his career was centered in Italy and England.
Giordano Fedora: Amor ti vieta
After working at various commercial enterprises, Coates became a singer in
1893. He sang as a baritone for five years with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company,
with whom he came to America in 1895. He then sang in small theaters to pay for
lessons to become a tenor, made his second debut at Covent Garden in 1901 and
became the greatest English oratorio tenor of his generation. In 1904, he made
an extensive tour of Germany, during which he appeared at the Cologne Opera as
Faust, Romeo, and Lohengrin. In 1910-11 he sang under Beecham in heroic Wagner
roles, particularly Tristan and Siegfried. After 1914, he specialized in Lieder.
In 1925 he made an extensive North American tour, and near his seventy-first
birthday gave Lieder recitals on the radio from London, accompanying himself on
the piano. The songs on this disc were recorded in 1928 with Gerald Moore at the
piano.
Sedley Knotting Song, The
Thomson Knight of Bethlehem, The
unknown
Phillida Flouts Me
This Welsh tenor studied in London after winning a singing contest. He made
his debut in 1881 with the Carl Rosa Opera Company, remaining with them until
1887. After appearing in musicals and operettas, he debuted at Covent Garden in
1891 in the world premiere of Sir Arthur Sullivan's
Ivanhoe, and sang there until 1893. He then left the stage and turned
entirely to concert singing. In 1896 he sang in the first performance of Liza
Lehmann's song cycle, In a Persian Garden, thus being the first to sing
the famous Ah, Moon of My Delight, a song much favored by John McCormack
and heard on this disc as sung by Hubert Eisdell. His
last recordings were made in London in 1934 when he was 76 years old.
Gounod Faust: Salve dimora (recorded 1903)
White To Mary (recorded 1913)
Born in Wales, Davies made his debut in 1920 as Tamino at the Old Vic
Theater. By 1922 he had become the principal tenor of the British National Opera
Company. He was well known for his Lohengrin and Walther in Meistersinger.
Elgar King Olaf: And King Olaf Heard the
Cry (creator record)
Coleridge-Taylor Hiawatha:
Onaway! Awake beloved
Dearth debuted in 1894 and sang at leading London concerts and with the
Royal Choral Society. In 1910, he appeared in the Beecham seasons at His
Majesty's Theater and Covent Garden, where among other roles, he sang the bass
villains in Tales of Hoffmann and Daland in The Flying Dutchman.
Margetson Tommy Lad
Eisdell appeared at concerts for the Royal Philharmonic Society and Halle
Orchestra concerts at the Queen's Hall. He toured the USA, Canada, and
Australasia and was the tenor in Beecham's first Messiah recording.
Lehmann
Ah! Moon of my delight
Elwes was considered one of the finest English concert singers of his time.
Originally a diplomat, he studied voice in London and Paris and turned to a
vocal career. His first solo recital was largely devoted to German Lieder, but
in 1904 he sang in Elgar's Dream of Gerontius and proved so successful
that he sang the title role 118 times, including six performances in six nights
in May, 1916 under the composer. He was also famed as the Evangelist in Bach's
St. Matthew Passion. However, what endeared him to the English public
was championing the new generation of English composers. Vaughan Williams
dedicated
On Wenlock Edge to him and he was the first to sing it. At the height of
his fame, he was killed during an American tour, reportedly in saving a child
from an oncoming train.
Dvorak
Songs my mother taught me (recorded 1917)
Grieg Ich liebe dich (recorded 1911)
Handel Semele: Where'er you walk
(recorded 1917)
Henschel Morning Hymn (recorded
1911)
Vaughan Williams Roadside Fire (recorded
1916)
Graveure has to be one of the most fascinating singers of all time.
Beginning his career in England, he early established himself as a fine concert
and oratorio baritone. Peter Dawson, in his memoirs, recounts that, at a
rehearsal of Elgar's The Apostle under the composer, Douthitt persisted
in holding notes as long as he could. Finally Elgar interjected, "Mr.
Douthitt, you are singing the role of the Saviour. Would you please not hold on
to those notes so long. I doubt if our Lord had your breath control."
Dawson finishes the section by asking, "I wonder what ever happened to old
Wilfred?" The question was to be answered in 1915, when he emerged in
Portland, Maine as baritone soloist in Mendelssohn's Elijah, sporting a
full beard and using the name Louis Graveure, claiming he was Belgian (Graveure
was really his mother's maiden name). For 12 years, he remained one of the
best-liked concert singers in America and in 1920 gave his first Lieder recital
in Germany with great success. By 1926, he was also teaching voice and
discovered that he could hit any tenor note with his students. A week after a
concert appearance as a baritone, he sang Canio. In 1928, he returned to Europe
(minus his beard) and went on to a brilliant tenor career in opera and concert
in Germany and appeared in a number of musical films. Shortly before the
outbreak of World War II, he returned to America and ended his days in San
Francisco as a teacher of voice.
Balfe Bohemian
Girl: The heart bowed down (as a baritone) )
Handel
Atalanta: Caro selve
Künneke Ich
zog hinaus, weit über's Meer (opera scene from film, Es gibt nur eine
Liebe)
Leoncavallo Pagliacci: Prologo
(as a baritone)
Puccini Madama
Butterfly: Liebesduett (with
Margherita Perras)
Woodeford-Finden
Less than the dust (as a baritone)
A noted exponent of the German Lied and English ballads, he studied in
England and in Italy. His first appearance was as soloist in Messiah in
1888, when he was only 22. Further such appearances established him as a leading
soloist of the day. In 1890 he appeared at Covent Garden as the Commendatore in
Don Giovanni and the Duke in Romeo and Juliet; he realized then
that his voice was ill-suited to opera and thereafter limited himself to the
concert stage. He was an expressive interpreter of the Lieder of Schubert,
Schumann, and Brahms, and of the then-popular English ballads. Charles Villiers
Stanford wrote his Songs of the Fleet expressly for Greene. If his vocal
attributes had been on a par with his interpretive powers, he might have been
one of the greatest singers of his time.
Schubert
Abschied (recorded 1904)
Schubert
Organ-Grinder [Der Leiermann] (recorded 1935)
All of Heming's recordings are rare. This is his only operatic recording and
is of particular interest because he was the first English Amfortas.
Wagner
Parsifal: Amfortas' Lament
Henderson debuted at Covent Garden in 1929 as Donner, sang Ford with the
British National Opera Company and was a regular at Glyndebourne. He was a
leading baritone for Beecham and at Covent Garden and may be heard as the Count
in Busch's Nozze di Figaro recording and as Masetto in his Don
Giovanni.
Ireland Sea Fever
Henschel, a naturalized British citizen, was a remarkably versatile
musician: composer, conductor, pianist, and teacher as well as singer. He sang
Sachs in a concert Meistersinger in 1868; Brahms frequently accompanied
him at the piano and on the podium. He made his home in Britain from his London
debut in 1877 and beccame a citizen in 1890. He was knighted by George V in
1914. He accompanies himself on all four sides here, even those made at the age
of 78. Henschel became the first conductor of the Boston Symphony in 1881 and
remained with that orchestra until 1884.
Henschel Lied
eines Schmedes (recorded 1914)
Schubert
Gruppe aus dem Tartarus (recorded 1928)
Schubert
Die beiden Grenadiere (recorded 1928)
Schumann
Ich grolle nicht (recorded 1914)
Heyner studied with Victor Maurel and debuted at Queen's Hall in 1907. He
appeared often at English music festivals and toured the U.S., Canada, and
Europe 1928-1932. He sang Amfortas at Covent Garden for the British National
Opera Company in 1922 and was noted in Germany as a Lieder singer. This
recording is from a performance conducted by the composer at Royal Albert Hall
on 26 February 1927.
Elgar
Dream of Gerontius: Go in the name of Angels
Hislop was born in Scotland but, like Alfred Piccaver, was best known
outside of Britain. After studying in Sweden (and marrying a Swede), he made his
debut in 1914 at the Stockholm Opera where he remained for five years. After WWI
he went to Italy for further study and sang at the San Carlo in Naples 1919/20.
The following year, he debuted at Covent Garden and sang with the British
National Opera Company. His North American debut took place in 1920, when he was
engaged by the Chicago Opera. In 1922, he returned to the Stockholm Opera, and
aside from frequent guest appearances throughout the world remained there until
his retirement from the stage in 1937.
Gounod Faust:
Salut demeure (live Covent Garden performance - 1928)
Lee MacGregor's Gathering (recorded 1931)
Leoncavallo Pagliacci: No! Pagliacco non son
Massenet Werther: Pourquoi me reveiller?
(recorded 1926)
Rachmaninov To the Children
(recorded 1928)
Verdi Rigoletto: Women are
fickle (recorded 1914)
Wagner Lohengrin:
In a far-off land (recorded 1922)
Walter Hyde was an extremely versatile singer, who achieved equal success in
opera, oratorio, musical comedy, and on the concert stage. He was a student of
Manuel Garcia in London and studied for a time with Sir Charles Santley. He made
his Covent Garden debut in 1901, but then went on to musical comedy, where he
remained until 1908. In that year he was recruited to sing Siegmund in the first
Covent Garden English Ring under the conductor Hans Richter, a role he later
also sang in German. He sang at Covent Garden as late as 1924, but also appeared
with the Beecham Company. From 1922 he was a member of the British National
Opera Company, later being appointed a Director.
Offenbach Contes de Hoffmann: Legend of
Kleinzack
Wagner Walküre:
Siegmund's Love Song (Winterstürme)
A Canadian by birth, Johnson studied voice in New York, then in Italy, where
he made his debut in 1912 under the name of Eduardo di Giovanni. He had great
success there, appearing from 1913 on at La Scala. He sang at the Chicago Opera
(1919-1922) and at the Metropolitan Opera (1922-1935). He served as the Met's
director from 1935 to 1950. The Van der Stucken song is one of Johnson's
earliest and rarest recordings.
Leoncavallo
Pagliacci: Vesti la giubba
Van der Stucken O come with me in the summer's
night
Jones was a most versatile artist covering an astonishing repertoire. He
studied with the best of teachers, Colli in Italy, Scheidemantel in Germany, and
John Coates in England. He sang with all the major British companies (British
National, D'Oyly Carte, Carl Rosa, Beecham and Covent Garden) and concertized
extensively.
Mendelssohn Elijah: Then
shall the righteous
Warlock As ever I saw
Although definitely past his prime when he recorded, Lloyd had been
considered the outstanding English concert singer of his time, despite never
completing formal vocal training. Between 1852 and 1871, he was a member of
various choirs. His solo career began with the tenor part in the
St. Matthew Passion at the Gloucester Festival in 1871. He sang at many
English music festivals, where he created tenor parts in oratorios by Parry,
Gounod, Mackenzie, Sullivan, and Elgar. He was the first tenor to sing the title
role in Elgar's Dream of Gerontius. Though he never appeared in opera,
he sang many arias in his concerts; the aria from Queen of Sheba was his
signature tune, and George Bernard Shaw said if he sang it once in a season, he
sang it a hundred times. Perhaps due to his lack of formal training, Lloyd's
voice left him early, and he retired in 1900.
Gounod Reine de Saba: Lend me your aid
(recorded 1905)
One of the deepest basses on records, McEachern was born in New South Wales.
His first appearancess were in his native Australia in oratorio and concert. He
was discovered by Dame Nellie Melba, who engaged him as principal bass for one
of her tours of the Antipodes. In 1917 he embarked on a two-year concert tour
which took him to many Commonwealth countries and to major cities in the United
States. In England, he appeared often at most major concert halls under the
batons of Sir Henry Wood and John Barbirolli, among others. About 1925,
McEachern teamed with B. C. Hilliam to form the popular music-hall team of
Flotsam and Jetsam. However, he continued to appear regularly on the concert
stage and on recordings. "The Horn" is a fine example of McEachern's
early voice, and the Mendelssohn aria shows him toward the end of his career,
perhaps not as fully voiced but certainly a lot of fun.
Fischer
In Cellar Cool
Flegier
Horn, The
Gounod Nazareth
Handel Judas Maccabeus: Arm, arm ye brave
Handel Messiah: Why do the nations?
Handel Samson: Honour and Arms
Mendelssohn Sons and Strangers: I am a roamer
(acoustic)
Mendelssohn
Sons and Strangers: I am a roamer (electric)
Trotere Deathless Army, The
Weiss
Village Blacksmith, The
Following his debut in 1913, Mullings became the leading dramatic tenor for
Beecham (1916-21) and the British National Opera Company (1922-1926), singing
Canio, Parsifal, Siegfried, Samson, Tannhäuser, Otello, and Tristan. Sir
Neville Cardus said, "in Pagliacci he reduced all other singers to
the silliest operatics, not excepting Caruso, by the tragic gusto he
generated... I call him actor, because his voice, a tenor, was often strangled
by unnatural production, yet it was the most histrionic voice I have heard
amongst all the tenors known or suffered by me; and as an artist with powers to
incarnate a dramatic conception, I have known only one in opera who was his
superior, and that was Chaliapin."
Gounod Reine de Saba: Lend me your aid
Leoncavallo Pagliacci: On with the motley
Verdi Otello: Love Duet
(w. Miriam Licette)
Wagner
Tannhäuser: Rome Narrative
Discovered by the soprano Marie Brema, and not beginning his career until he
was 30 years of age, Nash came to be called the finest English lyric tenor
within memory. He studied voice with Giuseppe Borgatti (famous for Verdi's
Otello and for Wagner) and made his debut in Milan in 1924. He sang at a number
of Italian theaters before returning to England in 1925 where he first appeared
at the Old Vic Theater and with the British National Opera Company. He made his
Covent Garden debut in 1929 and had a long and successful career there and in
oratorio, retiring from the stage in 1947. He was a regular at Glyndebourne
after 1934, and can heard on the Busch Cosi fan tutte and
Nozze di Figaro recordings.
Bizet Jolie
Fille de Perth: Serenade
Donizetti Favorite:
Spirit so fair
Handel Judas Maccabeus:How
vain is man
Handel Judas Maccabeus: Sound
an alarm
Born in Cork, Ireland, he studied at the National Conservatory in Paris
before debuting in England (1909), Toulouse (1910), Geneva (1912) and Lyons
(1913). He sang at the Paris Opera (1914-19) and Chicago Opera (1918-20). He
sang on all of the leading Italian stages (1922-27), as a guest at Covent
Garden (1926) and frequently in South America. He last appeared at the Paris
Opera in 1934. He was noted for one of the biggest and most brilliant top voices
of all tenors and was the favorite singer of the writer, James Joyce.
Rossini Guglielmo Tell: O muto asil
Verdi Otello: Esultate
Verdi
Otello: Dio mi potevi scagliar
Although acclaimed as "Vienna's Italian Tenor" for roughly 35
years, Piccaver had been born in Nottingham, England. At the age of 17, his
family moved to the United States (Albany, N.Y), where he studied electricity
and worked in Edison's laboratory. Although he spent some time at the
Metropolitan Opera School, his voice was discovered during a European trip and
he was engaged for the German Theater in Prague in 1907. His sucess there led to
his engagement by the Vienna Opera in 1912, where he remained until his
retirement from the operatic stage in 1937. He is one of the few non-Germans
ever named an Honored Artist in Vienna. Lotte Lehmann declared Piccaver her
favorite partner on stage. Shortly before World War II, Piccaver returned to
England, where he continued to sing in concert and to record. Despite having one
of the most beautiful voices of his time, Piccaver was notoriously lazy.
Although he was to have created Calaf for the German-speaking world, he
evidently didn't bother to learn the role in time and the honor fell to Richard
Tauber.
Donizetti Don Sebastiano: Deserto
in terra
Geehl For you alone
Puccini Turandot: Non piangere Liu
Tosti Beauty's Eyes
Tosti Pour
un baiser
Weber Silvana: So soll denn
dieses Herz nie Liebe finden
Woodeford-Finden
Kashmiri Song
Radford studied at the Royal Academy of Music and debuted in concert in 1899
and at Covent Garden in 1904 as the Commendatore in Don Giovanni. He was
very successful at Covent Garden and appeared in 1910 in Mozart roles at His
Majesty's Theater. In 1921 he became a founder of the British National Opera
Company, taking over its direction. He was the first to sing the role of Boris
Godunov in England and was famous for his Wagnerian roles. In 1929, he became a
professor at the Royal Academy of Music. Radford never appeared outside England.
Handel Scipione: Hear me, ye winds and waves
Mozart
Nozze di Figaro: I'll have vengeance
Ranalow studied at the Royal Acadamy of Music and appeared with the Royal
Choral Society and in concert throughout England including the Promenade and the
Queen's Hall Ballad concerts. He was a leading baritone with the Beecham
Company, and was well known for his Sachs. The role for which he is best
remembered is that of Macheath in The Beggar's Opera, which he played in
a production at the Lyric Theater for 1463 performances.
Gay
Beggar's Opera: My heart was free
Gay
Beggar's Opera: How happy I could be
Gay
Beggar's Opera: If the heart of a man
Born nine years before Patti and a student of Manuel Garcia in London, he
debuted in Pavia in 1858. His first great successes came from guest appearances
in Italy, France, and England, particularly at the Paris Opera and Covent
Garden. In 1863, he sang the role of Valentin in the first British Faust
at her Majesty's Theater London in the presence of the composer. After this
production, Gounod composed Valentin's "Even bravest heart may swell"
for him. In 1871 and 1891 he undertook highly successful American tours. He left
the stage in 1900 and thereafter gave only concerts. He ended his career as a
teacher of voice, one of his students being Peter Dawson. The recordings on this
disc were made in 1903, when Santley was 69 years of age; his last recordings
were made when he was nearly 75.
Hatton Simon the
Cellarer
Hatton
To Anthea
Mozart
Nozze di Figaro: Non piu andrai
Sullivan
Thou art passing hence
Watson
Vicar of Bray, The
Like many other British singers of the time, Watkin-Mills chose a concert
career over the opera stage. During this period in Britain, concert included
oratorio, which was at a height of popularity possibly exceeding that of opera.
Although lacking the voice or temperament for opera, Watkin-Mills fascinated his
audiences with his Handelian runs and vocalization hurled out with force and
clarity. He finally settled in Toronto, Canada and led his own choral society.
Handel Judas Maccabeus: Arm, arm ye brave
(recorded 1908)
Handel Judas Maccabeus:
The Lord worketh wonders (recorded 1907)
Handel
Samson: Honour and arms (recorded 1907)
Wendon was the leading tenor at the Sadler's Wells Company during the 1930's
where he excelled as Lohengrin. He sang Froh at Covent Garden during the 1934-38
International seasons, and Turiddu, Alfred in
Fledermaus and Pinkerton to the Butterfly of Maggie Teyte for the
English seasons.
Coleridge-Taylor
Eleanore
An important Wagnerian tenor, Widdop sang opposite Leider and Flagstad. He
debuted with the British National Company in 1923 and sang at Covent Garden
(1923-38). He also appeared in Barcelona, Amsterdam and Germany.
Borodin Prince Igor: Vladimir's Aria
Gounod
Reine de Saba: Lend me your aid
Wagner
Lohengrin: In distant lands
Wallace Maritana:
Yes! Let me like a soldier fall
Miriam Licette (1892-1969) studied voice with Mathilde Marchesi and Jean de Reszke in Paris, and with Sabatini (John McCormack's teacher) in Milan. She made her debut in Rome (1913) as Butterfly, and then sang at the Genoa Opera. She was the prima donna of the Beecham Opera Company and sang several seasons at Covent Garden. She joined the British National Opera Company in 1922 and enjoyed great success in Otello opposite Mullings. She sang again at Covent Garden (1928-29) before giving up the stage in 1938 to found an opera school in London.
Margherita Perras (1908-1984) was born in Greece, studied in Berlin and debuted there (1927) in a school performance of Don Pasquale. She was immediately contracted by Bruno Walter for the Berlin City Opera, which she left in 1930 for the State Opera. She was concurrently active at the Vienna Opera (1936-40). She appeared as a guest at other major houses and at the Glyndebourne and Salzburg Festivals.
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