Winton Basil Dean (18 March 1916 – 19 December 2013) was an English musicologist of the 20th century, most famous for his research on the life and works—in particular the

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

s and

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...

s—of

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

, as detailed in his book ''Handel's Dramatic Oratorios and Masques'' (1959). Dean was born in

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liv ...

in March 1916, the son of the film and theatre producer Basil Dean.Sadie, Stanley. Winton (Basil) Dean. In: '' The New Grove Dictionary of Opera''. Macmillan, London & New York, 1997. He was educated at Harrow and

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

, where he took part in stagings of Handel oratorios in the 1930s. After World War II, he became notable as a writer on music, particularly when he published several articles about the compositions of

Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', which has become on ...

, starting with ''La Coupe du roi de Thulé'' in '' Music & Letters'' in 1947. He considerably rewrote his 1948 book on Bizet in 1965 due to new material and music of the composer which had since emerged. Porter, Andrew. Obituary - Winton Dean. ''

Opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

'', May 2014, Vol 65 No 5, p578-9. From 1965 he wrote articles criticizing the Oeser edition of ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the ...

'', listing many mistakes, describing it as "a musicological disaster of the first magnitude", and continued to point out its errors in reviews of subsequent performances and recordings. In the 1954 Grove he contributed an extended essay on 'criticism', ending with a long list of the necessary qualifications for a critic. However, Handel became his main focus; and apart from the book already mentioned, he also published ''Handel and the Opera Seria'' (Berkeley, 1969), and a more general ''Essays on Opera'' (Oxford, 1990, 2/1993). His definitive two-volume work on Handel operas was published in 1987 and 2006, and set new standards in Handel scholarship and did much to help the revival of stagings of Handel's operas. Dean contributed heavily to a number of musicological publications, including ''

The Musical Times ''The Musical Times'' is an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom and currently the oldest such journal still being published in the country. It was originally created by Joseph Mainzer in 1842 as ''Mainzer ...

'' and ''

'', as well as to '' The Listener'' and record sleeve notes. His writings include studies of

French Opera French opera is one of Europe's most important operatic traditions, containing works by composers of the stature of Rameau, Berlioz, Gounod, Bizet, Massenet, Debussy, Ravel, Poulenc and Messiaen. Many foreign-born composers have played a pa ...

,Including chapter II on French Opera in ''The New Oxford History of Music – The Age of Beethoven 1790-1820'', OUP, 1982. and also

Italian Opera Italian opera is both the art of opera in Italy and opera in the Italian language. Opera was born in Italy around the year 1600 and Italian opera has continued to play a dominant role in the history of the form until the present day. Many famous ...

before the dominance of

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the ...

. His reputation rests principally upon his analyses of Handel's output, and ''Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques'' is widely acknowledged as a seminal work not only in Handel scholarship but also in musicology as a whole, thanks to its detailed discussion of original documents and thorough approach to the topic. He died in Hambledon, Surrey in December 2013 at the age of 97.

Major publications

* * * * *

Notes

References

*Stanley Sadie: "Dean, Winton", ''Grove Music Online'' ed L. Macy (Accessed 11 December 2006)
grovemusic.com
subscription access.
Winton Dean's obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dean, Winton 1916 births 2013 deaths Alumni of King's College, Cambridge English musicologists People from Birkenhead Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music People educated at Harrow School Handel Prize winners 20th-century British musicologists 21st-century musicologists 20th-century English non-fiction writers 21st-century British non-fiction writers 20th-century English male writers 21st-century English male writers Writers from Merseyside Handel scholars