Gerald English (6 November 1925 – 6 February 2019) was an English

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors i ...

. He performed operatic and concert repertoire, was a recording artist, and was a sometime academic. He gave many premiere performances of works by composers such as

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...

, Hans Werner Henze,

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

, Michael Tippett and Andrew Ford, often under their own direction. He also sang under the batons of

Ernest Ansermet Ernest Alexandre Ansermet (; 11 November 1883 – 20 February 1969)"Ansermet, Ernest" in '' The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 435. was a Swiss conductor. Biography Ansermet ...

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

, Sir John Barbirolli and Sir

Thomas Beecham Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (29 April 18798 March 1961) was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic and the Roya ...

. He sang opera for the

Glyndebourne Festival Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an annual opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England. History Under the supervision of the Christie family, the festival has been held annually since 1934, e ...

The Royal Opera The Royal Opera is a British opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Along with the English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Cov ...

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

, La Scala and in Sydney, Adelaide, Manchester, Edinburgh, Florence, Rome, Paris, Buenos Aires, Vienna, Barcelona, and Sadler's Wells. He also performed in concerts in America, as well as in cities like Brussels, Rome,

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

, Stockholm, Lisbon, Amsterdam or

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...

Biography

Gerald Alfred English was born in 1925. His father, a chemist, wanted him to be a mathematician. His family moved to France when he was two years old, and he lived in northern France for 14 years.Georgina Safe, ''Lifelike slip on to Freudian couch'', Weekend Australian, 13–14 January 2001 In World War II he spent four years in military intelligence, where he spent much of his time listening to secret German communications from a base on the bleak Yorkshire moors. One of his colleagues during that time was the composer Peter Wishart. He became a student at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

. At age 25, he became a member of the St. Paul's Cathedral Choir and, shortly thereafter, the Deller Consort, where his continental upbringing proved of value in singing idiomatic French. During this time, he also began to build a reputation as a recitalist, gaining particular authority as an interpreter of the songs of

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (; 12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers ...

. He sang many opera performances in a wide-ranging repertory that covered several centuries. He was as comfortable and authentic in

Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is conside ...

as he was in the music of his own time. He had many years of experience in music of the Elizabethan period. English's debut in opera took place with the English Opera Group in 1956 when he sang the evil Peter Quint in Benjamin Britten's ''

The Turn of the Screw ''The Turn of the Screw'' is an 1898 horror novella by Henry James which first appeared in serial format in ''Collier's Weekly'' (January 27 – April 16, 1898). In October 1898, it was collected in ''The Two Magics'', published by Macmilla ...

'' under the composer's direction. He also sang the role in Milan. English received good notices for his interpretations in works by contemporary composers such as Tippett,

Richard Rodney Bennett Sir Richard Rodney Bennett (29 March 193624 December 2012) was an English composer of film, TV and concert music, and also a jazz pianist and occasional vocalist. He was based in New York City from 1979 until his death there in 2012. Zachary Wo ...

(who had requested him for the title role in ''The Ledge''), Stravinsky,

Luigi Dallapiccola Luigi Dallapiccola (February 3, 1904 – February 19, 1975) was an Italian composer known for his lyrical twelve-tone compositions. Biography Dallapiccola was born in Pisino d'Istria (at the time part of Austria-Hungary, current Pazin, Cr ...

, and Henze. He appeared at the Glyndebourne Festival 1962–1964 (where he sang in Monteverdi's ''

L'incoronazione di Poppea ''L'incoronazione di Poppea'' (Stattkus-Verzeichnis, SV 308, ''The Coronation of Poppaea'') is an Italian List of operas by Claudio Monteverdi, opera by Claudio Monteverdi. It was Monteverdi's last opera, with a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Buse ...

''), and in 1963 at the Grand Opéra Paris (as Andres in

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( , ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sm ...

's '' Wozzeck''). From 1960 to 1977, English was a professor at his alma mater, the

, and tutor in singing at New College, Oxford. During 1968–1969 he was with others in Rio de Janeiro, Toronto, Brussels, Stockholm, Rome, Cologne, Amsterdam and Lisbon in a successful concert program, which included works from both the Baroque era, in particular of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

, and from the modern era. In 1973, he was artist-in-residence for universities in Western Australia and New South Wales. In 1977, he became Founding Director of the Opera Studio of the Victorian College of the Arts in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

. He also supervised postgraduate vocal studies in baroque music and movement. Gerald sang

Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, baptised Leo Eugen Janáček; 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic musics, including Eastern European ...

's song cycle '' The Diary of One Who Disappeared'' as part of the 1992 Melbourne International Festival, and in the same year premiered Andrew Ford's ''Harbour'' with the

Australian Chamber Orchestra The Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) was founded by cellist John Painter in 1975.Verghis, Sharon"Bach with more bite pays off" ''Sydney Morning Herald'', 2 September 2005. Richard Tognetti was appointed Lead Violin in 1989 and subsequently ap ...

. Other highlights include the role of the story teller in Peter Tahourdin's ''Heloise and Abelard'' for the West Australian Opera,

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

's ''Chansons madécasses'' with the Australia Ensemble, performances of Peggy Glanville-Hicks' ''Letters from Morocco'' with the Hunter Orchestra and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, and the soloist in scenes and interludes from

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde composers in the latter half of the twentieth century" ...

's '' Le Grand Macabre'' with the

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an Australian orchestra based in Melbourne. The MSO is resident at Hamer Hall. The MSO has its own choir, the MSO Chorus, following integration with the Melbourne Chorale in 2008. The MSO relies on f ...

. On 13 May 1989 English was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Music from the University of Sydney. Professor JM Ward, A.O, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University presented the degree as follows: In 1993 he was awarded one of the prestigious Australian Creative Artists' Fellowships. In 1995, he persuaded 13 Australian composers to each write a piece, to be showcased at the Gerald English Birthday Concert in honour of his 70th birthday. The composers who contributed included; Tony Bremner, Roger Smalley, Richard David Hames,

Gordon Kerry Gordon Kerry (born 1961) is an Australian composer, music administrator, music writer and music critic. Career Kerry studied composition at the University of Melbourne under Barry Conyngham. He then worked for the Sydney Festival and resided i ...

, Nigel Butterley, Wilfrid Mellers, Stephen Cronin, Andrew Ford, Michael Finnissy, George Tibbits,

Peter Sculthorpe Peter Joshua Sculthorpe (29 April 1929 – 8 August 2014) was an Australian composer. Much of his music resulted from an interest in the music of countries neighboring Australia as well as from the impulse to bring together aspects of Aborigin ...

, Ross Edwards and Martin Wesley-Smith. Premiere performances include Benjamin Britten's ''

Nocturne A nocturne is a musical composition that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night. History The term ''nocturne'' (from French '' nocturne'' 'of the night') was first applied to musical pieces in the 18th century, when it indicated an ensemb ...

'' with Sir John Barbirolli conducting the Hallé Orchestra, Henze's ''We Come to the River'' directed by the composer at Covent Garden, Dallapicolla's ''Ulisse'' conducted by the composer in Rome, and

Luciano Berio Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled '' Sequenza''), and for his pioneering wo ...

's ''Opera'' for the Florence Festival. He has also premiered 12 pieces by the Australian composer and broadcaster Andrew Ford. The one-man music-theatre piece ''Night and Dreams: the death of

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies explained as originatin ...

'' was commissioned by the 2000

Adelaide Festival The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...

. Gerald English made many recordings, including the complete works of Monteverdi. He recorded cantatas by

Telemann Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hi ...

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his train ...

and Bach with the group Il Pastor Fido. Other composers he recorded include Andrew Ford, Peggy Glanville-Hicks, Vaughan Williams (''

The Pilgrim's Progress ''The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come'' is a 1678 Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of theological fiction in English literature and a progenitor of the ...

''),

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest En ...

(''Te Deum''),

John Dowland John Dowland (c. 1563 – buried 20 February 1626) was an English Renaissance composer, lutenist, and singer. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as "Come, heavy sleep", " Come again", " Flow my tears", " I saw my Lady weepe" ...

and

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

Conductors Gerald English performed with as soloist

Claudio Abbado Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony ...

, Karel Ančerl,

, David Atherton, Sir John Barbirolli,

Daniel Barenboim Daniel Barenboim (; in he, דניאל בארנבוים, born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. He has been since 1992 General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeist ...

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music. Born in Mon ...

, Sir

Adrian Boult Sir Adrian Cedric Boult, CH (; 8 April 1889 – 22 February 1983) was an English conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family, he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, with early conducting work in Londo ...

, Oleg Caetani, Basil Cameron,

Stuart Challender Stuart David Challender (19 February 194713 December 1991) was an Australian conductor, known particularly for his work with Opera Australia, The Australian Opera, Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, Elizabethan Sydney Orchestra and the Sydn ...

, Meredith Davies, Sir Colin Davis,

, Christoph von Dohnányi,

Antal Doráti Antal Doráti (, , ; 9 April 1906 – 13 November 1988) was a Hungarian-born conductor and composer who became a naturalized American citizen in 1943. Biography Antal Doráti was born in Budapest, where his father Alexander Doráti was a v ...

, Sir Edward Downes, Sir

Mark Elder Sir Mark Philip Elder (born 2 June 1947) is a British conductor. He is currently music director of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, England. Life and career Elder was born in Hexham, Northumberland, the son of a dentist. He played the ...

, Lawrence Foster, Sir Alexander Gibson, Berthold Goldschmidt, Harold Gray,Birmingham Town Hall~8.6.1969~CBSO~Birmingham Choral Union & Hallé Choir Sir Charles Groves,

Bernard Haitink Bernard Johan Herman Haitink (; 4 March 1929 – 21 October 2021) was a Dutch conductor and violinist. He was the principal conductor of several international orchestras, beginning with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1961. He moved to Lon ...

, Vernon Handley, Hans Werner Henze, John Hopkins, Hiroyuki Iwaki,

Otto Klemperer Otto Nossan Klemperer (14 May 18856 July 1973) was a 20th-century conductor and composer, originally based in Germany, and then the US, Hungary and finally Britain. His early career was in opera houses, but he was later better known as a concer ...

Raymond Leppard Raymond John Leppard (11 August 1927 – 22 October 2019) was a British-American conductor, harpsichordist, composer and editor. In the 1960s, he played a prime role in the rebirth of interest in Baroque music; in particular, he was one of th ...

, Sir Anthony Lewis,

Witold Lutosławski Witold Roman Lutosławski (; 25 January 1913 – 7 February 1994) was a Polish composer and conductor. Among the major composers of 20th-century classical music, he is "generally regarded as the most significant Polish composer since Szyma ...

, Peter Maag,

Lorin Maazel Lorin Varencove Maazel (, March 6, 1930 – July 13, 2014) was an American conductor, violinist and composer. He began conducting at the age of eight and by 1953 had decided to pursue a career in music. He had established a reputation in th ...

, Sir

Charles Mackerras Mackerras in 2005 Sir Alan Charles MacLaurin Mackerras (; 1925 2010) was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. He was long associated with the Engl ...

Bruno Maderna Bruno Maderna (21 April 1920 – 13 November 1973) was an Italian conductor and composer. Life Maderna was born Bruno Grossato in Venice but later decided to take the name of his mother, Caterina Carolina Maderna.Interview with Maderna‘s thr ...

, Igor Markevitch, Jean Martinon, David Measham,

Krzysztof Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best known works include '' Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', '' Polish Requiem'', ...

, David Porcelijn, Georges Prêtre,

André Previn André George Previn (; born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929 – February 28, 2019) was a German-American pianist, composer, and conductor. His career had three major genres: Hollywood films, jazz, and classical music. In each he achieve ...

, Sir

Simon Rattle Sir Simon Denis Rattle (born 19 January 1955) is a British-German conductor. He rose to international prominence during the 1980s and 1990s, while music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980–1998). Rattle was principa ...

, Sir Malcolm Sargent, Eric Schmid, Markus Stenz,

, Sir Michael Tippett,

Edo de Waart Edo de Waart (born 1 June 1941, Amsterdam) is a Dutch conductor. He is Music Director Laureate of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. De Waart is the former chief conductor of the Royal Flemish Philharmonic (2011-2016), Artistic Partner with the ...

Orchestras Gerald English sang solo with

Australia and New Zealand

*Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, *Brisbane Symphony Orchestra, *Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, *Sydney Symphony Orchestra, *Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, *West Australian Symphony Orchestra, *Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, *New Zealand Radio Orchestra,

Asia

*Singapore Symphony Orchestra, *Hong Kong Symphony *Israel Philharmonic, *Tel Aviv Chamber Orchestra

Europe

Austria Austrian Radio Orchestra, Czechoslovakia Czech National Orchestra, Prague Symphony Orchestra, Prague Chamber Orchestra, Germany Philharmonisches Staatsorcherester Hamburg, Radio Symphony Orchestra Saarbrucken, WDR Radio Orchestra Cologne, Collegium Auriem, France Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre national Bordeaux Aquitaine, French National Radio Orchestra, Belgium Brussels Radio Symphony Orchestra Liege, Namu, Netherlands Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Spain Orqesta Ciudad de Barcelona, Orchestra Nacional Spain, Madrid Symphony Orchestra, Alhambra Concerts, Barcelona Concerts, San Sebastian Concerts. Portugal Lisbon National Orchestra, Oporto Opera Orchestra, Gulbenian Centre Orchestra, Italy Turin Opera House Orchestra, La Scala Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfonica de Milano, Orchestra de Milano RAI RAI Roma, Orchestra Santa Cecilia Roma, Naples, Florence Opera Orchestra, UK London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, English Chamber Orchestra, Bournemouth Sinfoietta, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, The Philaharmonia, Royal Philharmonic, Mozart Players, St. Martin in the Fields, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Halle Orchestra, Liverpool Philaharmonic, Other Hungarian State Orchestra Dubrovnik Orchestra

North America

Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Ottawa Symphony Orchestra

South America

Orquesta Filharmonica de Buenos Aires, Argentina, Brazil Rio de Janeiro Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Notes

References

Move Records: Gerald EnglishBiography on Answer.com
ic*Gerald English: A 70th Birthday Celebration, 5 November 1995, program by Tall Poppies. {{DEFAULTSORT:English, Gerald 1925 births 2019 deaths English operatic tenors English expatriates in Australia Place of birth missing Alumni of the Royal College of Music British military personnel of World War II 20th-century British male opera singers 21st-century British male opera singers