Sir Thomas Boaz Allen (born 10 September 1944) is an English operatic

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

. He is widely admired in the opera world for his voice, the versatility of his repertoire, and his acting—leading many to regard him as one of the best lyric baritones of the late 20th century. From 2012 to 2022 he served as

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

Early years

Born to Florence and Thomas Allen in the mining village of Seaham Harbour, County Durham, in 1944, Thomas Allen studied at Ryhope Grammar School from 1955 to 1964, becoming captain of his house and later

head boy The two Senior Prefects, individually called Head Boy (for the male), and Head Girl (for the female) are students who carry leadership roles and are responsible for representing the school's entire student body. Although mostly out of use, in some ...

while also doing well in sports, such as in athletics, rugby and especially golf. It was during his time at school that his singing voice was first observed by the then Physics master, Denis Weatherley, himself a well-known baritone in the county and especially renowned for Northumberland songs. Weatherley would then go on to be Allen's first tutor, training the young baritone during lunch breaks. Allen's initial ambition was to be a doctor but this was later abandoned when he won a place at the Royal College of Music in 1964, where he studied with Hervey Alan for four years, specialising in

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

and Lieder until 1968. In his final term he made his operatic stage debut as the baritone lead in the Royal College of Music Opera School production of Arthur Benjamin's opera ''Prima Donna''. He also won the prestigious Queen's Prize while studying at the college which allowed him to study under James Lockhart, who noticed his talents. Under Lockhart, Allen then shifted his attention from Lieder and oratorio to opera and in 1969, he made his debut as D'Obigny in Verdi's '' La traviata'' with the Welsh National Opera (WNO). His early roles with the WNO also included

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

's Almaviva, Guglielmo and Papageno, Rossini's Figaro, Falke in '' Die Fledermaus'', Billy Budd, Posa,

Eugene Onegin ''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' (, Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: Евгеній Онѣгинъ, романъ въ стихахъ, ) is a novel in verse written by Alexander Pushkin. ''Onegin'' is considered a classic of ...

and Germont. In 1971, he made his Covent Garden debut as Donald in '' Billy Budd'' and he joined the company the following year. His solo Glyndebourne Festival debut was as Papageno in 1973. On 7 August 1974, during his BBC Proms performance, Allen collapsed at the end of his second solo, tried to recover for his third but collapsed again and was taken from the stage (he was replaced by Patrick McCarthy). He returned as Figaro in Mozart's '' The Marriage of Figaro'' (1974), Guglielmo (1975) and

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...

(1977) and it was during this time that he was hailed by one music critic as the finest English baritone since Sir Charles Santley.Loppert, Max. ''Opera Magazine'', July 1978 He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1981 as Papageno. He left Covent Garden to become a freelance singer in 1979 although he still remains a guest artist with the company. He sang the title role in the British stage premiere of Busoni's '' Doktor Faust'' for the

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is a British opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in E ...

in 1986 (a performance which was also commended in the 1986 Laurence Olivier Awards when the production won the award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera), while his debut at the Salzburg Festival was as Ulisse in Monteverdi's '' Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria'' in 1985. His Chicago debut was Rossini's Figaro in ''The Barber of Seville'' in 1989.

Present work

More recently, Allen has performed Eisenstein in '' Die Fledermaus'', Don Alfonso, Ulisse and Don Giovanni at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Don Giovanni at La Scala, Yeletsky (in '' The Queen of Spades''), Sharpless (in '' Madama Butterfly''), and the title role in '' Sweeney Todd'' at the Royal Opera House, Eisenstein at the Glyndebourne Festival, Don Alfonso at the Salzburg Easter and Summer Festivals, Forester ('' The Cunning Little Vixen'') at the San Francisco Opera and Beckmesser (in '' Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'') at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Allen also appears in recital in the United Kingdom, throughout Europe, in Australia and America, with his recital repertoire no less extensive than his operatic one; ranging from German Lieder, French songs by Duparc, and English song cycles by Ralph Vaughan Williams to musical numbers by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Jerome Kern and

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

. He has also recorded oratorio and choral works such as Brahms' '' Ein deutsches Requiem'', Handel's ''

Saul Saul (; , ; , ; ) was a monarch of ancient Israel and Judah and, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament, the first king of the United Monarchy, a polity of uncertain historicity. His reign, traditionally placed in the late eleventh c ...

'', and Orff's '' Carmina Burana''. The greatest part of his repertoire has been extensively recorded with such distinguished conductors as Sir Georg Solti, James Levine, Sir Neville Marriner, Sir Bernard Haitink, Sir Simon Rattle, Wolfgang Sawallisch and Riccardo Muti. In 1989, he was made a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE). In 1999, he was knighted. Both awards were for his services to opera. In 1998 he was named a member of the Royal Opera's Opera Advisory Board, the first time a singer had been given such an appointment. Allen's first book, ''Foreign Parts – A Singer's Journal'' was published in 1993. In November 2002, he directed for the first time in Britten's '' Albert Herring'' at the Royal College of Music. Other directorial credits include Mozart's ''

Così fan tutte (''Women are like that, or The School for Lovers''), Köchel catalogue, K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written ...

'' and ''

'' (for Samling, of which he is the patron) at Sage Gateshead. In 2006, he made his American directorial debut with a production of

's '' The Marriage of Figaro'' for Arizona Opera. In 2007, he directed a new production of ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy ' ...

'' for Scottish Opera. He has directed a new production of ''The Marriage of Figaro'' for the company which premiered in Glasgow in October 2010. He also performed as the Narrator/Dr. Pangloss in the 2005 concert of

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

's ''

Candide ( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled ''Candide: or, All for the Best'' (1759); ''Candide: or, The ...

'' at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, New York City. Allen has now performed at Covent Garden for over 35 years, recently having played in total 50 roles with the company, with Faninal from Richard Strauss' '' Der Rosenkavalier'' marking his 50th role in December 2009. The 25th anniversary of his debut at the Metropolitan Opera was celebrated in 2006. Allen has also been revealed as being the model and inspiration in developing the now famous character of Billy Elliot in the play of the same name by Lee Hall. In September 2008, he performed under the direction of

Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

in Puccini's '' Gianni Schicchi'' for the Los Angeles Opera as well as at the Spoleto Festival in June 2009. The year 2009 marked the 40th anniversary of his professional debut at the WNO in 1969, also marking the four decades he has been in the opera world. During the same year, he took part in the annual BBC Proms, singing songs from numerous MGM musicals such as '' Gigi'', '' Kismet'' and '' On the Town'' at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

, London. In the 2009/10 opera season, he appeared in operas in America, Germany and the United Kingdom; as Faninal in Der Rosenkavalier, Don Alfonso in ''Così fan tutte'', Prosdocimo in '' Il turco in Italia'' and Gianni Schicchi at Covent Garden. On 11 October 2011 Allen was appointed

by the University's

Convocation A convocation (from the Latin ''wikt:convocare, convocare'' meaning "to call/come together", a translation of the Ancient Greek, Greek wikt:ἐκκλησία, ἐκκλησία ''ekklēsia'') is a group of people formally assembled for a specia ...

, to serve from 1 January 2012 in succession to Bill Bryson. His first concert with the university took place in

Durham Cathedral Durham Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Durham, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Durham and is the Mother Church#Cathedral, mother church of the diocese of Durham. It also contains the ...

on 1 June 2013, appearing alongside over 100 student performers. On 27 January 2012, Allen marked his 40th anniversary at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, singing the rôle of Don Alfonso in ''Così fan tutte''. On 4 November 2021, Durham University announced Allen would step down from his role as Chancellor in July 2022. In 2015, he sang the rôle of Baron Zeta in the Metropolitan Opera's production of Franz Lehár's operetta '' The Merry Widow'', which he reprised at the Met in 2017.''

Personal life

He is a supporter of Sunderland A.F.C. In 2011, he took part in the Sunderland A.F.C. charity Foundation of Light event.

Honours

*Bayerischer Kammersänger, awarded by the Bavarian State Opera *Honorary Membership of the Royal Academy of Music *Visiting Professor of Singing at the Royal Academy of Music *Hambro Visiting Professorship of Opera Studies at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

*Honorary Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford *

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

ship of the Royal College of Music *Fellowship of the University of Sunderland * M.A. from University of Newcastle * Doctor of Music (DMus) degree from

and the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

. *In the 1989 New Year Honours he was created a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) *In the 1999 Queen's Birthday Honours he was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

and therefore a sir * The Queen's Medal for Music 2013. His film credits include ''The Real Don Giovanni'' and '' Mrs Henderson Presents''.

References

External links