Walter Midgley (13 September 1912 – 18 September 1980) was an English

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

who sang leading roles at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

and elsewhere from the 1930s to the 1950s.

Early life

Midgley was born in Bramley, near

Rotherham Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...

. After leaving school, he worked as a clerk in a steelworks in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

while learning to play musical instruments and sing in choirs during his spare time. In order to earn enough to pay for singing lessons, he formed a dance-band and eventually enrolled in the Sheffield School of Music. He auditioned for the

Carl Rosa Opera Company The Carl Rosa Opera Company was founded in 1873 by Carl Rosa, a German-born musical impresario, and his wife, British operatic soprano Euphrosyne Parepa-Rosa to present opera in English in London and the British provinces. The company premiere ...

and was engaged as a chorister, subsequently playing small parts and eventually making his debut as a principal in the role of Rodolfo in ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...

''. Before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he also sang with the

Sadler's Wells Sadler's Wells Theatre is a London performing arts venue, located in Rosebery Avenue, Islington. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site. Sadler's Wells grew out of a late 17th-century pleasure garden and was opened as a theatre buil ...

company. He also sang with Geraldo on

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

. After the war he became principal tenor at the

, Covent Garden, making his debut as Calaf in ''

Turandot ''Turandot'' ( ; see #Origin and pronunciation of the name, below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. Puccini left the opera unfinished at the time of his death in 1924; it ...

''. He sang major tenor roles from 1951 to 1953 but left after a difference with the management and never returned. On 31 December 1952 during ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...

'' at Covent Garden, while he was singing "Questa o quella", Midgley swallowed his false moustache. This incident made newspaper headlines all over the world and the story has become a classic. But far from being amusing, it was very worrying. He completed the first act and the opera house staff were able to retrieve some of the offending article in the interval, but the next day an operation to remove the gauze was needed. For him it was a case of 'the show must go on' but the accident caused him much discomfort for some months after. He was married to the pianist Gladys Vernon, and their children Maryetta Midgley and Vernon Midgley became accomplished singers in their own right. He once appeared with his wife and children on the long-running BBC Radio programme '' Friday Night Is Music Night'', the only occasion on which all four Midgleys were to perform together in public.

Final work and death

He died in 1980 having that day completed another of his very popular

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

series, ''Walter Midgley Remembers''.

Early life

Final work and death

References

Further reading