Baritone-biography
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Thomas Allen (baritone)
English operatic baritone (born 1944)
Sir Thomas Boaz AllenCBE FRCM (born 10 September 1944) is an English operatic baritone. 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 of Durham University.
Early years
[edit]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 while also doing well in sports, such as in athletics, rugby and especially golf.[1]
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
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Midlands born baritone, Edward Robinson studied at the Royal Northern College of Music as the Oglesby Trust and Drapers de Turckheim Scholar, under the tutorship of the internationally acclaimed baritone, Quentin Hayes.
Edward’s passion for opera has lead him to perform in a number of innovative productions during his career. Edward’s operatic achievements include the role of Pilgrim The Pilgrim's Progress, Marco Gianni Schicchi, Don Pedro Much Ado About Nothing, Silas The Orphans of Koombu, Valens Theodora, Bobinet La Vie Parisienne, Le Surintendant des plaisirs Cendrillon, Sicario Macbeth, Antonio Le Nozze di Figaro and Boy 2 Trouble in Tahiti; performing with Dorset Opera Festival, Clonter Opera, Northern Opera Group and as a young artist at The Buxton International Festival, 2018 and 2019.
As a baritone soloist, Edward has performed at venues such as the Opéra Comique, Paris, Birmingham Symphony Hall and Th
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This season sees Mark sing il Mostro in Salvatore Sciarrino’s Venere e Adone conducted bygd Kent Nagano at the Hamburische Staatsoper and The Protector in George Benjamin’s Written on Skin both under Marc Albrecht at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by the composer han själv . He also returns to Longborough Festival Opera to sing his first complete Ring cycles as Alberich. On the concert platform Mark’s year includes Bruckner’s Third Mass with the Royal nordlig Sinfonia and Thomas Zehetmair, Sea Symphony with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland and Leonard Slatkin and Carmina Burana with the Orchestre de Paris and Andrés Orozco-Estrada.
Other recent highlights include the title role in Wozzeck for Grand Théâtre de Genève, Wotan in Die Walküre for Grimeborn, for which he won the Offie Award for best performance in an opera, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly for Welsh National Op