Hervey AlanOBE (22 February 1910 – 12 January 1982[1]) was an Englishoperaticbass andvoice teacher. During his career he sang leading roles with most of Great Britain's major opera institutions, including theEdinburgh Festival, theGlyndebourne Festival, theRoyal Opera House, theSadler's Wells Opera, and theWelsh National Opera. He is best known for creating the role of Mr. Redburn in the world premiere ofBenjamin Britten'sBilly Budd at the Royal Opera House, London, on 1 December 1951. Music criticElizabeth Forbes wrote that his voice was "dark toned, resonant", and "especially effective as Zaccaria inNabucco.[1]
After retiring from opera performance in 1963, Alan continued to appear as a concert singer up until his death. He also taught on the voice faculty at theRoyal College of Music and worked as alay vicar atWestminster Abbey.[2]
Born inWhitstable, Alan first studied engineering atMedway University Technical College before pursuing studies in vocal music in London with Percival Driver, Mabel Kelly, and celebrated baritoneRoy Henderson. He made his professional debut singing live onBBC Radio in 1935.[2] His initial singing career was spent performing as a concert singer and recitalist. Early performances in his career includedGeorge Frideric Handel'sUtrecht Te Deum and Jubilate with theCity of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.[3] During the war he toured with the pianistIvey Dickson, performing for the forces. ComposerArmstrong Gibbs notably created his art songsChloris in the Snow andAmaryllis for him in 1949.[4]
In 1947 Alan's career made a decided shift towardsopera when he became a resident artist at theSadler's Wells Opera where he remained through 1952. Among the roles he portrayed for Sadler's Wells were Alfio inPietro Mascagni'sCavalleria rusticana, Cancion inErmanno Wolf-Ferrari'sI quatro rusteghi, Colline inGiacomo Puccini'sLa bohème, the Commendatore in Mozart'sDon Giovanni, Don Basilio inGioachino Rossini'sThe Barber of Seville, the Grand Inquisitor inGiuseppe Verdi'sDon Carlos, Simone in Puccini'sGianni Schicchi, and Zuniga inGeorges Bizet'sCarmen among others.[1]
From 1949 until 1960, Alan made several appearances at theGlyndebourne Festival Opera, including Alidoro in Rossini'sLa Cenerentola, Father Trulove inIgor Stravinsky'sThe Rake's Progress, Neptune in Mozart'sIdomeneo, the oracle in Gluck'sAlceste, Padre Guardiano in Verdi'sLa forza del destino,Pistol in Verdi'sFalstaff, the Police Inspector inDer Rosenkavalier, and Tom in Verdi'sUn ballo in maschera.[5]
In 1950 Alan made his first appearance atThe Proms as the bass soloist inJoseph Haydn'sThe Creation. He returned to The Proms as soloist over the next 12 years, singing in performances ofGiuseppe Verdi'sAida (1954),Richard Wagner'sDie Walküre (1955),Samuel Coleridge-Taylor'sThe Song of Hiawatha (1956), Wagner'sThe Flying Dutchman (1957),Maurice Johnstone's [Wikidata]Dover Beach (1958),Ralph Vaughan Williams'A Sea Symphony (1959), andHector Berlioz'sLa damnation de Faust (1962).[6]
On 1 December 1951 Alan created the role of Mr. Redburn in the world premiere of Benjamin Britten's landmark workBilly Budd at theRoyal Opera House, London.[7] From 1952 until 1963 he performed frequently with theWelsh National Opera, including the roles ofFederico Barbarossa inLa battaglia di Legnano, Melchtal inWilliam Tell, Méphistophélès inFaust, Procida inI vespri siciliani, Sparafucile inRigoletto, and a much lauded portrayal of Zaccaria in Verdi'sNabucco.[1][2]
In 1961 Alan portrayed the title role in Handel'sRinaldo for London's Handel Society. He repeated the role at theBerlin State Opera and theHandel Festival, Halle. One of his final opera appearances was as Farasmane in Handel'sRadamisto in 1962 for the Handel Society.[2]
After retiring from opera performance in 1963, Alan worked as alay vicar atWestminster Abbey and continued to appear as a concert singer up until his death. He was particularly admired in his latter years for his performances of the title role inFelix Mendelssohn'sElijah, a role which he portrayed more than 500 times in concert.[2] He also taught on the voice faculty at theRoyal College of Music where his pupils included sopranoJanet Price and baritoneThomas Allen.[8] In 1972 he was named afellow of the Royal College of Music[9] and was appointed OBE in the1974 Birthday Honours. He died inCroydon, aged 71.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
