George James Lambert (17 December 1900 – 13 September 1971) was an English

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

and

voice teacher A voice teacher or singing teacher is a musical instructor who assists adults and children in the development of their abilities in singing. Typical work A voice teacher works with a student singer to improve the various skills involved in singi ...

who was primarily active in Canada. Lambert was born in

Long Preston Long Preston is a village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England, in the Yorkshire Dales. It lies along the A65 road, and is from Skipton and from Settle. The population of Long Preston in 2001 was 680, increas ...

. Following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he studied singing in his native country with Frederic Lord while concurrently playing soccer professionally. He was highly active as an

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

singer in England during the early 1920s. In 1923 he relocated to Rome, where he studied

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

with Alfredo Martino. He made his professional opera debut in Rome soon after as Giorgio Germont in

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

's ''

La Traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...

''. He returned to England, where he became a frequent soloist on

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

during the late 1920s. During this time

Sir Henry Wood Sir Henry Joseph Wood (3 March 186919 August 1944) was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the The Proms, Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introd ...

was his vocal coach. Lambert relocated to Canada in the early 1930s to continue vocal studies with Lord who now resided in Ontario. He performed in concerts with symphony orchestras and with opera companies in many Canadian cities during the 1930s and 1940s. He was particularly active as a soloist with the

Toronto Symphony Orchestra The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toronto ...

(TSO); notably performing the part of Christus in the TSO's annual presentations of

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 w ...

's ''

St Matthew Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (german: Matthäus-Passion, links=-no), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets ...

'' with conductor

Sir Ernest MacMillan Sir Ernest Alexander Campbell MacMillan, (August 18, 1893 – May 6, 1973) was a Canadian orchestral conductor, composer, organist, and Canada's only "Musical Knight". He is widely regarded as being Canada's pre-eminent musician, from th ...

and the

Toronto Mendelssohn Choir The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir is a Canadian large vocal ensemble based in Toronto, Ontario. It was co-founded in 1894 by Augustus S. Vogt and W. H. Hewlett to celebrate the opening of the Massey Hall. The ensemble was originally an extension of ...

every year from 1938 to 1945. One of his final performances was as Cathva in the world premiere

Healey Willan James Healey Willan (12 October 1880 – 16 February 1968) was an Anglo-Canadian organist and composer. He composed more than 800 works including operas, symphonies, chamber music, a concerto, and pieces for band, orchestra, organ, and ...

's opera ''

Deirdre Deirdre ( , Irish: ; sga, Derdriu ) is the foremost tragic heroine in Irish legend and probably its best-known figure in modern times. She is known by the epithet "Deirdre of the Sorrows" (). Her story is part of the Ulster Cycle, the best-know ...

'' which was broadcast live on

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

on 20 April 1946. Lambert retired from the stage in 1946 and thereafter dedicated his life to teaching. He had joined the voice faculty of the

Toronto Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher as The Toronto Con ...

in 1932, and he continued to teach there until his death nearly 40 years later. A large number of his pupils have had successful singing careers, including Léonard Bilodeau, Jean Bonhomme, Pierre Boutet,

Victor Braun Victor Conrad Braun (August 4, 1935 – January 6, 2001) was a Canadian baritone who had a major international performance career in concerts and operas that lasted more than 40 years. While he was an accomplished performer of the standard op ...

, John Dodington, Audrey Farnell, Don Garrard,

Robert Goulet Robert Gérard Goulet (November 26, 1933 October 30, 2007) was an American and Canadian singer and actor of French-Canadian ancestry. Goulet was born and raised in Lawrence, Massachusetts until age 13, and then spent his formative years in Cana ...

Doreen Hume Doreen Hume (July 14, 1926 – July 2, 2022) was a Canadian soprano soloist who performed in North America and Europe from the 1940s through to the 1970s. Biography Born Edith Doreen Hulme in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, she was a student of John ...

, Gwenlynn Little, Phyllis Mailing,

Ermanno Mauro Ermanno Mauro, OC (born 20 January 1939, in Rovigno d'istria) is an Italian-born Canadian operatic tenor who has received the Order of Canada. He emigrated to Canada in 1958, becoming a naturalized citizen in 1963. He has sung all over the world ...

, Joan Maxwell, David Mills, Peter Milne, Bernard Turgeon,

Jon Vickers Jonathan Stewart Vickers, (October 29, 1926 – July 10, 2015), known professionally as Jon Vickers, was a Canadian heldentenor. Born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, he was the sixth in a family of eight children. In 1950, he was awarded a s ...

, Alan Woodrow, and Lesia Zubrack Romanoff. He died in 1971 at the age of 70 in Toronto.

References

External references

Archival collection
a
University of Toronto Music Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert. George 1900 births 1971 deaths Voice teachers English operatic baritones People from Craven District The Royal Conservatory of Music faculty English emigrants to Canada 20th-century British male opera singers