Kenneth Woollam (16 January 1937 – 15 April 2020) was an English

operatic tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is widel ...

. He was principal tenor at English National Opera for twelve years.

Life

Woollam was born in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

in 1937. At

Chester Cathedral Chester Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral and the mother church of the Diocese of Chester. It is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Sain ...

Choir School he was head chorister, and he went on to study at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

with

Heddle Nash William Heddle Nash (14 June 189414 August 1961) was an English lyric tenor who appeared in opera and oratorio. He made numerous recordings that are still available on CD reissues. Nash's voice was of the light tenor class known as "tenore di g ...

. He was in the chorus of Glyndebourne Festival Opera from 1962 to 1964, and was a member of the BBC Singers from 1964 to 1972."Kenneth Woollam, principal tenor of English National Opera for 12 years – obituary"
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'', 3 June 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2020."Kenneth Woollam"
''OperaScotland.org''. Retrieved 15 September 2020. In 1972 he joined Sadler's Wells Opera (later renamed English National Opera): his debut was as Pierre in the British stage premiere of Prokofiev's '' War and Peace''. He was principal tenor with the company from 1974 until the mid 1980s. Roles included Florestan in Beethoven's ''

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, with ...

'', the title roles in Wagner's ''

Rienzi ' (''Rienzi, the last of the tribunes''; WWV 49) is an early opera by Richard Wagner in five acts, with the libretto written by the composer after Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel of the same name (1835). The title is commonly shortened to ''Rienzi ...

'' and ''

Siegfried Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

'', Siegmund in '' Die Walküre'', Calaf in Puccini's '' Turandot'', and Herod in Strauss's ''

Salome Salome (; he, שְלוֹמִית, Shlomit, related to , "peace"; el, Σαλώμη), also known as Salome III, was a Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II, son of Herod the Great, and princess Herodias, granddaughter of Herod the Great, an ...

''. He appeared in a series of operas of Leoš Janáček conducted by Charles Mackerras. He also appeared occasionally with other opera companies, including Scottish Opera and Opera North. Woollam created roles in new operas: ''The Royal Hunt of the Sun'' by Iain Hamilton, ''Toussaint'' by David Blake, and ''A Gentle Spirit'' by John Tavener. He made concert appearances which continued after retiring from stage work. In 1985 he became Professor of Singing at the Royal College of Music. In later years he also coached actors, including Lenny Henry,

Glenn Close Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress. Throughout her career spanning over four decades, Close has garnered numerous accolades, including two Screen Actors Guild Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards ...

and Niels Arestrup. He married Phoebe in 1965; the couple had four daughters. Woollam died in 2020, aged 83.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woollam, Kenneth 1937 births 2020 deaths Musicians from Chester Alumni of the Royal College of Music Academics of the Royal College of Music English operatic tenors