Christopher Stephen Varcoe (born 19 May 1949 in

Lostwithiel Lostwithiel (; kw, Lostwydhyel) is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom at the head of the estuary of the River Fowey. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,739, increas ...

, Cornwall) is an English classical bass-baritone singer, appearing internationally in opera and concert, known for Baroque and contemporary music and a notable singer of Lieder.

Professional career

Stephen Varcoe was educated at

The King's School, Canterbury The King's School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for 13 to 18 year old pupils) in Canterbury, Kent, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group. It is Britain's ...

and

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

, where he sang in the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

. He later completed a PhD at the University of York. In 1977 he won a scholarship from the

Gulbenkian Foundation The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation ( pt, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian), commonly referred to simply as the Gulbenkian Foundation, is a Portuguese institution dedicated to the promotion of the arts, philanthropy, science, and education. One o ...

. On the opera stage he appeared in Haydn's ''

L'infedeltà delusa ''L'infedeltà delusa'' (''Deceit Outwitted''), Hob. 28/5, is an operatic ''burletta per musica'' in two acts by Joseph Haydn. The Italian libretto was by Marco Coltellini. Performance history The earliest recorded performance, which may have ...

'' in Antwerp, in Debussy's '' Fall of the House of Usher'' in Lisbon and London, in

John Tavener Sir John Kenneth Tavener (28 January 1944 – 12 November 2013) was an English composer, known for his extensive output of choral religious works. Among his best known works are '' The Lamb'' (1982), ''The Protecting Veil'' (1988), and '' Song ...

's opera ''Mary Of Egypt'' for the

Aldeburgh Festival The Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on Snape Maltings Concert Hall. History of the Aldeburgh Festival Th ...

, and he performed the part of Plutone in Peri's Euridice at the Drottningholm Festival in Sweden. He also performed the parts of Death in

Gustav Holst Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...

's chamber opera '' Savitri'', Demetrius in Britten's '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'' and Salieri in Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's ''Mozart & Salieri''. He performed Alexander Goehr's ''Sonata About Jerusalem'' with

Oliver Knussen Stuart Oliver Knussen (12 June 1952 – 8 July 2018) was a British composer and conductor. Early life Oliver Knussen was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His father, Stuart Knussen, was principal double bass of the London Symphony Orchestra, and a ...

and the Schoenberg Ensemble, Bach's '' St Matthew Passion'' with

Trevor Pinnock Trevor David Pinnock (born 16 December 1946 in Canterbury, England) is a British harpsichordist and conductor. He is best known for his association with the period-performance orchestra The English Concert, which he helped found and direct ...

, Ralph Vaughan Williams' ''Sir John In Love'' with

Richard Hickox Richard Sidney Hickox (5 March 1948 – 23 November 2008) was an English conductor of choral, orchestral and operatic music. Early life Hickox was born in Stokenchurch in Buckinghamshire into a musical family. After attending the Royal Gram ...

and the Northern Sinfonia, and

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

's ''Mass in E flat major'' with Roger Norrington and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. In the field of historically informed performance, Varcoe recorded in 1984 with Hans-Martin Linde Bach's '' Missa in A major'' and the '' Missa in G major''. He recorded several

Bach cantata The cantatas composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, known as Bach cantatas (German: ), are a body of work consisting of over 200 surviving independent works, and at least several dozen that are considered lost. As far as known, Bach's earliest cant ...

s with

John Eliot Gardiner Sir John Eliot Gardiner (born 20 April 1943) is an English conductor, particularly known for his performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Life and career Born in Fontmell Magna, Dorset, son of Rolf Gardiner and Marabel Hodgkin, Ga ...

, the

Monteverdi Choir The Monteverdi Choir was founded in 1964 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner for a performance of the ''Vespro della Beata Vergine'' in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. A specialist Baroque ensemble, the Choir has become famous for its stylistic convic ...

and the

English Baroque Soloists The English Baroque Soloists is a chamber orchestra playing on period instruments, formed in 1978 by English conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Its repertoire comprises music from the early Baroque to the Classical period. History The English B ...

, including an early 1990 recording of ''

Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140 ('Awake, calls the voice to us'), 140, also known as ''Sleepers Wake'', is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, regarded as one of his most mature and popular sacred cantatas. He composed the chorale cantata in Leipzig for the 27th Sunday ...

'', together with

Ruth Holton Ruth Holton (born 1961)"Holton, Ruth" in David M. Cummings (ed.) ''International Who's Who in Classical Music, 2003", London, Europa Publications p.353. is an English soprano singer. Training Holton won a choral exhibition at Clare College, Cam ...

and Anthony Rolfe-Johnson. He also recorded with the group Bach's '' St John Passion'' and '' St Matthew Passion'' and participated in the group's Bach Cantata Pilgrimage in 2000. He recorded Bach's ''

Magnificat The Magnificat (Latin for " y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary and, in the Byzantine tradition, the Ode of the Theotokos (). It is traditionally incorporated into the liturgical servic ...

'' and '' Mass in B minor'' with Hickox and the

Collegium Musicum 90 Collegium Musicum 90 is an English baroque orchestra playing on period instruments. It was founded by violinist Simon Standage and conductor Richard Hickox in 1990 and was jointly directed by them (either together or separately) until the death o ...

. His recording of songs of

Charles Villiers Stanford Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 – 29 March 1924) was an Anglo-Irish composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Romantic era. Born to a well-off and highly musical family in Dublin, Stanford was educated at the ...

with pianist Clifford Benson was acclaimed in the International Record Review in 2000:

He sounds as if he has been singing Stanford all his life, and his warm, natural baritone, finely judged legato and sensitivity to words are a joy throughout.

Varcoe wrote a book on the art of singing English song: ''Sing English Song: a practical approach to the language and the repertoire''. He was appointed the President of the

Betty Roe Betty Roe (born 30 July 1930) is an English composer, singer, vocal coach, and conductor. Biography Betty Roe was born in North Kensington, London, England. Her father was a fishmonger at the Shepherd's Bush Market, and her mother was a bookkee ...

Society in 2010.

References

External links

*
Stephen Varcoe
on classicalarchives.com
Stephen Varcoe
on signumrecords.com
The Betty Roe Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Varcoe, Stephen 1949 births Living people English operatic baritones English basses Operatic bass-baritones People from Lostwithiel People educated at The King's School, Canterbury Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Choral Scholars of the Choir of King's College, Cambridge