Derek Hammond-Stroud (10 January 192614 May 2012) was an English baritone

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 ...

singer best known for his performances of German lieder and his international performances in opera, particularly the roles of Alberich in

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

's '' Der Ring des Nibelungen'', Herr Faninal in '' Der Rosenkavalier'' and Beckmesser in ''

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (; "The Master-Singers of Nuremberg"), WWV 96, is a music drama, or opera, in three acts, by Richard Wagner. It is the longest opera commonly performed, taking nearly four and a half hours, not counting two breaks between acts, and is traditio ...

''. He also made recordings, including a series of recordings of the

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

patter Patter is a prepared and practiced speech that is designed to produce a desired response from its audience. Examples of occupations with a patter might include the auctioneer, salesperson, dance caller, magician, or comedian. The term may have ...

roles.

Life and career

Born in London, Hammond-Stroud was educated at the

Salvatorian College Salvatorian College is an academy for boys between the ages of 11-16, situated in Wealdstone in the London Borough of Harrow, founded by Gabriel Enderle. The spiritual founder of the college is considered to be Francis Mary of the Cross Jordan. ...

, Harrow and studied optometry at

Northampton Institute City, University of London, is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, and a member institution of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute, and became a university when The City Univ ...

, graduating in 1949."Derek Hammond-Stroud"
''

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 ...

'', 31 May 2012 He then studied voice at

Trinity College of Music Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music and dance conservatoire based in London, England. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. The conservatoire has ...

in London and abroad with

Elena Gerhardt Elena Gerhardt (11 November 1883 – 11 January 1961) was a German mezzo-soprano singer associated with the singing of German classical lieder, of which she was considered one of the great interpreters. She left Germany for good to live in London ...

and

Gerhard Hüsch Gerhard Heinrich Wilhelm Fritz Hüsch (2 February 190123 November 1984) was one of the most important German singers of modern times. A lyric baritone, he specialized in '' Lieder'' but also sang, to a lesser extent, German and Italian opera ...

."Baritone Derek Hammond-Stroud has died"
Gramophone, 28 May 2012 His concert debut was in 1955, with the UK premiere of

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

's ''

L'anima del filosofo ''L'anima del filosofo, ossia Orfeo ed Euridice'' (''The Soul of the Philosopher, or Orpheus and Euridice''), Hob. 28/13, is an opera in Italian in four acts by Joseph Haydn, the last he wrote. The libretto, by Carlo Francesco Badini, is based ...

'' (also known as ''Orfeo ed Euridice'') at the

St Pancras Festival Camden Festival was an annual spring festival founded in 1954 and held in London, England. Originally, it was named the St Pancras Festival until 1965. It continued until 1987. The festival specialised in the revival of long-forgotten operas, some ...

.Millington, Barry
"Derek Hammond-Stroud obituary"
''The Guardian'', 27 May 2012 Hammond-Stroud made his lieder recital debut in 1956 at the

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadin ...

, accompanied by Gerald Moore. His stage debut came in 1957 as Publio in ''

La Clemenza di Tito ' (''The Clemency of Titus''), K. 621, is an '' opera seria'' in two acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Caterino Mazzolà, after Pietro Metastasio. It was started after most of ' (''The Magic Flute''), the last of ...

''. With

Sadler's Wells Opera English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English. ...

, his roles included Papageno in ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that inclu ...

'', Dr. Bartolo in ''

Il barbiere di Siviglia ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was base ...

'' and Melitone in ''

Forza del Destino ' (; ''The Power of Fate'', often translated ''The Force of Destiny'') is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, ' (1835), by Ángel de Saavedra, 3rd Duke of Rivas, ...

''. There, he was also noted for his superb comic acting and fine diction in several

roles, including Ko-Ko in ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

''. For ten years from 1961, Hammond-Stroud was a principal baritone with the English National Opera.Murray, Roderick (ed.), "Said I to Myself, Said I: An Interview with Derek Hammond Stroud", ''The Gaiety'', Summer 2005, pp. 9–16 He also appeared regularly at

The Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

beginning in 1968. He became particularly known for performances as Alberich in

's '' Der Ring des Nibelungen'', Herr Faninal in '' Der Rosenkavalier'' and Beckmesser in ''

''. In such roles, Hammond-Stroud sang "with a strong, agreeable tone" and "brought the words vividly to life." He also excelled in such modern opera roles as the vicar in '' Albert Herring''. Operatic engagements included

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

, the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

Munich State Opera The Bayerische Staatsoper is a German opera company based in Munich. Its main venue is the Nationaltheater München, and its orchestra the Bayerische Staatsorchester. History The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under Ele ...

Theater an der Wien The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served prima ...

, the

Netherlands Opera The Dutch National Opera (DNO; formerly De Nederlandse Opera, now De Nationale Opera in Dutch) is a Dutch opera company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its present home base is the Dutch National Opera & Ballet housed in the Stopera building, a m ...

, the

Teatro Colón The Teatro Colón (Spanish: ''Columbus Theatre'') is the main opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. According to a survey carried out by the acousti ...

in Buenos Aires, and Glyndebourne. Hammond-Stroud performed numerous recitals in partnership with Moore, Geoffrey Parsons and others, including performances at the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...

, Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Schubert-Saal in Vienna. His concert and oratorio performances included appearances at the Edinburgh, Aldeburgh, Cheltenham, Windsor and English Bach Festivals. In 1986 he inaugurated the Malta Festival of Music with a performance of

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 ''

Winterreise ''Winterreise'' (, ''Winter Journey'') is a song cycle for voice and piano by Franz Schubert ( D. 911, published as Op. 89 in 1828), a setting of 24 poems by German poet Wilhelm Müller. It is the second of Schubert's two song cycles on Müller' ...

'' song cycle. He appeared regularly at the BBC Prom Concerts, and sang in Spain, Iceland and Denmark. He also taught extensively. In retirement, from the late 1990s, he enjoyed playing chess and studying philosophy. After hospitalisation, he moved into

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

in 2009 to go into a care home at

Roden Roden is a name of Germanic origin, originally meaning "red valley" or an anglicization of the Gaelic name "O'Rodain". It may refer to: Places * Roden, Bavaria, a town in the Main-Spessart district of Bavaria, Germany * Roden, Netherlands, a tow ...

near

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

. He died there three years later, aged 86.

Recordings and television

Hammond-Stroud recorded extensively in both opera and Lieder. He sang in the BBC television premieres of Sir

William Walton Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade'', the cantat ...

's '' The Bear'' and ''

Façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

'' at the Royal Albert Hall, the Aeolian Hall and at the Edinburgh Festival. For the BBC, between 1966 and 1989, Hammond-Stroud also recorded his ENO and other

roles, including nearly the entire series of "patter" roles in 1989, as well as the roles of Reginald Bunthorne and Lord Chancellor in the 1982 Brent Walker videos of ''

Patience (or forbearance) is the ability to endure difficult circumstances. Patience may involve perseverance in the face of delay; tolerance of provocation without responding in disrespect/anger; or forbearance when under strain, especially when faced ...

'' and ''

Iolanthe ''Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri'' () is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, first performed in 1882. It is one of the Savoy operas and is the seventh of fourteen operatic collaborations by Gilbert ...

''. He was praised for his 1979 live recording of Schubert's ''Winterreise'', with Geoffrey Parsons.

Honours

In 1976 Hammond-Stroud was made an Honorary Member of the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

and in 1982 an Honorary Fellow of Trinity College of Music. He was the recipient of the Sir

Charles Santley Sir Charles Santley (28 February 1834 – 22 September 1922) was an English opera and oratorio singer with a ''bravura''From the Italian verb ''bravare'', to show off. A florid, ostentatious style or a passage of music requiring technical skill ...

Memorial Gift and in 1987 was appointed an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(OBE).

References

External links

* *
''The Scotsman'' obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hammond-Stroud, Derek 1926 births 2012 deaths English operatic baritones Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music Officers of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century British male opera singers Singers from London Alumni of City, University of London Alumni of Trinity College of Music