Alberto Remedios

Alberto Remedios CBE (27 February 1935 – 11 June 2016)[1] was a British operatic tenor, especially noted for his interpretations of Wagner's heldentenor roles.[2]

Alberto Remedios
Born
Alberto Telisforo Remedios

(1935-02-27)27 February 1935
Liverpool, Lancashire, England, UK
Died11 June 2016(2016-06-11) (aged 81)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
OccupationOpera singer
Spouse(s)
  • Shirley Swindells
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1958; died 1965)​
  • Judy Hosken
    ​
    (m. 1965)​
ChildrenAntony, Richard, Tonina
AwardsCommander of British Empire (appointment 1981)

Biography

Alberto Remedios was born in Liverpool and began his working life as a shipyard welder. He left school at 15 to play football semi-professionally for New Brighton at Wallasey.[1] He also studied singing with Edwin Francis, who also taught Rita Hunter. Following National Service, he was offered a place at the Royal College of Music with Clive Carey, where he won the Queen's Prize in 1957.[3] He sang a wide variety of roles with the Sadler's Wells Opera—the forerunner of English National Opera—including Alfredo in La traviata, the title role in Gounod's Faust, Samson in Saint-Saëns' Samson and Delilah, Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos and Max in Der Freischütz.[4]

Remedios went to Australia with the Sutherland-Williamson company in 1965. The company led by Richard Bonynge included Lauris Elms, John Alexander, and Luciano Pavarotti. The offer to tour came about by chance. Remedios, dining in an Italian restaurant in London was offered a free meal if he sang; fortuitously Joan Sutherland was also in the restaurant that night.[5] The tour included La Traviata, Lucia di Lammermoor, Semiramide and Faust. A recording of Alberto singing Alfredo in La Traviata, with Joan Sutherland's Violetta was released by Desiree Records in 2014.[6]

He is especially remembered for his performances in Wagner, especially as Siegfried in the Glen Byam Shaw production of The Ring, conducted by Reginald Goodall. He was the first English tenor to sing Siegfried at Covent Garden since Walter Widdop in the 1930s.[1] These performances were recorded in 1973, preserving Remedios' partnerships with Norman Bailey as Wotan and Rita Hunter as Brünnhilde.[7] He was also memorable as Walther von Stolzing in the ground-breaking 1968 Sadler's Wells The Mastersingers of Nuremberg, also conducted by Reginald Goodall.[8]

Most remarkable of all was the occasion when Remedios, despite a slight chest infection, and due to the illness of another singer, played the roles of both Siegmund in Die Walküre, the title role in Siegfried, and also Siegfried in Götterdämmerung, within a complete cycle of the Ring during one week, these being at the Empire Theatre, Liverpool performances of the tour.

Remedios sang the role of Mark in the first recording of Tippett's The Midsummer Marriage.[9]

Remedios performed in many of the world's leading operatic venues, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, Seattle, Frankfurt, San Francisco and Buenos Aires.

He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1976 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews.[10]

Recordings

Personal life, retirement, and death

He married his second wife, Judy Hosken, an Australian dancer, in 1965.[13] Remedios performed regularly in Australia – he sang in concert performances of Götterdämmerung at the Sydney Opera House in the late 1970s with Rita Hunter, conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras, and sang Lohengrin for Victoria State Opera in 1985 conducted by Richard Divall, in a production by August Everding.[14][3] His brother Ramon also had a singing career as a tenor; on many occasions they both appeared in performances by English National Opera of The Mastersingers.[15] In 1999 Remedios emigrated to Sydney, Australia.[1] He died in Sydney on 11 June 2016, aged 81.[1]

Awards
  • Queen's Prize, Royal College of Music, 1957.[1]
  • First prize in the Bulgarian International Opera Contest, 1963.[1]
  • Appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), 1981.[1]

References
  1. "Alberto Remedios, tenor – obituary". The Telegraph. 14 June 2016. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  2. Jacobs, Arthur (1990). The Penguin Dictionary of Musical Performers. London: Viking. pp. 174. ISBN 978-0-6708-0755-0.
  3. McPherson, Angus (15 June 2016). "Alberto Remedios has died". Limelight. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  4. "Alberto Remedios (1935-2016)". English National Opera. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  5. Wright, Katy (15 June 2016). "Alberto Remedios (27 February 1935 - 11 June 2016)". Rhinegold. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  6. "Rare recording of Joan Sutherland from the 1965 tour of Australia". Tait Memorial Trust. 9 January 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  7. Richard Lehnert, Recording of the Month: Wagner's Ring, Stereophile, December, 2001; retrieved 4 July 2008.
  8. "Obituaries: Alberto Remedios". Opera News. 81 (3). September 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  9. Philips 670 3027: Alberto Remedios; Joan Carlyle; Raimund Herincx; Elizabeth Harwood; Stuart Burrows; Helen Watts; Covent Garden Chorus and Orchestra; Colin Davis, conductor. Kemp, Ian, "Record Reviews: The Midsummer Marriage (May 1971). The Musical Times, 112 (1539): pp. 454-55.
  10. "Alberto Remedios (1935-2016)". Big Red Book. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  11. "CD91241 LOHENGRIN Remedios, Bureau, Melbourne 1985". Operapassion.com. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  12. "Berlioz: Les Troyens, etc. – Gala: GL100630 (CD)". Presto Classical. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  13. Millington, Barry (26 June 2016). "Alberto Remedios obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  14. "Lohengrin VSO 1985". Victoriastateopera.wordpress.com. 25 August 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  15. "Google Groups". Groups.google.com. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
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