Graham Clark (10 November 1941 – 6 July 2023) was an English opera tenor, mainly known for his character roles such as Loge and Mime in Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen) and the Captain (Wozzeck). He sang at The Royal Opera House Covent Garden, English National Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Opera North, Scottish Opera, and Welsh National Opera and Northern Ireland Opera in the UK, all the leading North American and European opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera New York (15 seasons) and the Bayreuth Festival (16 seasons). He recorded for major companies.
Biography
Clark was born on 10 November 1941.[1][2] He studied at Kirkham Grammar School - where he was Captain of School - Loughborough College of Education and Loughborough University. After a few years as a PE teacher, followed by postgraduate studies and then as a Senior Regional Officer of the Sports Council, he took up singing. His big break came when he was selected by Richard Bonynge to appear in a charity gala at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on 25 January 1975 with Joan Sutherland, Heather Begg, Clifford Grant and others in aid of the Australian city of Darwin, recently devastated by Cyclone Tracy. The concert was televised and issued on LP by Decca as 'Darwin: Song for a City'. In 1975 he joined Scottish Opera, was a Principal with English National Opera from 1977 to 1985 and had an extensive international career from 1976 to 2019. He was nominated three times for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Opera Awards, including an Emmy nomination for his role in the premiere production of John Corigliano's The Ghosts of Versailles at the Metropolitan Opera in 1991-1992 [3] and won the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera in 1986 for his role as Mephistopheles in Doktor Faust.
Clark was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters by Loughborough University in 1999.[4]
Graham Clark died of cancer on 6 July 2023, at the age of 81.[5][6]
References
- ^ Macy, Laura Williams (2008). The Grove Book of Opera Singers. Oxford University Press. p. 90. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
- ^ "Graham Clark". Opera Online. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
- ^ THE GHOSTS OF VERSAILLES, Emmys.com, accessed 12 June 2020
- ^ "Mr Graham Clark: speech at presentation of honorary degree". Loughborough University. Retrieved 11 June 2008.
- ^ Lechrect, Norman (7 July 2023). "Death of a Great British Tenor". Slipped Disc. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
- ^ "Mort du ténor Graham Clark". Díapason. 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
External links
- Graham Clark's Official Website
- "I Simply Switched Hobbies". Wagneropera.net interview with Graham Clark
- Graham Clark's biography - Bayreuth Festival website
- Interview with Graham Clark by Bruce Duffie, January 23, 1992
- Colbert Artists Management Inc.
- Graham Clark discography at Discogs
- Graham Clark at IMDb