Evans, Sir Geraint (Llewellyn)
Evans, Sir Geraint (Llewellyn)
Evans, Sir Geraint (Llewellyn), distinguished Welsh baritone; b. Pontypridd, South Wales, Feb. 16, 1922; d. Aberystwyth, Sept. 19, 1992. He began to study voice in Cardiff when he was 17, and, after serving in the RAF during World War II, resumed his vocal studies in Hamburg with Theo Hermann; then studied with Fernando Carpi in Geneva and Walter Hyde at the Guildhall School of Music in London. He made his operatic debut as the Nightwatchman in Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg at London’s Covent Garden (1948); thereafter was a leading member of the company. He also sang at the Glyndebourne Festivals (1949–61). In 1959 he made his U.S. debut with the San Francisco Opera; first appearances followed at Milan’s La Scala (1960), the Vienna State Opera (1961), the Salzburg Festival (1962), N.Y.’ Metropolitan Opera (debut as Falstaff, March 25, 1964), and the Paris Opera (1975). In 1984 he made his farewell operatic appearance as Dulcamara at Covent Garden. He was also active as an opera producer. In 1959 he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire and was knighted in 1969. With N. Goodwin, he publ. an entertaining auto-biography, Sir Geraint Evans: A Knight at the Opera (London, 1984). His finest roles included Figaro, Leporello, Papageno, Beckmesser, Falstaff, Don Pasquale, and Wozzeck.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire