Hemsley, Thomas (Jeffery)
Hemsley, Thomas (Jeffery)
Hemsley, Thomas (Jeffery), English baritone; b. Coalville, April 12, 1927. He studied at Brasenose Coll., Oxford, and received private vocal training from Lucie Manén. In 1951 he made his operatic debut as Purcell’s Aeneas at London’s Mermaid Theatre; he then sang regularly at the Glyndebourne Festivals (1953–71). He also sang at the Aachen City Theater (1953–56), the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf (1957–63), the Zürich Opera (1963–67), the Bayreuth Festivals (1968–70), and at London’s Covent Garden (from 1970). He likewise pursued a career as a concert singer. In later years, he was active as an opera director and as a teacher. Prominent among his roles were such portrayals as Don Fernando, Count Almaviva, Dr. Malatesta, Beckmesser, and Massetto. Hemsley publ, the study Singing and Imagination: A Human Approach to a Great Musical Tradition (Oxford, 1998).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire