Hislop, Joseph
Hislop, Joseph
Hislop, Joseph, Scottish tenor; b. Edinburgh, April 5, 1884; d. Upper Largo, Fife, May 6, 1977. He studied in Stockholm with Gillis Bratt. On Sept. 12, 1914, he made his operatic debut at the Royal Opera in Stockholm as Faust, and subsequently was active in Scandinavia before singing at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples (1919–20). On May 14, 1920, he made his first appearance at London’s Covent Garden as Rodolfo; that same year, he made his U.S. debut in Chicago, then appeared in N.Y. in 1921 before touring the country with Scotti’s company. In 1923 he sang in Venice and Turin, and was the first British tenor to sing a leading role at Milan’s La Scala when he appeared as Edgardo. In 1925 he appeared at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires. After retiring in 1937, he taught voice in Stockholm, where his most gifted students were Jussi Björling and Birgit Nilsson. In 1947 he went to London, where he was artistic advisor at Covent Garden and subsequently at the Sadler’s Wells Opera. In later years, he was active as a teacher at the Guildhall School of Music. He was admired for his roles in operas by Verdi and Puccini, the latter praising him as the ideal Rodolfo. His French roles were also noteworthy.
Bibliography
M. Turnbull, /. H.: Gran Tenore (Aldershot, 1992).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire