Tear, Robert

Tear, Robert, distinguished Welsh tenor and conductor; b. Barry, Glamorgan, March 8, 1939. He was a choral scholar at King’s Coll., Cambridge, where he graduated in English (1957-61); received vocal instruction from Julian Kimbell. He became a lay vicar at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London in 1960; also was active with the Ambrosian Singers. In 1963 he made his operatic debut as Quint in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw with the English Opera Group in London, where he made regular appearances until 1971; also sang at London’s Cov-ent Garden, where he created the role of Dov in Tippett’s The Knot Garden in 1970; was chosen to sing the role of the Painter in the first complete performance of Berg’s Lulu in Paris in 1979; in 1984 he appeared in the premiere of Tippett’s The Mask of Time in Boston; in 1991 he sang the title role in Penderecki’s Ubu rex in Munich. He made guest appearances with various opera houses at home and abroad; also won particular renown as a concert artist; after making his debut as a conductor in Minneapolis in 1985, he appeared as a guest conductor with many orchs. In 1986 he was appointed to the International Chair of Vocal Studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London. From 1992 to 1994 he was artistic director of the vocal faculty of the London Royal Schools of Music. In 1984 he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. His autobiography was publ. as Tear Here (London, 1990).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire