Henry Herford
Encyclopedia
Henry Herford is a Scottish baritone
singer.
He read Classics and English at Cambridge University, and studied singing at the Royal Northern College of Music
in Manchester
where he was awarded the Curtis Gold Medal. He is currently the RNCM's Tutor in French Song. He joined the Glyndebourne Opera Chorus for 1977 and 1978, singing leading roles on tour, and since then has performed over seventy roles with opera companies throughout the UK and Europe, including at Covent Garden
, Glyndebourne and Scottish Opera
.
Notable among his roles are the Count (The Marriage of Figaro
), Guglielmo and Alfonso (Cosi Fan Tutte
), the title role in Don Giovanni
, Germont (La Traviata
), Silvio (I Pagliacci), Dr Falke (Die Fledermaus
), the Forester (The Cunning Little Vixen
), Smirnov (William Walton
's The Bear
), and Demetrius (A Midsummer Night's Dream
), which he recorded for Virgin Records
.
Herford has made a speciality of the music of Charles Ives
, having recorded many of his songs.
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
singer.
He read Classics and English at Cambridge University, and studied singing at the Royal Northern College of Music
Royal Northern College of Music
The Royal Northern College of Music is a music school in Manchester, England. It is located on Oxford Road in Chorlton on Medlock, at the western edge of the campus of the University of Manchester and is one of four conservatories associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music...
in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
where he was awarded the Curtis Gold Medal. He is currently the RNCM's Tutor in French Song. He joined the Glyndebourne Opera Chorus for 1977 and 1978, singing leading roles on tour, and since then has performed over seventy roles with opera companies throughout the UK and Europe, including at Covent Garden
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
, Glyndebourne and Scottish Opera
Scottish Opera
Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies funded by the Scottish Government...
.
Notable among his roles are the Count (The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro
Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
), Guglielmo and Alfonso (Cosi Fan Tutte
Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
), the title role in Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
, Germont (La Traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
), Silvio (I Pagliacci), Dr Falke (Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...
), the Forester (The Cunning Little Vixen
The Cunning Little Vixen
The Cunning Little Vixen is an opera by Leoš Janáček, with a libretto adapted by the composer from a serialized novella by Rudolf Těsnohlídek and Stanislav Lolek, which was first published in the newspaper Lidové noviny.-Composition history:When Janáček discovered Těsnohlídek's...
), Smirnov (William Walton
William Walton
Sir William Turner Walton OM was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera...
's The Bear
The Bear (opera)
The Bear is the second of the two operas by William Walton, described in publication as an "Extravaganza in One Act". The libretto was by Paul Dehn, based on the play by Anton Chekhov of the same title .Walton composed the opera on commission from the Koussevitzsky Foundation, and dedicated the...
), and Demetrius (A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream (opera)
A Midsummer Night's Dream is an opera with music by Benjamin Britten and set to a libretto adapted by the composer and Peter Pears from William Shakespeare's play, A Midsummer Night's Dream...
), which he recorded for Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
.
Herford has made a speciality of the music of Charles Ives
Charles Ives
Charles Edward Ives was an American modernist composer. He is one of the first American composers of international renown, though Ives' music was largely ignored during his life, and many of his works went unperformed for many years. Over time, Ives came to be regarded as an "American Original"...
, having recorded many of his songs.