Robert Tear

Robert Tear started singing in the choirs of St. Paul's Cathedral, London, and King's College, Cambridge, before embarking on a solo career. Operatic debut in 1966 with Benjamin Britten's touring English Opera Group, where he notably sang Quint in The turn of the screw (which he repeated, more than 20 years later, at the English National Opera), and participated in two Britten world premieres: The burning fiery furnace (1966) and The prodigal son (1968).

In 1970, he was Lenskij at Covent Garden; he returned to that theater many times until 2009. In his operatic repertory, Britten figured most prominently, but he also sang Belmonte, Alfredo, Loge, Shujskij or Herodes, plus lots and lots of contemporary music, many world premieres included.

At least as important as in opera was his career on the concert podium, where he sang baroque music, oratorio, lieder and Victorian ballads, and where he also conducted. Both in opera and in concert, he appeared internationally (USA, Japan, Australia, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Austria (Salzburg Festival), and above all Germany.