Edgar Evans sang some 45 roles - most of them major ones - at The Royal Opera House at Covent Garden from 1946 to 1975. In that time, he sang more roles and more performances at the Opera House than any other artist.
Article written by Robert Little
Edgar Evans will be best remembered for creating the role of Hermann in Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
In all, he sang some 45 roles - most of them major ones - at Covent Garden from 1946 - when, as one of its three principal tenors, he became a founder member of the Covent Garden Opera Company - to his retirement in 1975.
In that time, he sang more roles and more performances at the Opera House than any other artist. Those roles included Steva in the first British stage performance of Jenufa, Zinovy in the British premiere of Katerina Ismailova, the Interpreter and A Celestial Messenger in the premiere of Vaughan Williams' Pilgrim's Progress, Andres in the first Covent Garden Wozzeck and Captain Davidson in Richard Rodney Bennett's Victory.
Born in Cwrtnewydd, Cardiganshire in 1912, the son of Margaret and William Evans, a farmer, and the youngest - by eight years - of 13 children, Edgar heard the voice of Enrico Caruso over the radio at the age of eight. From then on his only and all-embracing ambition was to be a singer, despite his father's ambitions for him to become a banker or an architect.
Completely untaught, Edgar practised both 'preaching' in the declamatory 'Welsh chapel' style and singing in a barn-cumboilerhouse on the farm.
As a boy, he was always being told that he sang too loudly. Only his mother encouraged him to sing by saying that his voice had a 'ring' to it unlike those of the rest of his family - and, indeed, anyone else in his home community in Cwrt Newydd.
Having failed dismally as a singer in the local Eisteddfod when aged 11, Edgar - then aged 17 - improved enough to steal the show at an end of term concert at his secondary school.
He went on to win various prizes at local Eisteddfodau as a baritone.
The opportunity to take up singing professionally came when this, by now, articled pupil to the County Architect was heard singing 'Loch Lomond' in a pub, called The Irish House, Piccadilly, while on a rugby trip to London in 1935.
The 'talent scout' took him by taxi to The Odd Spot nightclub in London's West End, from where he was referred to Arthur Fagg, conductor of The London Choral Society, who knew Dawson Freer, a singing teacher at the Royal College of Music.
One week later, Edgar became a pupil of Freer's - who began by telling him that he sang too loudly!
These early lessons helped Edgar to establish himself as a professional singer, but he felt that his voice and vocal technique improved immeasurably when, later in his career, the Royal Opera arranged for him to continue his studies - this time (in 1950) with the Italian maestro Luigi Ricci in Rome.
For 18 months, Edgar studied with Dawson Freer, using up his legacy from his father - who had died in 1927 - to support himself and pay the six guineas for every ten singing lessons. Running out of funds, Edgar took on a milk round in Camberwell - for the Royal Arsenal Co-Operative - getting up at five o'clock each morning and, eventually, progressed to the round in Cold Harbour Lane in Brixton - where the young John Major lived.
Some 18 months after meeting Freer, Edgar gave his first ever audition. As a result, Lillian Bayliss offered Edgar a contract to sing as a chorister, under the direction of chorus master Geoffrey Corbett, with the Sadler's Wells Opera Company in 1937 on a salary of £3 a week.
A chance meeting with Henry Robinson, formerly stage manager at Sadler's Wells, resulted in Edgar applying for an audition with the newly formed Covent Garden Opera Company.
Singing 'E lucevan le stelle' from Tosca and the Flower Song from Carmen, Edgar was chosen from scores of tenor hopefuls from around the world and progressed successfully through three auditions to receive the offer of a contract from the Administrator, David Webster, in the middle of August 1946.
His first roles were as the bird god and lover in Purcell's Faerie Queene in a cast that included Michael Hordern, Constance Shacklock, Margot Fonteyn and Moira Shearer.
From that first appearance as the Chevalier des Grieux - on 25th March 1947 - to his farewell performance, as the butler in The Visit of the Old Lady, by von Einem, at Glyndebourne, Edgar Evans was a well respected member of the music world. His acting and vocal ability evoked comparison with the very best.
On his retirement from Covent Garden, Edgar was invited - by Sir David Willcocks - to join the teaching staff at the Royal College of Music. For ten years he taught vocal technique there and many singers can pay tribute to his masterly teaching.
He sang with leading singers; with leading orchestras, both in this country and on the Continent, and worked with leading conductors including Erich Kleiber, Karl Rankl, Sir Thomas Beecham, Sir John Barbirolli, Sir Malcolm Sargent, Sir Georg Solti, Otto Klemperer,
Rudolf Kempe and Carlo Maria Giulini.
Edgar married Nan (nee Walters, died December 1998) on 19th August 1939. They had one son, Huw, who died in June 1999. Edgar has two grandchildren: Rebecca and Edward.
Article written by Robert Little
Read an extract from Edgar Evans' biography...
The record-breaking opera singer who played more roles than anyone at The Royal Opera House Covent Garden.
