Sir Peter Pears

Peter Pears (Farnham, 1910 – Aldeburgh, 1986) was one of the most distinguished English tenors of the twentieth century and, above all, the performer inseparably associated with the work of Benjamin Britten, his artistic and personal partner. His name recurs constantly in the history of British musical theatre and recital, and his career accounts for much of the vocal repertoire that Britten conceived.

Pears trained at the Royal College of Music in London, where he held a scholarship and studied for two terms between 1933 and 1934. At the same time he sang in the chorus and later in the vocal group of the BBC, between 1934 and 1938, and took lessons from Elena Gerhardt and Dawson Freer. In 1936 he met Britten, and the following year the two gave their first recital together. In 1939 they both went to the United States, where Pears studied with Therese Behr and Clytie Hine Mundy. Back in London, in 1942 he made his stage debut as Hoffmann in Les contes d'Hoffmann at the Strand Theatre.

The following year he joined the Sadler's Wells company, where he sang roles by Rossini, Mozart and other composers, and created the title role in Peter Grimes in 1945. After founding the English Opera Group in 1946, he premièred numerous works by Britten: Captain Vere in Billy Budd, Essex in Gloriana, Quint in The Turn of the Screw in Venice, Aschenbach in Death in Venice, among others. Beyond that circle, he also created Boaz in Berkeley's Ruth and Pandarus in Walton's Troilus and Cressida. He was also involved in the Aldeburgh Festival, inaugurated in 1948, of which he remained director until his death.

His voice, clear, introspective and almost instrumental in timbre, allowed a great range of expression, although it lacked a wide palette of colours. Britten exploited this reflective quality in roles such as Peter Grimes or Aschenbach, while in other parts he showed a more authoritative register, as in Captain Vere or the Madwoman in Curlew River. His recital with Britten, centred on Schubert and Schumann, is remembered for its perfect match between vocal line and text.

After retiring from the stage he continued to devote himself to teaching and to promoting young singers at the Britten-Pears School in Aldeburgh. His recordings preserve almost all the roles Britten wrote for him, as well as his celebrated performance of the Evangelist in Bach's Passions and of Gerontius, ensuring his legacy for later generations.