Stuart Burrows

Stuart Burrows, born James Stuart Burrows in Cilfynydd, near Pontypridd, on 7 February 1933, is one of the most distinguished Welsh tenors of the second half of the twentieth century. Before turning to singing he worked as a schoolteacher, and his career took off after he won the tenor soloists' competition at the Royal National Eisteddfod in 1959. He trained in Carmarthen.

He made his debut in 1963 with the Welsh National Opera as Ismaele in Nabucco, and soon widened his repertoire to include Rodolfo in La bohème, Macduff, Jeník in La novia vendida, the Duke of Mantua and Ernesto in Don Pasquale. In 1965 he sang the title role in Oedipus rex under Stravinsky in Athens. His Covent Garden debut came in 1967 as Beppe in Pagliacci, and he returned there over twenty-two seasons, singing Fenton, Elvino, Faust, Lensky, Jack in El matrimonio de medianoche and various Mozart roles. His appearances in San Francisco and at the Vienna Staatsoper, both around 1967 and 1970, brought him Tamino, and in Salzburg in 1970 he sang Don Ottavio. His Metropolitan Opera debut in New York took place in 1971.

His legacy rests above all on Mozart: he was a highly respected interpreter of Idomeneo, Tamino and Tito. His voice, sweet in tone and remarkably flexible, suited this repertoire especially well. He recorded many of his finest roles, among them Don Ottavio, Tamino and Lensky with Solti, and Tito with Colin Davis.