SIR GERAINT EVANS, OPERA STAR:- Monday, September 21, 1992
LONDON - Sir Geraint Evans, the Welsh coal miner's son who became one of the world's leading baritones, died yesterday. He was 70.
Mr. Evans died peacefully overnight at Bronglais Hospital, in Aberystwyth, where he was admitted eight days earlier after suffering a heart attack at his home in northern Wales, the hospital said.
The singer's wife, Brenda, and the couple's two sons, Huw and Alun, were at his bedside, the hospital said.
Mr. Evans, who made his debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 1948, was best known for his portrayal of Verdi's Falstaff, which he first performed in 1957 at the Glyndebourne music festival in England.
Queen Elizabeth II knighted Mr. Evans in 1969 for his services to opera.
Jeremy Isaacs, the general director of the Royal Opera House, said Mr. Evans was one of the greatest artists to sing at Covent Garden.
"He was perhaps the first great British singer of the postwar years to achieve success on the international stage," Isaacs said yesterday.
Born in the pit mining village of Cilfynydd, near Pontypridd, on Feb. 16, 1922, Mr. Evans was raised by his grandparents after his mother died when he was a toddler.
He became a member of the local Welsh Methodist chapel choir as a young boy and won his first gold medal in a singing competition at age 4. He also played the piano and taught himself the violin as a youngster.
After leaving school at 14, Mr. Evans took a job as a window dresser, then joined the Royal Air Force in World War II.
His first international singing exposure came when he joined the British Forces Network chorus. He went on to study music in Hamburg, London and Geneva, and made his operatic debut as the night watchman in Wagner's "Die Meistersinger."
He served as principal baritone at Covent Garden for 36 years, from his debut until his emotional final performance in Donizetti's "L'Elisir D'Amore" on June 4, 1984.
Prince Charles attended his final performance, joining the audience and chorus in a rousing rendition of the Welsh National Anthem as bouquets and streamers littered the stage. Mr. Evans was moved to tears.
His work took him around the world with performances at the Vienna State Opera, La Scalain Milan, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Paris Opera and the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires.
Mr. Evans, who believed acting was as important as singing in opera, practiced ballet to achieve a lightness of foot.
His autobiography, "Geraint Evans: A Knight at the Opera," was published in 1984.
LONDON - Sir Geraint Evans, the Welsh coal miner's son who became one of the world's leading baritones, died yesterday. He was 70.
Mr. Evans died peacefully overnight at Bronglais Hospital, in Aberystwyth, where he was admitted eight days earlier after suffering a heart attack at his home in northern Wales, the hospital said.
The singer's wife, Brenda, and the couple's two sons, Huw and Alun, were at his bedside, the hospital said.
Mr. Evans, who made his debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 1948, was best known for his portrayal of Verdi's Falstaff, which he first performed in 1957 at the Glyndebourne music festival in England.
Queen Elizabeth II knighted Mr. Evans in 1969 for his services to opera.
Jeremy Isaacs, the general director of the Royal Opera House, said Mr. Evans was one of the greatest artists to sing at Covent Garden.
"He was perhaps the first great British singer of the postwar years to achieve success on the international stage," Isaacs said yesterday.
Born in the pit mining village of Cilfynydd, near Pontypridd, on Feb. 16, 1922, Mr. Evans was raised by his grandparents after his mother died when he was a toddler.
He became a member of the local Welsh Methodist chapel choir as a young boy and won his first gold medal in a singing competition at age 4. He also played the piano and taught himself the violin as a youngster.
After leaving school at 14, Mr. Evans took a job as a window dresser, then joined the Royal Air Force in World War II.
His first international singing exposure came when he joined the British Forces Network chorus. He went on to study music in Hamburg, London and Geneva, and made his operatic debut as the night watchman in Wagner's "Die Meistersinger."
He served as principal baritone at Covent Garden for 36 years, from his debut until his emotional final performance in Donizetti's "L'Elisir D'Amore" on June 4, 1984.
Prince Charles attended his final performance, joining the audience and chorus in a rousing rendition of the Welsh National Anthem as bouquets and streamers littered the stage. Mr. Evans was moved to tears.
His work took him around the world with performances at the Vienna State Opera, La Scalain Milan, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Paris Opera and the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires.
Mr. Evans, who believed acting was as important as singing in opera, practiced ballet to achieve a lightness of foot.
His autobiography, "Geraint Evans: A Knight at the Opera," was published in 1984.
SIR GERAINT EVANS, OPERA STAR:- Monday, September 21, 1992
LONDON - Sir Geraint Evans, the Welsh coal miner's son who became one of the world's leading baritones, died yesterday. He was 70.
Mr. Evans died peacefully overnight at Bronglais Hospital, in Aberystwyth, where he was admitted eight days earlier after suffering a heart attack at his home in northern Wales, the hospital said.
The singer's wife, Brenda, and the couple's two sons, Huw and Alun, were at his bedside, the hospital said.
Mr. Evans, who made his debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 1948, was best known for his portrayal of Verdi's Falstaff, which he first performed in 1957 at the Glyndebourne music festival in England.
Queen Elizabeth II knighted Mr. Evans in 1969 for his services to opera.
Jeremy Isaacs, the general director of the Royal Opera House, said Mr. Evans was one of the greatest artists to sing at Covent Garden.
"He was perhaps the first great British singer of the postwar years to achieve success on the international stage," Isaacs said yesterday.
Born in the pit mining village of Cilfynydd, near Pontypridd, on Feb. 16, 1922, Mr. Evans was raised by his grandparents after his mother died when he was a toddler.
He became a member of the local Welsh Methodist chapel choir as a young boy and won his first gold medal in a singing competition at age 4. He also played the piano and taught himself the violin as a youngster.
After leaving school at 14, Mr. Evans took a job as a window dresser, then joined the Royal Air Force in World War II.
His first international singing exposure came when he joined the British Forces Network chorus. He went on to study music in Hamburg, London and Geneva, and made his operatic debut as the night watchman in Wagner's "Die Meistersinger."
He served as principal baritone at Covent Garden for 36 years, from his debut until his emotional final performance in Donizetti's "L'Elisir D'Amore" on June 4, 1984.
Prince Charles attended his final performance, joining the audience and chorus in a rousing rendition of the Welsh National Anthem as bouquets and streamers littered the stage. Mr. Evans was moved to tears.
His work took him around the world with performances at the Vienna State Opera, La Scalain Milan, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Paris Opera and the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires.
Mr. Evans, who believed acting was as important as singing in opera, practiced ballet to achieve a lightness of foot.
His autobiography, "Geraint Evans: A Knight at the Opera," was published in 1984.
LONDON - Sir Geraint Evans, the Welsh coal miner's son who became one of the world's leading baritones, died yesterday. He was 70.
Mr. Evans died peacefully overnight at Bronglais Hospital, in Aberystwyth, where he was admitted eight days earlier after suffering a heart attack at his home in northern Wales, the hospital said.
The singer's wife, Brenda, and the couple's two sons, Huw and Alun, were at his bedside, the hospital said.
Mr. Evans, who made his debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 1948, was best known for his portrayal of Verdi's Falstaff, which he first performed in 1957 at the Glyndebourne music festival in England.
Queen Elizabeth II knighted Mr. Evans in 1969 for his services to opera.
Jeremy Isaacs, the general director of the Royal Opera House, said Mr. Evans was one of the greatest artists to sing at Covent Garden.
"He was perhaps the first great British singer of the postwar years to achieve success on the international stage," Isaacs said yesterday.
Born in the pit mining village of Cilfynydd, near Pontypridd, on Feb. 16, 1922, Mr. Evans was raised by his grandparents after his mother died when he was a toddler.
He became a member of the local Welsh Methodist chapel choir as a young boy and won his first gold medal in a singing competition at age 4. He also played the piano and taught himself the violin as a youngster.
After leaving school at 14, Mr. Evans took a job as a window dresser, then joined the Royal Air Force in World War II.
His first international singing exposure came when he joined the British Forces Network chorus. He went on to study music in Hamburg, London and Geneva, and made his operatic debut as the night watchman in Wagner's "Die Meistersinger."
He served as principal baritone at Covent Garden for 36 years, from his debut until his emotional final performance in Donizetti's "L'Elisir D'Amore" on June 4, 1984.
Prince Charles attended his final performance, joining the audience and chorus in a rousing rendition of the Welsh National Anthem as bouquets and streamers littered the stage. Mr. Evans was moved to tears.
His work took him around the world with performances at the Vienna State Opera, La Scalain Milan, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Paris Opera and the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires.
Mr. Evans, who believed acting was as important as singing in opera, practiced ballet to achieve a lightness of foot.
His autobiography, "Geraint Evans: A Knight at the Opera," was published in 1984.
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