Royal Opera Season 2024/25

[Master Jacques]

[...] One British Wotan nobody seems to mention these days is David Ward. We've heard of Bailey and Tomlinson but Ward seems to have been squeezed out, probably because there isn't a recording, at least as far as I know.

I completely agree with you about Ward, in many ways the most imperious and individual British Wotan of them all. As a teenager I was lucky enough to hear him live in the Scottish Opera production: when writing an article about him fairly recently, I had assurances that off-air recordings do exist - but I didn't seek them out, and am not sure that anything's ever been made publicly available.

Anyone with a library card (or a personal subscription) can learn more about this very special singer - and generous man - here:
https://doi.org/10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.111774

[Darkbloom]

I completely agree with you about Ward, in many ways the most imperious and individual British Wotan of them all. As a teenager I was lucky enough to hear him live in the Scottish Opera production: when writing an article about him fairly recently, I had assurances that off-air recordings do exist - but I didn't seek them out, and am not sure that anything's ever been made publicly available.

Anyone with a library card (or a personal subscription) can learn more about this very special singer - and generous man - here:
https://doi.org/10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.111774

I always prefer a bass Wotan. I understand Ward was absolutely huge, Martti Talvela size, which must have been quite striking on stage. It's a great shame he isn't recognised more.

[Master Jacques]

I always prefer a bass Wotan. I understand Ward was absolutely huge, Martti Talvela size, which must have been quite striking on stage. It's a great shame he isn't recognised more.

He was certainly an imposing figure on stage. One decision he made - not to play Wotan when asked by Bayreuth, due to prior commitments and his firm refusal to sing more than a limited number of performances during any one year - impacted on his fame, though not the extent of his international career. He did get a CBE for his work.

Another point: when he retired, he emigrated to New Zealand (where his wife hailed from) and was promptly forgotten here: obituaries in the UK were thin on the ground, and it's taken a while for people to catch up again with his supreme qualities.