David Rendall (tenor)

David Rendall (born 11 October 1948) is an English operatic tenor active from the 1970s to the present.

Personal life and education

Although he sang in a skiffle group while in secondary school, Rendall originally had no intention to sing opera professionally. He was "discovered" while working at the BBC, sorting records for Desert Island Discs. A producer for the show heard him singing "Questa o quella" from Rigoletto while working, and suggested he study professionally.^[1]

Rendall entered the Royal Academy of Music in 1970, and the Salzburg Mozarteum in 1973. He won a Young Musician of the Year Award from the Greater London Arts Association in 1973 and received a Gulbenkian Fellowship in 1975. In May of 1978 he sang the tenor part of Anton Bruckner's Te Deum under the baton of Herbert von Karajan during a performance at Musikverein Hall of Vienna with Vienna Philharmonic.

Performing career

At Covent Garden Rendall sang the roles of the Italian Singer in Der Rosenkavalier, Almaviva in The Barber of Seville, Des Grieux in Manon, Matteo in Arabella, Rodrigo in La donna del lago, Flamand in Capriccio, and the Duke in Rigoletto.^[2] After making his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1980 as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni,^[3] he returned to perform Lensky in Eugene Onegin,^[4] Matteo in Arabella,^[5] and the title role of Idomeneo.^[6]

He also performed with the English National Opera from 1976 to 1992, with the New York City Opera, San Francisco Opera, and many other opera companies in the United States, Great Britain, Ireland, France, Italy, Georgia, Japan, Denmark, and Germany.^[2]

Rendall found some controversy in 1998 when he accidentally stabbed baritone Kimm Julian in the death scene of I Pagliacci during a rehearsal with the Florentine Opera. The switchblade-style knife that the Milwaukee opera company used failed to collapse, and the baritone received a 3-inch-deep (76 mm) cut into his abdomen. ^{[7][8][9][10][11]} Julian recovered and police cleared Rendall of any wrongdoing, though not before the local press hinted darkly about past violence in the English tenor's personal life.^[12]

Recordings

Rendall's recordings include Maria Stuarda with Charles Mackerras and the English National Opera in 1982^[13] and La rondine with Lorin Maazel and the London Symphony Orchestra in 1985.^[14]

References

1. ^ "David Rendall, tenor: from skiffle to La Scala" Ottawa Citizen July 11, 1978, at 45.
2. ^ ^{a b} Intermusica, David Rendall biography, July 2009.
3. ^ "Today: Leading Events The Week's Concert" New York Times, March 16, 1980, at D41.
4. ^ Lloyd Schwartz, "Stars are born" Boston Phoenix April 30, 1985.
5. ^ John Rockwell, Opera: "Arabella" in Season's Debut at the Met" February 22, 1984.
6. ^ Donal Henahan "Opera: The Met's First "Ideomeneo" This Season" New York Times January 18, 1986.
7. ^ Tom Strini & James H. Burnett III, "Baritone stabbed at rehearsal is out of hospital, and opera" Milwaukee Journal Sentinel November 6, 1998, at B1.
8. ^ "Unkindest cut for opera singer", Irish Times November 7, 1998.
9. ^ Sue Fox, Interview: "David Rendall" Sunday Times (London) July 24, 2005.
10. ^ "Drama of the opera takes a real life turn" Birmingham Post November 7, 1998.
11. ^ Bill Mouland & Briony Warden, "A knife at the Opera: Singer is stabbed as stunt with trick dagger goes wrong" Daily Mail (London) November 7, 1998.
12. ^ Cary Spivak & Dan Bice, "Opera stabbing wasn't first flash of trouble for either player" Milwaukee Journal Sentinel November 11, 1998, at 2A.
13. ^ Mary Stuart Recording notes from ArkivMusic.com
14. ^ La rondine Recording notes from ArkivMusic.com

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Name	Rendall, David
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Date of birth	October 11, 1948
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