They are lighting the candles at Covent Garden to honour one of the great singers of our age. Thomas Allen (as he was then) first appeared on the stage of the Royal Opera House in 1972, as Donald in Billy Budd, when Benjamin Britten was alive and his opera not nearly so highly thought of as it is today. This month he returns as a long-standing knight of the realm and, so far as our major house is concerned, a monarch to boot.
He may have been born a commoner in County Durham 68 years ago but the baritone’s stellar international reputation granted him regal status many moons ago, particularly in the great Mozart roles. For years he was the first-choice Don Giovanni and Count Almaviva at every major house in the world, and it will surprise few opera buffs that his 40th anniversary treat is the scheming Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte, a role he virtually owns.
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