Philip Langridge

Philip Langridge, a distinguished tenor equally at home on the opera stage and in recital, earned widespread acclaim for his command of an extensive operatic repertoire, above all the works of Britten, Janáček, and Stravinsky. Reviewers consistently highlighted the luminous, incisive quality of his singing, noting that its considerable power never compromised textual clarity. Born in Kent, he trained at the London Royal Academy of Music under Celia Bizony and Bruce Boyce. His professional career began modestly at Glyndebourne with the role of the Footman in Richard Strauss’s Capriccio; soon afterward he assumed principal parts at the same house, including Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Florestan in Beethoven’s Fidelio, and Laca in Janáček’s Jenůfa. Langridge made his Covent Garden debut in 1983, appearing as the Teapot in Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges and the Fisherman in Stravinsky’s Nightingale. In 1985 he entered the Metropolitan Opera roster as Ferrando in Mozart’s Così fan tutte; his Salzburg Festival debut followed as Aron in Schoenberg’s Moses und Aron. He later recorded that part for Decca under Georg Solti, an enterprise that received a Grammy Award. Langridge repeatedly undertook the central roles in two of Stravinsky’s major operas, Oedipus Rex and The Rake’s Progress. A 1994 production of Oedipus Rex led by Seiji Ozawa earned a Japanese prize for outstanding operatic staging. His portrayal of Zivny in Janáček’s Osud, captured for EMI with Charles Mackerras, secured the 1984 Olivier Award. He also sang Laca in Jenůfa and Albert Gregor in The Makropulos Case. Britten’s music formed another cornerstone of his work; he performed the title roles in Peter Grimes, Billy Budd, The Turn of the Screw, and Death in Venice. For these interpretations he received a Gramophone Award for the War Requiem and a Classic CD Award for The Turn of the Screw. An advocate of contemporary British scores, Langridge gave the premieres of Birtwistle’s The Mask of Orpheus and Tippett’s New Year. Additional twentieth-century assignments included Andres in Berg’s Wozzeck, Mark in Tippett’s The Midsummer Marriage, and Edrisi in Szymanowski’s King Roger. His range extended equally to earlier periods, encompassing Nerone in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, Shuisky in Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov, Loge in Wagner’s Das Rheingold, and Benedict in Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict. On the recital platform he collaborated with pianists such as Maurizio Pollini and András Schiff. A cycle of Schubert’s Winterreise, prepared with David Owens Norris, culminated in a widely praised appearance at the Salzburg Mozarteum. Langridge was married to mezzo-soprano Ann Murray. Among numerous distinctions, he was appointed Commander of the British Empire in 1994; he also maintained a devoted interest in collecting watercolors.