Ryland Davies

Lyric tenor Ryland Davies performed with major opera companies in Britain, continental Europe, and the U.S. A specialist in Mozart and the lighter bel canto roles in Italian opera, he was also a noted educator. Davies was born in Cwm, Wales, on February 9, 1943. His father was a steelworker. Although he had no musical training whatsoever, Davies was attracted to music and enrolled at the Royal Manchester College of Music (now the Royal Northern College of Music) when he was 17. A teacher, Frederic Cox, spotted his talent, and after two years, he won a place in the chorus at the Glyndebourne Festival. Davies made his debut in 1964 at the Welsh National Opera as Count Almaviva in Rossini's The Barber of Seville. He continued to sing with the Glyndebourne Chorus, graduating to operatic roles at the festival and appearing there frequently. In 1969, he sang the role of Ferrando in Mozart's Così fan tutte, K. 588, in an acclaimed production at the Scottish Opera; that appearance raised his profile considerably. Mozart, in general, and that role specifically, became Davies' specialties; he also sang the lighter roles in early bel canto opera. An early Davies recording came in 1976, with a part in an English Chamber Orchestra performance of Handel's Messiah conducted by Raymond Leppard. In the '70s, Davies appeared at major operatic venues, including the Salzburg Festival in 1970 and New York's Metropolitan Opera in 1975. In 1966, he married mezzo-soprano Anne Howells. The marriage ended in divorce in 1981, and in the early '80s, he suffered a period of vocal problems. He recovered and appeared in several major roles in the late '80s, including Eisenstein in Johann Strauss II's Die Fledermaus at the English National Opera and in the title role of Weber's Oberon in several French houses. Davies often performed character roles such as the Rev. Horace Adams in Britten's Peter Grimes later in his career, combining performance with teaching at the Royal Northern College of Music, the Royal College of Music, and the Reina Sofia College of Music in Madrid. Davies appeared on more than 80 albums, many of which were reissued later in his life. He died on November 5, 2023.
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