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theatres, he sang the tenor roles in many
Italian operas while on the stages the puppets mimed the action. After the London season, the marionette company secured a contract to appear in New York; Nash went with them. On his return to London a friend advanced the money for him to study in Milan with
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called Nash the leading
British lyric tenor of the 20th century, and considered him "ideal casting for the heroes of French 19th-century Romantic opera." Nash had a repertoire of twenty-four operas, and sang fluently in English, French, German and Italian. He was proud of being the first Englishman
128:
The
Blackheath scholarship was held open until after the war; Nash took it up on his return. He had some experience of concert and oratorio work, and then he accepted an offer to sing with Podrecca and Feodora's Italian Marionettes. Unseen, standing in the orchestra pit of the
22:
155:. It was a notable success. After singing at Turin, Bologna and Genoa, Nash returned to England with his wife in 1925. He had developed an Italianate style of singing that remained with him: it was said of him that he sang everything as though it were by Verdi.
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said that it was a pleasure to welcome a very beautiful tenor voice, praised his clarity of diction, and predicted that Nash would be one of the eminent lyric tenors of the future. At the Old Vic he appeared as Tonio in
142:. On 7 April 1923 Nash married Florence Emily Violet Pearce, daughter of a sign manufacturer. They had two sons, John Dennis Heddle Nash (1926-1994), who became an operatic baritone, and David L Heddle Nash (b. 1930).
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wrote, "Hardly another tenor of his time has sung Mozart with such elegance and at the same time such a minstrel-like effect of spontaneity." Nash also sang in lighter musical stage works, appearing in
503:, sung in English, became a best-seller, making a little-known item of music extremely popular in his homeland. In 1927, he participated in the recording of complete English-language versions of
352:. His roles included Faust, Pinkerton and Rodolfo. After the Royal Opera House reopened following its wartime closure, Nash sang Des Grieux and David. His last appearance at Covent Garden was in
255:
in the company's
International Season. He sang leading tenor roles in Italian and French operas at Covent Garden until World War II, including Almaviva, Pinkerton, Faust, Roméo, Rodolfo in
376:
Nash's career was not restricted to opera; he gave many song recitals, made radio broadcasts and performed in concerts and oratorio productions all over
Britain. In 1931, he was chosen by
208:. At the end of the Old Vic season he joined the British National Opera Company, going on tour with the company after a short London season. His roles included Almaviva, Fenton in
887:
145:
While studying with
Borgatti, Nash made his operatic debut in 1924 at the Teatro Carcano in Milan, when he replaced an indisposed tenor in the role of Almaviva in
924:, May 1954, p. 54. The reviewer thought that "Heddle Nash seems to be rather tired as he attacks high notes and he sentimentalises a good deal of his part."
433:
a few months before his death from lung cancer on 14 August 1961. On his tombstone in
Chislehurst Cemetery are carved the opening words of part two of
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in April 1948. He continued to appear on stage until July 1958, when he reprised a character role that he had created a year earlier, Dr
Manette in
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125:. He was accepted, but a week later World War I broke out. Nash joined the army, serving in France, Salonika, Egypt and Palestine.
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422:. The work was recorded soon afterwards, with the same 16 singers. This historic performance can be heard on CD re-issues.
386:, in a performance conducted by Elgar himself. Henceforth, Nash was closely associated with the part, singing it at every
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wrote, "Those who are apt to remember him as an essentially lyrical tenor should turn up his "Sound an Alarm" from
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As a concert singer, Nash was known for his performances in oratorio, and in particular in the title role of
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during the late 1920s and early 1930s. These were mostly of operatic titles, including arias from
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considered him the greatest of all exponents of the part. Nash's 1945 recording of
Gerontius with
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Many of Nash's recordings have been reissued on compact disc. He made his first recordings for
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on 14 June 1894, the son of
William Nash, master builder, and his wife, Harriet Emma
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to sing tenor roles in English. His first part for the company was the Duke in
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John Heddle Nash (30 March 1928 – 29 September 1994): see, Forbes, Elizabeth,
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Carr. The family was musical, and listening at home to a gramophone record by
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conducted by Beecham. Nash was the tenor in Beecham's first LP recording of
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40:. He made numerous recordings that are still available on CD reissues.
55:, without equal then or now." He appeared in tenor roles in operas by
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307:. He sang these three roles every year until 1938, adding Ottavio in
173:
32:(14 June 1894 – 14 August 1961) was an English lyric
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In his later years, Nash was appointed professor of singing at the
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History of the Tenor / Heddle Nash / Sound Clips and Narration
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y, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 9 October 2010
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at the inaugural performance, Pedrillo, and Ferrando in
894:, London Borough of Bromley, accessed 9 October 2010
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Nash's voice was of the light tenor class known as "
836:Cardus, Neville, "Where piety and music combine",
398:is still regarded by many critics as unsurpassed.
954:Heddle Nash: Singing Against The Tide – Biography
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163:On his return to London Nash was engaged by the
121:prompted Nash to apply for a scholarship at the
79:. His operatic career lasted from 1924 to 1958.
973:William Heddle Nash, English tenor, 1894 – 1961
738:, Oxford Music Online, accessed 9 October 2010
288:in the International Season at Covent Garden.
527:. In 1935, he recorded a complete Act IV of
437:: "I went to sleep and now I am refreshed."
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51:referred to him as "the English lyric tenor
665:, April 1937, p. 5, accessed 9 October 2010
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345:, often singing opposite the Australian
295:season, in 1934, Nash played Basilio in
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1024:20th-century British male opera singers
1004:Academics of the Royal College of Music
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368:called it "a most moving performance".
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628:Oxford Dictionary of National Biograph
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567:Heddle Nash: Singing Against the Tide
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624:"Nash, (William) Heddle (1894–1961)"
341:During the war Nash toured with the
241:In 1929, Nash made his debut at the
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907:(London, September 1933 edition).
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390:from 1934 to 1950. The critic
235:Die Meistersinger von NĂĽrnberg
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975:at cantabile-subito.de/Tenors
905:Catalogue of Columbia Records
768:"Heddle Nash—Brief Biography"
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276:Die EntfĂĽhrung aus dem Serail
803:, 15 April 1932, p. 13; and
676:"Obituary: John Heddle Nash"
187:The Daughter of the Regiment
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10:
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380:to sing the title role in
36:who appeared in opera and
964:Biography for Heddle Nash
885:"Heddle Nash (1895–1961)"
418:composed as a tribute to
372:Oratorio and later career
890:25 December 2010 at the
809:, 9 September 1945, p. 2
1009:English operatic tenors
999:Deaths from lung cancer
870:"The Sublime Serenade,"
801:The Manchester Guardian
740:(subscription required)
714:, 1 January 1926, p. 56
632:(subscription required)
569:. Jubilee House Press.
523:with the forces of the
500:La jolie fille de Perth
464:Il barbiere di Siviglia
401:Nash sang regularly in
343:Carl Rosa Opera Company
190:, in the title role in
152:Il barbiere di Siviglia
941:, January 1962, p. 116
791:, October 1961, p. 645
774:, December 1942, p. 20
758:, December 2005, p. 50
565:Allen, Eleanor (2010)
525:British National Opera
435:The Dream of Gerontius
429:. He sang in his last
427:Royal College of Music
409:Ralph Vaughan Williams
383:The Dream of Gerontius
89:The Dream of Gerontius
26:
827:, 22 July 1958, p. 11
752:"Command Performance"
622:Baker, Anne Pimlott,
600:, August 1989, p. 103
594:"Historic Recordings"
388:Three Choirs Festival
105:Nash was born in the
77:Glyndebourne Festival
71:among others, at the
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1014:People from Deptford
868:Aschenbach, Andrew,
842:, 4 March 1960, p. 9
520:Cavalleria rusticana
362:A Tale of Two Cities
313:in 1937. The critic
217:Cavalleria rusticana
1019:Musicians from Kent
859:, April 1975, p. 90
364:at Sadler's Wells.
30:William Heddle Nash
918:"Four LP Messiahs"
875:, July 2008, p. 42
736:Grove Music Online
701:. 11 October 1940.
541:, issued in 1953.
392:Sir Neville Cardus
298:Le nozze di Figaro
273:, and Pedrillo in
249:as Don Ottavio in
196:, as Pinkerton in
27:
819:The Musical Times
789:The Musical Times
712:The Musical Times
575:978-0-9565996-0-5
414:Serenade to Music
366:The Musical Times
354:Die Meistersinger
286:Die Meistersinger
284:to sing David in
243:Royal Opera House
223:Roméo et Juliette
202:and as Tamino in
180:The Musical Times
140:Giuseppe Borgatti
73:Royal Opera House
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484:L'elisir d'amore
447:Columbia Records
378:Sir Edward Elgar
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199:Madama Butterfly
159:Opera in England
45:tenore di grazia
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205:The Magic Flute
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994:1961 deaths
989:1894 births
560:Biographies
505:Leoncavallo
325:The Dubarry
220:, Roméo in
101:Early years
25:Heddle Nash
983:Categories
873:Gramophone
857:Gramophone
756:Gramophone
598:Gramophone
581:References
473:Friederike
441:Recordings
281:Alan Blyth
75:, and the
824:The Times
534:La bohème
510:Pagliacci
490:Rigoletto
338:in 1945.
258:La bohème
174:Rigoletto
96:Biography
888:Archived
515:Mascagni
211:Falstaff
135:Coliseum
111:Deptford
38:oratorio
539:Messiah
529:Puccini
431:Messiah
404:Messiah
347:soprano
165:Old Vic
147:Rossini
69:Puccini
853:Review
785:quoted
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478:Jeptha
65:Wagner
57:Mozart
495:Bizet
469:Lehár
229:Manon
193:Faust
131:Scala
84:Elgar
61:Verdi
34:tenor
968:IMDb
903:See
571:ISBN
513:and
487:and
133:and
67:and
966:at
787:in
699:Age
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