John Tomlinson

This English bass moved in his early forties from a diet of basso cantante roles into the rigors of Wagner's Wotan, becoming, in the process, one of the late twentieth century's most imposing exponents of the role. Although he dealt initially with the higher stretches of the Rheingold and Walküre Wotans by a sort of crooning, he eventually grew into the part vocally, though at a cost in terms of vocal steadiness. After pursuing his studies in Manchester, Tomlinson was engaged by the Glyndebourne Festival Touring Company when he was 25. With the Kent Opera during the same earl...