Robert Tear

Robert Tear, (pronounced to rhyme with "beer") CBE (8 March 1939 – 29 March 2011) was a Welsh tenor singer, teacher and conductor. He first became known singing in the operas of Benjamin Britten in the mid-1960s. From the 1970s until his retirement in 1999 his main operatic base was the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; he appeared with other opera companies in the UK, mainland Europe, the US and Australia. Generally avoiding the Italian repertoire, which did not suit his voice, Tear became known in leading and character roles in German, British and Russian operas.
Tear's concert repertoire was wide, extending from music from the 17th century to contemporary works by Britten, Tippett and others. He conducted for some years from the mid-1980s, but found himself temperamentally unsuited to it. As a teacher at the Royal Academy of Music he was happier, and was well regarded by colleagues and pupils.
== Links to Peel ==
Peel played Robert Tear's version of "Cigarette" - and mistakenly called him Robert Fear - as part of the Peelenium 1905. The song "Cigarette" was originally written by Charles H. Taylor and Herbert E. Haines in 1904 for the Edwardian musical comedy The Catch Of The Season, which was an international success following a run of 621 performances in London. However, although the song may have been a hit in 1905, Robert Tear's recording was a 1973 track, from an album he and baritone Benjamin Luxon recorded with piano accompaniment by Andre Previn, The Dicky Bird And The Owl (Victorian Songs And Ballads). 
The album sleevenotes (by Robert Tear himself) describe it as being "clearly a little late to be called truly Victorian" and claim, perhaps not altogether seriously, that "Surely it must be the grandfather of songs like Lucy In The Sky WIth Diamonds and Woodstock with its insistence on the power of the drug that hangs on the lips and brings wonderful visions and dreams". This 1973 version may have been added to the Peelenium because of the difficulty in finding a 1905 recording of it in the BBC Library; songs of that era were often hits due to sales of sheet music rather than records.
== Shows Played ==
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*26 May 1999: Cigarette (Peelenium 1905)
==External Links==
*Wikipedia
*Discogs
Category:Artists