Geoffrey Alan Blyth (27 July 1929 – 14 August 2007) was an English music critic, author, and musicologist who was particularly known for his writings within the field of opera.[1][2] He was a specialist on singers and singing.[1] Born in London, Blyth's earliest musical experiences were at Rugby School.[1] He attended the music lectures of Professor Jack Westrup.[1] After graduation from Pembroke College, Oxford, where he read history, he returned to London and worked in journalism and publishing.[1] He wrote reviews, interviews, and obituaries for The Times and for Gramophone.[1] He was a long-time contributor to the British magazine Opera.[3]
Personal life
Blyth was married first to the German-born Ursula Zumloh, who died in 2000, and then to the Buddhist scholar Sue Hamilton. For the last two decades of his life, he lived in Lavenham, Suffolk.[1] He wrote a critical discography of Heddle Nash, a singer he much admired, together with Paul Campion, and with the help of Nash's son.[1]
Articles and books
- Blyth, Alan. Colin Davis (Recordmasters/2). Ian Allan, London, 1972 (ISBN 978-0-7110-0319-4)
- Blyth, Alan (3 May 2013). "Karl Böhm, interviewed by Alan Blyth (Gramophone, December 1972)". The Gramophone. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
- Blyth, Alan, ed. Opera on Record. Hutchinson, London, Melbourne, 1979 (ISBN 978-0-09-139980-1) Blyth also contributed the chapters on Der Freischütz, Otello, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Manon, Eugene Onegin, Die Fledermaus and Peter Grimes.
- Blyth, Alan, ed. (1981). Remembering Britten. Hutchinson. ISBN 978-0-09-144950-6.[4][5]
- Blyth, Alan, ed. Opera on Record 2. Hutchinson, London, Melbourne, 1983 (ISBN 978-0-09-153120-1) Blyth also contributed the chapters on Samson et Dalila and Hänsel und Gretel.
- Blyth, Alan (23 October 1986). Song on Record: Volume 1, Lieder. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-26844-8.
- Blyth, Alan (1995). Opera on Video. Trafalgar Square Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85626-175-3.
- Blyth, Alan (1 November 2014). "An interview with Heinz Holliger". The Gramophone. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
References
- Reed, Philip (15 August 2007). "Obituary: Alan Blyth". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- "Alan Blyth". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - Baker, Janet, and Max Loppert. "Alan Blyth, 1929–2007", Opera Magazine (2007): 1168–1171.
- Hollinghurst, Alan (15 October 1981). "Biographical Materials". London Review of Books.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - Shaw, Christopher (1981). "Review of Remembering Britten". Tempo (139): 45–47. ISSN 0040-2982. JSTOR 946168. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
- C. Mackenzie. "Tribute: Alan Blyth", The Gramophone (2007), volume 85, issues 1024–1026, page 10.
External links
- Cummings, D.M. (2000). International Who's who in Music and Musicians' Directory: (in the Classical and Light Classical Fields). International Who's who in Music and Musicians' Directory 2000/2001: In the Classical and Light Classical Fields. International Biographical Centre. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-948875-53-3. Retrieved 18 December 2023.