Died 12 April 1986.
Scottish baritone.
Bill Dewar was one of the leading forces behind the Dundee-based amateur company Tayside Opera from its foundation in 1968. He was the company's President from 1981 until his death.
During his years with the company he performed principal baritone roles in some twenty stagings, with a particular love of Verdi. He could willingly turn his hand to direction when someone was required quickly to fill a gap.
If the published translation of a chosen work was inadequate, he was able to provide excellent usable versions himself. The first of these was for Macbeth in 1978, succeeding in retaining substantial portions of singable Shakespeare. He followed this with versions of Lucia di Lammermoor (1980), Ernani (1981) and La gioconda (1984).
After his death, the company established the Bill Dewar Memorial Award, with the intention of providing financial support for a student at the RSAMD in Glasgow.
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