Nigel Douglas Leigh-Pemberton.
Born Lenham, Kent, 9 May 1929.
Died 15 December 2022.
English tenor.
Nigel Douglas enjoyed an almost unique position among British singers in that he developed a career in Viennese operetta with a fluent and completely authentic vocal delivery. This did not prevent him from singing such parts in English in the UK.
He studied in Vienna, making his debit there as Rodolfo in 1959. He took up a contract as principal tenor at Zürich in 1964. That same year saw his debut with Sadler's Wells in The Gipsy Baron.
His debut with Scottish Opera at the 1968 Edinburgh Festival was at a few hours notice in the title role of Peter Grimes. Britten soon included him as Lechmere in the cast of his opera Owen Wingrave, composed for TV in 1971.
Subsequent appearances with Scottish Opera included the Edinburgh Festival premiere of Thomas Wilson's Hermiston. He also sang Eisenstein as well as several character parts, starting with Valzacchi.
He also worked with Welsh National most notably as Captain Vere in a superb staging by Michael Geliot of Billy Budd that included Thomas Allen as Billy and Forbes Robinson as Claggart.
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