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Alan Blyth

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Pencil sketch of Alan Blyth

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

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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.[4]

Blyth died after his 78th birthday[4]

Articles and books

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  • Blyth, Alan (1 November 2014). "An interview with Heinz Holliger". The Gramophone. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  • Blyth, Alan (3 May 2013). "Karl Böhm, interviewed by Alan Blyth (Gramophone, December 1972)". The Gramophone. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  • Blyth, Alan (1995). Opera on Video. Trafalgar Square Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85626-175-3.
  • Blyth, Alan (23 October 1986). Song on Record: Volume 1, Lieder. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-26844-8.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Reed, Philip (15 August 2007). "Obituary: Alan Blyth". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Alan Blyth". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  3. ^ Baker, Janet, and Max Loppert. "Alan Blyth, 1929–2007", Opera Magazine (2007): 1168–1171.
  4. ^ a b Reed, Philip (15 August 2007). "Alan Blyth". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  • C. Mackenzie. "Tribute: Alan Blyth", The Gramophone (2007), volume 85, issues 1024–1026, page 10.
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