41 Facts About Peter Pears

Sir Peter Neville Luard Pears was an English tenor.

Peter Pears's career was closely associated with the composer Benjamin Britten, his personal and professional partner for nearly forty years.

Peter Pears was at first unsure whether to concentrate on playing piano and organ, or singing; it was not until he met Britten in 1937 that he threw himself wholeheartedly into singing.

Peter Pears's voice had a distinctive timbre, not to all tastes; however, he could use his voice very well in singing many musical styles.

Peter Pears was born in Farnham, Surrey, the youngest of the seven children of Arthur Grant Peter Pears and his wife, Jessie Elizabeth de Visme, daughter of Richard Luard.

Arthur Peter Pears was a civil engineer and successful businessman, who spent much of his time working overseas.

The biographers Christopher Headington and Donald Mitchell both remark on two contrasting strands in Peter Pears's heredity: the Luard family was notable for its naval and military connections, and on his father's side there was a strong religious tradition, both Anglican and Quaker, with Elizabeth Fry counted among his ancestors.

Peter Pears enjoyed his schooldays at his prep school, The Grange, and his public school, Lancing College, which he attended from 1923 to 1928.

Peter Pears showed considerable talent for music, both as a pianist and as a singer, playing leading roles in school productions of Gilbert and Sullivan operas.

Peter Pears was a capable and enthusiastic cricketer, and remembered all his life the pride he felt in scoring 81 not out in a trial match against Surrey at the Oval.

Lancing had a strong Christian tradition; while there, Peter Pears felt a sense of vocation for the priesthood, but increasingly found this impossible to reconcile with his growing awareness of his homosexuality.

In 1928 Peter Pears went to Keble College, Oxford, to study music.

Peter Pears was not at this stage sure whether his musical future was as a singer or as player; during his brief time at the university, he was appointed temporary assistant organist at Hertford College, which was useful practical experience.

Peter Pears failed the first-year examinations and though he was entitled to resit them he decided against doing so, and went down from Oxford.

Peter Pears urged him not to drift into a lifetime of schoolmastering, and he concluded that his future lay in singing.

Peter Pears later said that it was hearing the tenor Steuart Wilson singing the Evangelist in J S Bach's St Matthew Passion that "started me off".

Peter Pears successfully applied for admission to the Royal College of Music in London, first as a part-time student and then, having been awarded a scholarship, studying full-time from 1934.

Peter Pears shared an apartment with Trevor Harvey and Basil Douglas.

Peter Pears appeared in student productions of opera, finding himself wholly at home on the stage, and learning from the experience of singing Delius under Sir Thomas Beecham and roles in works by Mozart and Puccini.

Peter Pears chafed at subsisting on a student's limited funds, and wanted a good, steady income.

Peter Pears auditioned for the BBC and was given a two-year contract as a member of the BBC Singers, a small vocal ensemble.

Peter Pears quickly became Britten's musical inspiration and close friend.

Up to this point Peter Pears had not pursued his career or his vocal training with any great determination.

Peter Pears took vocal lessons from the eminent Lieder singer Elena Gerhardt, but they were of limited help to him, and it was some time before he found a wholly suitable voice coach.

Peter Pears was inclined to disregard the advice and go back to England; Britten felt the urge to return, but accepted the embassy's counsel and persuaded Peter Pears to do the same.

In 1941, spurred by a magazine article by E M Forster about the Suffolk poet George Crabbe, Peter Pears bought Britten a copy of Crabbe's collection of narrative poems The Borough.

Peter Pears suggested to Britten that the section about the fisherman Peter Grimes would make a good subject for an opera.

Peter Pears later said, "I suddenly realised where I belonged and what I lacked".

For Peter Pears, Britten composed one of his most popular works, the Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings.

Peter Pears's roles included Tamino in The Magic Flute, Rodolfo in La boheme, the Duke in Rigoletto, Alfredo in La traviata, Almaviva in The Barber of Seville, Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte and Vasek in The Bartered Bride.

Peter Pears's growing operatic experience and expertise affected the composition of Britten's opera Peter Grimes.

In January 1944 Britten and Peter Pears began a long association with the Decca Record Company, recording four of Britten's folk song arrangements.

Peter Pears Grimes opened in June 1945 and was hailed by public and critics.

Dismayed by the in-fighting among the company, Cross, Britten and Peter Pears severed their ties with Sadler's Wells in December 1945, going on to found what was to become the English Opera Group.

Peter Pears sang his first Gerontius in 1944, and the tenor part in Das Lied von der Erde in the same year.

Peter Pears continued to perform until a stroke ended his singing career in 1980 shortly after the celebrations marking his seventieth birthday.

Peter Pears died in Aldeburgh on 3 April 1986 at the age of 75.

Peter Pears was buried beside Britten in the churchyard of the parish church of St Peter and St Paul, Aldeburgh.

Peter Pears was awarded honorary degrees or fellowships by three music academies and nine universities in the UK and US.

Peter Pears was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1957, and knighted in 1978.

For Decca, Peter Pears recorded almost all the music written for him by Britten.