Ed Lyon

For the American soldier, see Edward E. Lyon. For other people with similar names, see Edward Lyons (disambiguation).

Ed Lyon is a British tenor.^[1] Though known primarily for singing in baroque operas and oratorios, Lyon has also sung roles in operas by composers from Mozart and Haydn to Stravinsky and Britten.^[2][3][4]

Early life and education

Lyon comes from Yorkshire and attended Harrow School. He then studied history of art at St John's College, Cambridge, where he was a choral scholar, before training as a singer at the Royal Academy of Music and the National Opera Studio.

Career

Within the United Kingdom, Ed Lyon has appeared for five of the country's six main opera companies. His roles on the main stage of the Royal Opera House include Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Pane in La Calisto, Hylas in Les Troyens^[5] and dancing master in Ariadne auf Naxos.^[6] For Opera North, Lyon has sung Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, whilst appearances for Glyndebourne include Hippolyte in Rameau's Hippolyte et Aricie as well as various roles in Purcell's The Fairy-Queen.^[7] Lyon has also sung Telemaco in Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria for Welsh National Opera and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni for Scottish Opera.^[8] He returned to Scottish Opera in February 2016 to sing Lurcanio in Handel's Ariodante.

Outside of the UK, Lyon has sung for opera companies and at theatres including the Bavarian State Opera, the Dutch National Opera, the Teatro Real in Madrid, La Monnaie in Brussels, the Opéra de Lille, the Théâtre du Châtelet, the Aix-en-Provence Festival^[9] and the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, next to Shakespeare's Globe.^[10][11][12]

Also active as a concert singer, Lyon's repertoire includes oratorios such as Handel's Messiah and Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius, as well as Latin-language religious music like Bach's Mass in B minor and Mozart's Requiem.

Personal life

Lyon is gay^[1] and has a keen interest in pet dogs.^[13]

References

1. "Ed Lyon Interview". Time Out. 19 July 2012. Archived from the original on 24 July 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
2. Alexandra Coghlan (10 February 2015). "Topped in translation: two new London operas make a case for English-language productions". New Statesman. Ed Lyon and Samuel Boden reprise their roles as rival lovers – two young tenors with personality to match fine voices
3. Sam Smith (7 February 2015). "Der fliegende Holländer @ Royal Opera House, London". musicOMH. Ed Lyon, also currently appearing in L'Ormindo at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, is a superb Steersman who alongside revealing an excellent tenor voice throws himself more completely than most into the drunken revelries (and in this production splashing) in Act III.
4. Jessica Duchen (10 February 2015). "Der fliegende Holländer, Royal Opera House, review: An immersive and immersing experience". The Independent. the contributions of Ed Lyon as the Steersman and Catherine Wyn-Rogers as Mary were outstanding
5. Anthony Tommasini (26 June 2012). "Love Lies in Carthage, but Duty Calls in Rome in Berlioz's 5-Act Epic". New York Times Music.
6. Biography on Royal Opera House website
7. "Ed Lyon". Groves Artists. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
8. Rupert Christiansen (16 October 2013). "Don Giovanni, Theatre Royal, Glasgow, review". The Daily Telegraph.
9. "Ed Lyon (Tenor) - Short Biography". Bach-cantatas.com. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
10. Rupert Christiansen (26 March 2014). "L'Ormindo, Royal Opera/Shakespeare's Globe, review". The Daily Telegraph. Ed Lyon displayed the appropriate machismo as the bumptious Amidas
11. Fiona Maddocks (30 March 2014). "L'Ormindo; Nash Ensemble; Belcea Quartet – review". The Observer.
12. Alexandra Coughlan (11 April 2014). "Tiny, candlelit and intimate: L'Ormindo at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse". New Statesman.
13. "YouTube interview". YouTube. Retrieved 21 July 2020.