Deller, Alfred (George)
Deller, Alfred (George)
Deller, Alfred (George) , English countertenor;b. Margate, May 31, 1912; d. Bologna, July 16, 1979. He studied voice with his father; began singing as a boy soprano, later developing the alto range. He sang in the choirs of the Canterbury Cathedral (1940–47) and at St. Paul’s in London. In 1950 he formed his own vocal and instrumental ensemble, the Deller Consort, acting as conductor and soloist in a repertoire of early English music. This unique enterprise led to a modest revival of English madrigals of the Renaissance. In 1963 he founded the Stour Music Festival in Kent. Britten wrote the part of Oberon in his A Midsummer Night’s Dream for him. In 1970 Deller was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
Bibliography
M. and M. Hardwick, A. D.: A Singularity of Voice (London, 1968; 2nd ed., rev., 1982); J.-L. Tingaud, A. D.: Le contre-tenor (Paris, 1996).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire