Heming, Percy
Heming, Percy
Heming, Percy, English baritone; b. Bristol, Sept. 6, 1883; d. London, Jan. 11, 1956. He studied in London at the Royal Academy of Music and with Henschel and Thomas Blackburn; also with Grose in Dresden. In 1915 he made his operatic debut as Paris in Roméo et Juliette with the Beecham Opera Co. in London, with which he appeared until 1919. In 1920 he made a tour of the U.S. in The Beggar’s Opera. In 1922 he joined the British National Opera Co. in London, and also appeared there at Sadler’s Wells (1933-35; 194CM2); also served as artistic director of London’s Covent Garden English Co. (1937–39) and as artistic advisor at Covent Garden (1946–48). He was greatly admired as one of England’s finest baritones. His repertory was extensive, but he excelled particularly as Mozart’s Dr. Bartolo, Ford, Amfortas, Macheath, and Scarpia.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire