Mullings, Frank (Coningsby)
Mullings, Frank (Coningsby)
distinguished English tenor; b. Walsall, March 10, 1881; d. Manchester, May 19, 1953. He studied voice in Birmingham. He made his operatic debut in Coventry in 1907 as Faust, then sang Tristan in London in 1913, and performed the role of Otello in Manchester in 1916. In 1919 he was the first to sing Parsifal in English, at Covent Garden in London. From 1922 to 1926 he was the principal dramatic tenor of the British National Opera Co., and appeared with it as Apollo in the first performance, in 1924, of Rutland Boughton’s Alkestis. He taught at the Birmingham School of Music (1927–46) and at the Royal Manchester Coll. of Music (1944–49). His other roles included Siegfried, Tannhäuser, Canio, and Radames.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis Mclntire