# Joseph Ward (tenor)

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{{Short description|English tenor (1932–2019)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
'''Joseph Ward''' [OBE](/source/OBE) (22 May 1932<!-- before changing this see talk --> in Preston<ref name="Kennedy"/> – 27 April 2019<ref name="Wagnerqld">Jennette Johnstone: [https://wagnerqld.com.au/vale-joseph-ward/ Vale Joseph Ward] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508190507/https://wagnerqld.com.au/vale-joseph-ward/ |date=2019-05-08 }} The Wagner Society in Queensland,</ref><ref name="Salazar">Francisco Salazar: [http://operawire.com/obituary-english-tenor-joseph-ward-dies/ Obituary: English Tenor Joseph Ward Dies] operawire.com 8 May 2019</ref>) was an English [tenor](/source/tenor), formerly a [baritone](/source/baritone), who created  roles in operas by [Benjamin Britten](/source/Benjamin_Britten) and [Michael Tippett](/source/Michael_Tippett). He has also made a career as a singing teacher – his pupils include [Jane Eaglen](/source/Jane_Eaglen) – and opera producer.

In the 1950s, he toured with the [Carl Rosa Opera](/source/Carl_Rosa_Opera), appearing in several operas including the company's final production staged in Nottingham in 1956.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00v71w6 "The Carl Rosa Opera"], BBC, accessed 16 December 2016</ref> As a baritone he created the role of Starveling in Britten's ''[A Midsummer Night's Dream](/source/A_Midsummer_Night's_Dream_(opera))'' (1960), and in the same year sang the same composer's eponymous hero ''[Billy Budd](/source/Billy_Budd_(opera))'' in the radio-broadcast premiere of the revised two-act version.<ref name="Kennedy">Michael Kennedy and Joyce Kennedy, Oxford Concise Dictionary of Music, 2007</ref> He became principal baritone at [The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden](/source/Royal_Opera_House), making his debut there in 1962.<ref name="Kennedy"/> He also created the role of Patroclus in Tippett's opera ''[King Priam](/source/King_Priam)''.<ref name=rcm>{{cite web |accessdate=2009-02-09 |url=http://www.rcm.ac.uk/Studying/Professors+and+Faculties/ProfessorDetails?staff_code=JK786
|title=Royal College of Music: Joseph Ward |publisher= Royal College of Music |year=}}</ref> He recorded as a baritone the role of Sid in Britten's ''[Albert Herring](/source/Albert_Herring)'', conducted by the composer. He subsequently transferred to the tenor repertoire and became Covent Garden's resident principal tenor.<ref name="Wagnerqld" />

A friend of [Joan Sutherland](/source/Joan_Sutherland)'s, he was a principal tenor with the Sutherland-Williamson Grand Opera Company in a 1965 tour of Australia.<ref name=rcm/>

In 1966, he appeared in the sole recording of [Bernard Herrmann](/source/Bernard_Herrmann)'s only opera, ''[Wuthering Heights](/source/Wuthering_Heights_(1951_opera))'', conducted by the composer.<ref name="Wagnerqld" />

In 1972, he founded the Opera School at the [Royal Northern College of Music](/source/Royal_Northern_College_of_Music) in Manchester and subsequently became Head of Vocal Studies there in 1986.<ref name="Kennedy"/><ref name=rcm/> He was appointed an OBE in the [1992 Birthday Honours](/source/1992_Birthday_Honours) List for his services.

In Australia, he directed productions of ''Billy Budd'' and [Ralph Vaughan Williams](/source/Ralph_Vaughan_Williams)'s ''[The Pilgrim's Progress](/source/The_Pilgrim's_Progress_(opera))''.<ref name=rcm/> He sang as a tenor in the first recording of the latter opera, conducted by Sir [Adrian Boult](/source/Adrian_Boult). He died on 27 April 2019.<ref name="Wagnerqld" /> He was a teacher at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music.<ref name="Wagnerqld" />

==Notes==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Joseph}}
Category:English male singers
Category:English opera singers
Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Category:Musicians from Preston, Lancashire
Category:1932 births
Category:2019 deaths

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Joseph Ward (tenor)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Ward_(tenor)) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Ward_(tenor)?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.