Peter Auty
Encyclopedia
Peter Auty is an English
opera
tic tenor who has worked with most of the major opera companies in Britain and a number of companies in continental Europe.
who sang with the St Paul's Cathedral
. At the age of 13, he sang "Walking in the Air
", the theme song to the 1982 animated film The Snowman
. Most people thought Aled Jones
was the original singer, but his version was a cover of the song released as a single in 1985. Auty's version, which was recorded especially for The Snowman, had been released as a single two years earlier. Due to a rush to finish the film on time, Auty was not credited on the film until it was remastered in 2002.
For a while during the early eighties, Auty's voice was a household sound when he sang for a British Rail television commercial: "This is the Age of the Train!".
Auty took the role of Camille in York Light Opera Company’s production of The Merry Widow in 1995. Subsequently he moved to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music where he studied under Peter Alexander Wilson.
production of Verdi's Don Carlos
. He subsequently sang the role of Rodolfo in La bohème
with the company in 2002 and will rejoin it for Don José in Carmen
in 2010. Elsewhere in Britain, he has sung at the Royal Opera House
, Covent Garden, Glyndebourne Festival Opera
(Cassio in Verdi's Otello
and Nemorino in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore
) and roles with Scottish Opera
and English National Opera
. In Europe he has appeared in Frankfurt
, Rouen
and at other venues.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic tenor who has worked with most of the major opera companies in Britain and a number of companies in continental Europe.
Choirboy
Auty is a former choirboyChoirboy
A choirboy is a boy member of a choir, also known as a treble.As a derisive slang term, it refers to a do-gooder or someone who is morally upright, in the same sense that "Boy Scout" refers to someone who is considered honorable or conscientious.- History :The use of choirboys in Christian...
who sang with the St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
. At the age of 13, he sang "Walking in the Air
Walking in the Air
"Walking in the Air" is a song written by Howard Blake for the 1982 animated film of Raymond Briggs' 1978 children's book The Snowman. In the film the song was performed by St Paul's Cathedral choirboy Peter Auty...
", the theme song to the 1982 animated film The Snowman
The Snowman
The Snowman is a children's book by English author Raymond Briggs, published in 1978. In 1982, this book was turned into a 26-minute animated movie by Dianne Jackson for the fledgling Channel 4. It was first shown on Channel 4 late on Christmas Eve in 1982 and was an immediate success. The film was...
. Most people thought Aled Jones
Aled Jones
Aled Jones is a Welsh singer and television/radio personality, broadcaster and television presenter who first came to fame as a treble...
was the original singer, but his version was a cover of the song released as a single in 1985. Auty's version, which was recorded especially for The Snowman, had been released as a single two years earlier. Due to a rush to finish the film on time, Auty was not credited on the film until it was remastered in 2002.
For a while during the early eighties, Auty's voice was a household sound when he sang for a British Rail television commercial: "This is the Age of the Train!".
Auty took the role of Camille in York Light Opera Company’s production of The Merry Widow in 1995. Subsequently he moved to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music where he studied under Peter Alexander Wilson.
Opera singer
Auty's professional debut was in 1998 in an Opera NorthOpera North
Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and the Theatre Royal, Newcastle...
production of Verdi's Don Carlos
Don Carlos
Don Carlos is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French language libretto by Camille du Locle and Joseph Méry, based on the dramatic play Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien by Friedrich Schiller...
. He subsequently sang the role of Rodolfo in La bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
with the company in 2002 and will rejoin it for Don José in Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
in 2010. Elsewhere in Britain, he has sung at the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
, Covent Garden, Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an English opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.-History:...
(Cassio in Verdi's Otello
Otello
Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play Othello. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on February 5, 1887....
and Nemorino in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore
L'elisir d'amore
L'elisir d'amore is an opera by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. It is a melodramma giocoso in two acts...
) and roles with Scottish Opera
Scottish Opera
Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies funded by the Scottish Government...
and English National Opera
English National Opera
English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...
. In Europe he has appeared in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
and at other venues.