Stuart Burrows

Presenter0:00

This download is the only extract the BBC has of this edition of Desert Island Discs. The presenter was Roy Plumley.

Stuart Burrows0:08

What part of Wales do you come from, sir?

Stuart Burrows0:10

Well, I was born in a little village called Kilvanyed, which is near the town of Pont de Pries. Yes. It's a famous town where

Stuart Burrows0:18

Tom Jones was born and where Garrant Evans was born. Kilvernith actually. Garrant was born in the same village, same street, yes. It's a mining area, isn't it? A mining village it was. It is not now what it was. Mhm. Do you come from a millscore family?

Stuart Burrows0:31

Well, my father wasn't musical. My mother was, in an amateur way.

Stuart Burrows0:37

We were given every encouragement as children, you see, my sister and my brother. Yes. When did you start?

Stuart Burrows0:44

I started at a very early age. Uh I sang in in in my chapel.

Stuart Burrows0:49

It is there, really, that I learnt most of my Welsh. As a youngster, what was your ambition?

Stuart Burrows0:54

I never had ambition.

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To be a singer.

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I knew I could sing.

Stuart Burrows1:01

And then there was no ambition to become a professional as such.

Presenter1:06

Uh

Stuart Burrows1:07

Uh

Presenter1:07

What, in fact, did you take up as your first profession?

Presenter1:10

I was a teacher. Yes. Of what?

Presenter1:14

Uh

Stuart Burrows1:14

Well, of general subjects in a primary school in Wales. Um

Presenter1:16

Yeah.

Stuart Burrows1:18

I hadn't decided really what to do because I was caught up in the last year of conscription.

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And uh I went to the forces, to the Air Force.

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And on returning to civilian life, I then went to Carmarthen, Trinity College Carmarthen.

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To train as a teacher.

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And it was while at uh

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the Trinity College, I decided that uh

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I would also sing, and in Wales, of course, the format was to sing oratorio, so I learnt the Messiah.

Stuart Burrows1:55

And I began like that, singing the tenor part in the Messiah. The

Stuart Burrows1:59

Uh later I had to do something to become nationally known and uh and I won the Nationalized Elva Blue Ribbon Competition.

Presenter2:08

Which of course in Wales is is is a very, very important prize indeed for a singer.

Stuart Burrows2:12

Well, yes, i it it is, and and it it really is a very important prize, because, you see, of of all the number

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of um singers, and there are thousands of them in Wales.

Stuart Burrows2:24

To be selected first on the best, I suppose.

Stuart Burrows2:28

In one particular year, it is a very good thing. What were your toast pieces? What did you say? Well, I did a Bach.

Presenter2:28

81

Stuart Burrows2:35

Bach chorale that was arranged, actually, for solo, which is seems rather strange now.

Stuart Burrows2:41

Um uh together with a Welsh song.

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Paradoise of Bard, the Bahad's Paradise by Bradwyn Jones, and I I well remember that.

Stuart Burrows2:51

Uh the that was for the tenor solo itself, yes. And then if you won your individual competition.

Stuart Burrows2:57

You were then automatically placed in a competition called the Blue Riband for all winners of all voices, and for that you had to sing one of your set pieces.

Stuart Burrows3:08

and an an own choice, which usually was an operatic choice translated into Welsh.

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And I chose Mozart's Idol Miotesoro. In Welsh. In Welsh. It's strange, really, because many times since then.

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Mentally.

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On stage I'd been thinking it in Welsh and I'm

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And it's very difficult if you sing it in English, Italian and Welsh to get away from it.

Presenter3:32

The blue ribband at the I Steadford must have meant you were offered some good concert engagement.

Stuart Burrows3:38

Yes, I mean this uh this meant that uh winning this prize

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Would um

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almost automatically uh ensure a career of uh twelve months of concert work.

Stuart Burrows3:54

Well, no, I was very lucky because uh I was in a position where uh I was teaching at a school and I had a marvellous head master.

Stuart Burrows4:04

mister Glynn Williams.

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And he really, more than any one, I think, was most responsible for

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My eventually deciding to

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give up teaching and d you know, d concentrate on a professional career. Because when I wanted uh time, leave of absence, so to speak,

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He was very, very cooperative.

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together with the education authorities in the division, I must must say, they were marvelous. And it's it's through really these people that I was able to to teach

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And sing.

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Until the time came when offers for concerts and opera became so great.

Presenter4:49

Yes.

Stuart Burrows4:50

When did you have your first operatic experience?

Stuart Burrows4:53

That was in nineteen sixty three with the Welsh National Opera.

Presenter4:56

Now what was the occasion that led to you becoming a full time singer?

Stuart Burrows5:00

Yeah.

Stuart Burrows5:01

Well, during this period, nineteen sixty three sixty four

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I did quite a lot of broadcasting and television and and I did Puccini's Labo M with John Carlyle for BBC television and uh

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Somehow or other Stravinsky got to hear of this and asked for me to sing.

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At Athens.

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In Oedipus Rex, the role of Oedipus.

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I think this was the turning point because um

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Everything happened overnight, so to speak, from that moment on. Yes. Covent garden.

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Ask for me to sing

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a a small role in in one of the operas. And they sent for me from Cardiff.

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I'll never forget actually having the the letter to say that Maestro Jar Schulte would like you to sing The First Prisoner.

Stuart Burrows5:53

And uh it is it's quite something uh to me then to think that uh you know from teaching in in a small village school

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that I would be singing on uh the stage at Covent Garden.

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And then suddenly

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Before I was uh to do a major role at Covent Garden, I was uh invited to sing at San Francisco.

Presenter6:14

Mm-hmm.

Stuart Burrows6:14

And this really was the beginning of the international

Presenter6:18

Yes. There's been quite a big British contingent singing in San Francisco through the years recently.

Stuart Burrows6:23

It's it's fine. It's uh

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Our British contingent I think we had about sixteen singers at one time.

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Um 1969, I think. Really? Yes, I I have a photograph at home with

Stuart Burrows6:37

Oh, quite a number of uh well, I think there are sixteen of us altogether, you know.

Stuart Burrows6:42

Be too long a list to name on, I guess.

Presenter6:43

Yes, but quite a few Welsh I know that.

Stuart Burrows6:45

Yes, I know that.

Presenter6:46

All the words continued.

Stuart Burrows6:46

Uh Yeah.

Presenter6:47

Yeah.

Stuart Burrows6:47

Uh

Presenter6:47

Uh

Presenter6:48

Stuart, it's only six or seven years since you became a professional singer, and already you're one of the most sought-after international lyric tenants. What

Stuart Burrows6:57

Happening next. What I'm doing is a table-floated performance.

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In Vienna Don Giovanni.

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And then

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Uh a recital tour of the United States.

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For your next record, what next?

Stuart Burrows7:12

Ah, well.

Stuart Burrows7:14

Uh an excerpt of

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The magic flute that I did with the Vienna uh Philharmonic.

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and um piano state opera chorus under Maestro Schulte.

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Uh the excerpt is between the speaker.

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Who in this case was did Fish Visher Dee's skull?

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And um

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and myself.

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Before yes, Tamino, before the entry into the temple.

Presenter7:37

Go.

Stuart Burrows7:40

And the reason for taking this would be simply that I would remember the time that it was made in Vienna.

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when um Priscilliskau had only um two hours in which to record this, at the time he was performing in in Berlin.

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And so they

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flew him from Berlin, especially to do this recording.

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And as this was Vienna, you know, the police will do anything for music.

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and they knew he was coming, they were forewarned, and so they changed all the traffic lights from the airport,

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to the Vienna Opera House, to Green, and gave him a motto escort to the Opera House to do this. And we did it, and we did it in two takes.

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And then they put him in a car,

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Drove him back to the airport with all the lights green again, and I wondered, you know, what would have happened had we done this recording in London, for example. Only in Vienna. Only in Vienna, quite.