Christopher Purves
Christopher Purves | |
|---|---|
| Born | Cambridge, England |
| Genres | Opera, rock |
| Occupation(s) | Bass-baritone singer |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
Christopher Watt Purves (born 11 October 1961) is an English bass-baritone.
Early life[edit]
Purves was born in Cambridge, the youngest of the four sons of Dr Michael Jarvie Purves and his wife Dr Jean Purves,[1][2] both physicians.[3] He sang as a boy treble in the choir of King's College, Cambridge,[4] where he was later a choral scholar, studying English literature.[5] By the time he was a student, Purves was singing bass, alongside Gerald Finley, who was in the same year group. The tenor Mark Padmore was another contemporary.[4]
He graduated BA in 1983, promoted to MA in 1987.[6] After leaving Cambridge, Purves joined the close harmony group Harvey and the Wallbangers.[5]
Career[edit]
Purves sang with Opera North in several productions in the seasons 1997 to 2004 and later. He performed with The Sixteen and has an extensive discography. Purves featured on the CD cover as Figaro in Opera in English's release of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro in 2004. He was one of the artists on the Lamenti recital (Virgin Classics) which won Record of the Year in 2009 at France's Victoires de la musique classique. He premiered the role of Protector in George Benjamin's 2012 opera, Written on Skin, and the role of Walt Disney in Philip Glass's 2013 opera The Perfect American.
In 2016, Purves was the bass soloist in Beethoven's Ninth at the Proms and later in the year played the title character in Don Giovanni with ENO.
Personal life[edit]
In 1993, Purves married Edwina Vernon, company manager at the English National Opera, and they set up home in a flat in Stoke Newington. They have three children and later moved to Oxford,[7] where Edwina Vernon became a music teacher at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School in Headington. In 2011, readers of Oxford Mail voted her teacher of the year.[8]
Selected discography[edit]
- Marc-Antoine Charpentier: Leçons de Ténèbres - Office du Mercredi Saint, H.120, H.138, H.141, H.117, H.131, H.126 and Miserere H.173 - C. Greuillet, C. Pelon, C. Purves, Gérard Lesne, Il Seminario Musicale - Virgin Classics, CD 5451072 (1995).
- George Frideric Handel: Finest Arias for Base Voice, Arcangelo, Jonathan Cohen, Hyperion Records (2013)
References[edit]
- ^ Christopher Watt Purves, purvisfamilytree.com, accessed 27 March 2023
- ^ "Christopher W Purves" in England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2007: Oct-Nov-Dec 1960 / Cambridge / Mother's Maiden Name: Stevens /Volume: 4a / Page 375"
- ^ "Purves (Mrs) Hilda Jean MB BS 1953 (formerly Stevens)", "Purves, Michael Jarvie MB BS 1954", The Medical Register Part 2 (1985), p. 2960
- ^ a b Erica Jeal, "Christopher Purves" in Opera (2009), vol. 60, p. 516, "Purves sings his first Falstaff at Glyndebourne this month... Home was Cambridge, where as a boy treble he sang in the choir of King's College. ... (Gerald Finley was the fellow bass of his year group: the tenor Mark Padmore was in the year above.)"
- ^ a b "Christopher Purves", opera-rara.com, accessed 27 March 2023
- ^ "PURVES Christopher Watt K BA83 MA87" in Cambridge University List of Members (Cambridge University Press, 1998), p. 639
- ^ Julian Flanagan, "From Harvey and the Wallbangers to Covent Garden: Christopher Purves interviewed", The Spectator, 1 June 2013
- ^ "STAR TEACHER: Pupils sing praises of their musical Miss", Oxford Mail, 22 July 2011, accessed 27 March 2023
External links[edit]
- "Q&A: bass-baritone Christopher Purves on communicating everything from Handel to George Benjamin", theartsdesk.com, 28 June 2022
- "Christopher Purves interview: From doo-wop to new opera", Rupert Christiansen, The Daily Telegraph, 2 March 2013
- "Christopher Purves website"
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