David Lloyd (tenor)

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David George Lloyd (April 6, 1912-March 27, 1969) was a Welsh singer. Lloyd, a tenor, was noted for being one of the first Welsh solo singers to seek a broader audience beyond Wales, in the concert halls and recording studios of England, Europe and North America.

During his lifetime, Lloyd was renowned in opera, oratorio, and in recital, in particular for his performances of Verdi and Mozart. As a Welshman, however, he is remembered most for his renditions of the hymns and folk songs of his native land.

1 Early life
2 Studies and early successes
3 Second World War
4 Injury, and later career
5 Discography
6 References

[edit] Early life

David Lloyd was born in Trelogan, Flintshire. He was one of seven children, the son of a coal miner. At age 14, he left school to become an apprentice carpenter, but soon began to acquire a reputation as a singer at local eisteddfodau.^[1]

[edit] Studies and early successes

Lloyd entered the Guildhall School of Music in 1933, having won a scholarship to study singing under Walter Hyde. He won several prestigious prizes at the school, and then in 1938 took on his first noted role, as Macduff in Verdi's Macbeth. He was also the principal tenor at a Mozart festival in Belgium, and a Verdi festival in Denmark in the same year.

[edit] Second World War

When the Second World War broke out in 1939, Lloyd's career was put on hold, spending five years serving with the Welsh Guards. He resumed his professional singing in 1946 as the principal tenor at the Verdi and Mozart Festival of Holland, and the Verdi Festival of Britain soon after.

[edit] Injury, and later career

In June 1954 he had a serious accident whilst working on a programme for the BBC, which resulted in a fractured spine. Lloyd was not able to perform for the next six years, only making his comeback at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod in July 1960.

Lloyd died on March 27, 1969.

[edit] Discography

Y Caneuon Cynnar (The Early Recordings), Volume 1: 1940-41 (CD compilation, 1994)
Y Canwr Mewn Lifrai, Volume 2 (CD compilation, 1995)
Y Llais Arian, Volume 3 (CD compilation, 2002)