Person Open DS/UK/10713 Dobson; John (17 November 1930-14 May 2023); English tenor Dobson John 17 November 1930-14 May 2023 English tenor Male (cisgender) John Mervyn Frederick John Dobson Derby, Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom (born)

English White No known disability No known religious affiliation Former spouse of Deidre Tilley Heterosexual Born on 17 November 1930, in Derby, he was the son of Mary and Mervyn Dobson, a garage owner and motor engineer. In the 1950s he made his living for a while as a jobbing singer. He later went to study at Guildhall School of Music with Norman Walker and in Italy with Giovanni Inghilleri. He went on to make his debut in Bergamo in 1956 as Pinkerton in “Madama Butterfly” and later took on the role of Alfredo in “La Traviata” and Rodolfo in “La Bohème.” After his Bergamo debut he returned to Britain to sing with the New Opera Company and at Glyndebourne. After performing multiple leading roles he ended up portraying comprimario roles. In 1959, he made his Covent Garden debut as Faninal’s Major Domo in “Der Rosenkavalier” and in 1962, he created the role of Paris in Michael Tippett’s King Priam. With the Royal Opera he sang more than 2,000 performances in 90 roles before retiring in in 1995. Among his most popular roles were the courtier Shuisky in Mussorgsky’s “Boris Godunov,” and the police agent Spoletta in “Tosca;” he performed the latter role alongside eight different Scarpia’s including Tito Gobbi, Peter Glossop, and Geraint Evans in Puccini’s “Tosca.” Other celebrated roles by Dobson included Mime and Loge in Wagner’s “Ring Cycle,” David in “The Mastersingers of Nuremberg,” Melot in “Tristan and Isolde,” Goro in “Madama Butterfly” and Pang and the Emperor in “Turandot.” John Dobson, who has died aged 92, clocked up more than 2,000 performances in around 90 roles at Covent Garden alone by the time he retired in 1995. International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) 2nd edition - ICA 2004 ISBN 2-9521932-2-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 Yes RAHhbaulcombe 12/20/2013 RAHAKirkbride 10/25/2023 02c4e7b5-a6d6-47ff-a22a-e072157e01a6