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Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra · Ivan Anguélov, conductor · John Treleaven, tenor

He is one of the leading members of the exclusive club of heroic tenors currently in international demand. As Tristan, Lohengrin, Stolzing, Siegfried – he has always been convincing with his lyrical and tonal qualities and simultaneous irresistible assertiveness, even in the most demanding heroic roles. John Treleaven gave himself and his voice time and avoided singing the gruelling Wagner heroic roles too early, a fact to which he today owes the conditioned constitution with which he is able to preserve the control of phrasing and figuration at all times while exercising his full power. The Independent wrote of the Siegfried at Covent Garden in October 2005: “Treleavan is splendid. His singing is unusually varied and he has remarkable staying power. If there is one thing that most Siegfrieds cannot convey it is a feeling of lightness. Treleaven does it!“

„So singe, Held!“
(Hagen to Siegfried in Richard Wagner’s Götterdämmerung, Act 3) by Richard Eckstein

The discovery of heldentenor John Treleaven sounds almost like a fairy tale: Marjory Fogg, a pianist who had accompanied many famous singers but who was already retired as an associate examiner for the London College of Music heard young John – who lived in the small fishing village of Porthleven in Cornwall – as he sang a few simple melodies whilst swimming in the harbour near his home. She called to him, invited him to tea and offered to work with him on a few songs. This was an unbelievable offer for the tall and strong young man, who had just begun a position with the Royal Navy. Treleaven worked with the elderly lady until she surprised him with the idea that he should apply to study at the London College of Music.

Until that point, Treleaven’s path to classical music had been listening to his mother’s record collection (the Pilgrim’s Chorus from Tannhäuser was his favourite), his grandmother had enjoyed singing, and John did have his first contact with music in the church choir and he had begun playing tenor horn in various brass bands as a teenager and sung in various male voice choirs. But Marjory Fogg persisted. Because she knew William Lloyd Webber, director at that time of the London College of Music as well as renowned British composer and father of Andrew and Julian Lloyd Webber, she asked him to listen to the talented young man. Webber was so impressed that he immediately offered John a spot at his institute, where the eager young student completed both a vocal teaching and performing diploma.

During Treleaven’s first year of College he sought out the renowned voice teacher Ivor Evans (cousin of Sir Geraint), who taught him almost all he learned about proper technique. He also studied with Maestro Campanino in Naples, because his first love was “the wonderful lyricism and Italianate melody also present in Wagner”.

He continued his studies at the London Opera Centre, Covent Garden, with a two-year scholarship from the Peter Moores Foundation. Sir Peter has remained a supporter and long-term friend ever since. From then on, things ran by themselves: the English National Opera asked him to fill in at the last moment in a 1977 performance of Carmen in Liverpool (“I learned the spoken dialogue on the train journey there…”). The new general manager of the Welsh National Opera in Cardiff subsequently offered him a three-year contract, Treleaven’s first long-term job. He sang many works during this time, including Le nozze di Figaro, Madama Butterfly, La Traviata, L’elisir d’amore, Zauberflöte and La Bohème. His debut at the Royal Opera Covent Garden followed one year later, in 1979.

Whilst still a student Treleaven sang at the Bayreuth Youth Festival and heard amongst others the famous heldentenors James King and Jean Cox who were to have a profound influence on his career later on. Indeed, to this day Jean Cox and his wife mezzo-soprano Anna Reynolds play a very significant role in his vocal training.

John Treleaven’s instrument is a powerful tenor over a firm baritone foundation. He has the ability to phrase lyrically as well as possessing an amazingly high range – all with superior technique. His understanding for and interpretation of stage characters is characterized by the great emotionality that is the strength of his presentation. The artist loves the German language and completely identifies with Wagner’s highly poetical texts. It cannot be overstated that Treleaven understands the deepest sense of every word that he sings.

Another fact that attests to his great love for Wagner’s music-dramas is that he did not want to take on any major roles by this composer before his 40th birthday, to make sure that he would do justice to them without endangering his instrument. Only after Treleaven had sung his way through the entire Italian, French, Slavic, English and easier German works did he slowly work his way into the more difficult Wagner roles, beginning with Erik, Lohengrin and Stolzing. Now, he can take on Tannhäuser – “the last peak”, as he himself says – with great concentration on expression. But in all modesty, the frenetically applauded heldentenor says, “I feel honoured and happy to be among those allowed to convey Wagner’s works!”