by Ben Hogwood

In the last week we heard the sad news of the death of the great Cornish baritone Benjamin Luxon, at the age of 87.

A much-loved singer, Luxon excelled in the opera house and the recital room – not to mention as a soloist in many important recordings of choral and vocal works. The playlist compiled below is packed with English music, with cycles from Vaughan Williams (Songs of Travel) and Stanford (Songs of the Sea).

Luxon took on the title role in the first recording of Benjamin Britten‘s TV opera Owen Wingrave in 1971, an excerpt of which you can also hear below:

You can also hear Benjamin Luxon’s Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4

Published post no.2,256 – Wednesday 31 July 2024