Versatile baritone who performed a variety of operatic roles and was an accomplished lieder singer
Thomas Hemsley, who has died aged 85, was one of the most versatile British singers in the second half of the 20th century. He sang a variety of operatic roles, was an accomplished lieder singer (with perfect German) and a distinguished soloist in choral works. His warm, flexible baritone had a wide range and its owner used it with consummate intelligence.
Born in Coalville, Leicestershire, he went from Ashby de la Zouch grammar school to Brasenose College, Oxford, and became a vicar choral at St Paul's cathedral, London. He first came to prominence at 24 when he sang Aeneas to Kirsten Flagstad's Dido in the production of Purcell's opera that opened the Mermaid theatre in its first incarnation, a schoolroom converted into an auditorium by the actor Bernard Miles in St John's Wood, north London.
Hemsley's fine presence made him an instant success, and a recording followed. In 1953 he was invited to Glyndebourne to sing Hercule in Gluck's Alceste. He returned there over the years in a number of roles, including a notable Music Master in Richard Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos.
However, he went to sing in German-speaking houses, where at that time there were many more opportunities for a fledgling opera singer. He was engaged at Aachen (1953-56), the Deutsche Oper am Rhein (1956-63) and the Zurich Opera (1962-67). He sang more than 100 roles, notably in works by Mozart and Verdi. He was especially noted as Guglielmo in Così Fan Tutte and as Germont in La Traviata.
Keen to sing more in the UK, he returned to create Demetrius in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream at Aldeburgh in 1960. Later he recorded the part under the composer's baton. From 1968 to 1970, he was acclaimed for his Beckmesser in Die Meistersinger at the Bayreuth festival, a role that gave free play to his gift for characterisation. He recorded it just before singing at Bayreuth, under Rafael Kubelík, on one of the most recommendable sets of the opera.
A similar quality informed his belated Covent Garden debut as Mangus, the psychologist in Tippett's The Knot Garden (1970). This was another thoughtful interpretation, again preserved on disc. He also created Caesar in Iain Hamilton's The Catiline Conspiracy for Scottish Opera in 1974.
From 1977 to 1985 he appeared regularly with Welsh National Opera in a variety of roles, but the latter part of his stage career was really crowned when he undertook Verdi's Falstaff for Kent Opera in 1980. His cleverly studied and amusing interpretation won him many plaudits.
In concert Hemsley was one of the first and best baritone soloists in Britten's War Requiem and a sympathetic Christus in the Bach Passions. In the field of lieder he was a notable interpreter of Schubert's Winterreise, and of the Schumanm cycles displaying innate artistry and understanding of the genre.
Everything Hemsley tackled was worth hearing because of the way that he understood a wide variety of vocal music. He never sang an unmusical note.
A genial companion and amusing raconteur, he had a wealth of stories about his craft and its executants. He also gained some fame as a grower of vegetables, at which he was adept, having a large allotment near his London home. He was as thorough in this pursuit as he was in his profession.
Latterly he was a good teacher and an excellent adjudicator at vocal competitions. He also wrote one of the most lucid and sensible guides to the voice, entitled Singing and Imagination (1998). In 2000 he was appointed CBE.
He married his wife Gwen in 1960 and they had three sons.
• Thomas Jeffrey Hemsley, baritone, born 12 April 1927; died 11 April 2013
• Alan Blyth died in 2007