Van Allan, Richard (1935- )

English bass. He studied with David Franklin and made appearances at Glyndebourne from 1966, where he sang in the first performance of Maw's The Rising of the Moon (1970). In London he has performed since 1969 with the English National Opera ensemble, and since 1971 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. He has sung with the Welsh National Opera at Wexford, with the Paris Opéra, and in Boston and San Diego. Among his best roles are Leporello, Don Giovanni, Philip II, Boris, and Ochs (San Diego, 1976). He was made director of the National Opera Studio in 1986. He sang in the first performances of Buller's Bakxai and Osborne's Terrible Mouth (1992); he sang Don Jerome in the first staged performance of Gerhard's The Duenna, Madrid 1992.