Baritone Geoffrey William Chard AM has died at the age of 96.

Born on August 9, 1930 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Chard was a foundation member of the National Opera of New South Wales.

Throughout his career, Chard performed in the inaugural production of the Australian Elizabethan Trust Opera Company and went to England in 1961 and performed with many British opera companies, including the Welsh National Opera, Glyndebourne, the Royal Opera Company at Covent Garden, and at the Aldeburgh Festival and Edinburgh Festival.

He went on to become the principal baritone with the English National Opera for 15 years, from 1969 to 1985, performing major roles, including some roles which were specially written for him. Among his most acclaimed performances were Urbain Grandier in the production of “The Devils of Loudun” at the London Coliseum and Sergeant Meryll in a production of “The Yeomen of the Guard.”

Chard had a vast repertoire of 140 operas including Don Alfonso in “Così fan tutte,” Rangoni in “Boris Godunov,” Scarpia in “Tosca,” Nick Shadow in “The Rake’s Progress,” Balstrode in “Peter Grimes,” Don Pizarro in “Fidelio,’ Tonio in “Pagliacci,” and the title role in “Gianni Schicchi.” He was also known for his contemporary works by Lennox Berkeley, Malcolm Williamson, Iain Hamilton, David Blake, Alun Hoddinott, Phyllis Tate and Richard Meale.

In 1988, he was appointed a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia for his service to opera.