Kim Begley’s representation, HarrisonParrott, has announced that the tenor will retire from the stage.

Begley has been involved in the world of theatre since the age of 19, when he was a wardrobe assistant at Chester Rep. He eventually went on to become an actor, before studying voice at Guildhall School of Music and the National Opera Studio.

He performed over thirty roles as a principal tenor with the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, returning most recently for Kasper Holton’s production of “Król Roger.” He appeared often at the Glyndebourne Festival, debuting several key roles there, including Boris Grigorjevic in “Katja Kabanova,” Laca in “Jenůfa,” Albert Gregor in “Makropoulos Case,” and Jenik in “The Bartered Bride.”

He appeared in the title roles of “Lohengrin” at Frankfurt and “Parsifal” with the English National Opera. He also debuted as Loge in “Das Rheingold” at the 2000 Bayreuth Festival, a role which he, according to HarrisonParrott, kept “close to his heart for the rest of his career, singing it latterly under Andris Nelsons at the 2017 Tanglewood Festival to excellent reviews, and leaving it immortalized on two recordings.”

Begley was a regular guest artist of the Metropolitan Opera, where he sang roles including Laca, Pierre in “War and Peace,” Captain Vere in “Billy Budd,” and Herod in “Salome,” to name a few. Over the course of his career, he performed at several of the most esteemed venues, including La Scala, Berlin Staatsoper, Opera National de Paris, San Francisco Opera, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Dutch National Opera, and Lyric Opera of Chicago.

As for his future, Begley “plans to spend more time directing and designing his own productions, having adventures with his wife, the soprano and teacher Elizabeth Collier, and following the careers of his two musical sons Ed and Will.”