On July 21, 2025, English tenor David Rendall died at the age of 76.

Born on Oct. 11, 1948, Rendall sang in a skiffle group while in secondary school and was “discovered” while working at the BBC, sorting records for Desert Island Discs. A producer for the show heard him singing “Questa o quella” from “Rigoletto” and suggested he study.

In 1970, Rendall entered the Royal Academy of Music and in 1973 the Salzburg Mozarteum. In 1973, he won a Young Musician of the Year Award from the Greater London Arts Association, and in 1975 received a Gulbenkian Fellowship.

Rendall went on to sing at the Royal Opera House, where he performed numerous roles like the Italian singer in “Der Rosenkavalier,” Almaviva in “The Barber of Seville,” Des Grieux in “Manon,” Matteo in “Arabella,” Rodrigo in “La donna del lago,” Flamand in “Capriccio,” and the Duke in “Rigoletto.”

In 1980, Rendall made his Metropolitan Opera where he performed over 130 times and sang such roles as Ernesto in “Don Pasquale,” Don Ottavio in “Don Giovanni,” Lensky in “Eugene Onegin,” Matteo in “Arabella,” and “Idomeneo.” His final performances with the company came in 1988 in the role of Ferrando in “Cosi fan Tutte.”

The tenor also performed at the English National Opera, New York City Opera, and San Francisco Opera, and in the United States, Great Britain, Ireland, France, Italy, Georgia, Japan, Denmark, and Germany.

Rendall left several recordings including Berlioz’s “Requiem,” “Maria Stuarda,” and “La rondine.”

He is survived by his wife, British lyric mezzo-soprano Diana Montague, and son, baritone Huw Montague Rendall.