The apparently inauspicious thoroughfare of William Street, in the village of Cilfynydd, near Pontypridd in the south Wales valleys, was the birthplace not only of Lord Merlyn-Rees, the former Labour home secretary, but of two singers of worldwide fame: the bass-baritone Geraint Evans and the tenor Stuart Burrows. Burrows, who has died aged 92, had a mellifluous, highly expressive voice that made him first choice for many opera houses, especially in Mozartian roles, and also with the viewing public. For eight years (1978-86) he had his own hugely popular television show on the BBC, Stuart Burrows Sings, on which he presented Victorian ballads, and folk songs from Wales and elsewhere, as well as classical favourites.
For 22 years, between 1967 and 1989, he supplied Mozartian staples such as Tamino, Titus, Idomeneo and Ottavio at Covent Garden, interspersed with the occasional Fenton in Falstaff, Lensky in Onegin, Ernesto in Don Pasquale and Alfredo in La Traviata. Over the same period he was a regular visitor at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and was said to be the first UK singer to appear in 12 consecutive seasons.
