Biography

Stephen Varcoe is one of Britain’s most successful and respected classical baritone vocalists. He has appeared on over 150 recordings of mostly songs, but also several operas with a focus on British composers. Varcoe was born into a musical family in 1949, in Lostwithiel, a small town in Cornwall, England. His father was a violinist, and his mother was a pianist, and when he was young, his parents held small gatherings in their home where they performed chamber music with their friends. At age six, he began playing the piano and started taking lessons. From the ages eight through thirteen, he attended the Canterbury Cathedral school and studied with Allan Wicks. He went on to King’s School, Canterbury and eventually stopped practicing the piano so he could focus solely on singing. After graduating, he studied math and law at King’s College, Cambridge, and he won a scholarship to sing in the King’s College Choir conducted by David Willcocks. Here he received vocal instruction from John Carol Case, and Wilfred Brown. From 1970 to 1971, he studied German and French song, and Baroque music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Arthur Reckless. Varcoe also started an a cappella ensemble called “the Scholars” with friends that he knew from the King’s College Choir. Other employment from this time includes work with the BBC radio, and touring Australia and New Zealand singing contemporary music with conductor John Alldis. In 1977 he won the first prize in the Gulbekian competition, which enabled him to pursue his solo career, initially delving into Baroque song. In the early '80s, Varcoe decided that he wanted to record songs by Gerald Finzi, but the idea was rejected by several record labels. However, he was later approached by Finzi's widow, who invited him to record the songs with the Hyperion label. This proved to be the beginning of a very long and prosperous relationship with Hyperion that has produced many recordings of French songs, English songs, and lieder. Throughout the '90s, Varcoe recorded cantatas by J.S. Bach with conductor John Eliot Gardiner, and he also sang in the premiere performance of Tavener's opera Mary of Egypt. In 2000, with pianist Clifford Benson, he released the critically acclaimed albums Stanford Songs in two volumes, followed by an intense study and analysis of the feelings and psychology of lyrics in the context of song. This led to Varcoe completing his PhD in the field of "communication in song" at the University of York in 2009. As an educator, he gives lectures, masterclasses, and workshops at universities, and he especially enjoys coaching individual singers. He and his wife also host informal singing workshops and performances at their farmhouse as part of their annual "Summer Music at Ansells" series. ~ RJ Lambert, Rovi