David Rendall, British tenor, 11 October 1948 – 21 July 2025

The family of celebrated international operatic tenor David Rendall has today announced his death after a long illness. He died peacefully in the New Forest, surrounded by his family. 

His wife, the mezzo-soprano Diana Montague said:

“We are deeply saddened at the loss of David. He leaves a big hole in our lives. We are very lucky to have his legacy of beautiful recordings, photographs and, of course, our wonderful family who hold David so dearly in their hearts. David was a tour-de-force and we have lost a great artist, dear friend, loving husband, father, grandfather and uncle. He will stay with us forever in our hearts and in every note we sing.”

Rendall achieved widespread acclaim throughout his international career after studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Salzburg Mozarteum. A frequent and long-standing visitor to the world’s leading opera houses, he appeared numerous times at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Metropolitan Opera, New York; La Scala, Milan; Glyndebourne Festival Opera, San Francisco Opera; Vienna State Opera; Munich State Opera, English National Opera; Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires; Deutsche Oper Berlin and Opera National de Paris, among others.

He worked with some of the world’s greatest conductors including Karajan, Bernstein, Barenboim, Levine, Mackerras and Davis. Equally in demand in the recording studio as on stage, Rendall’s recordings include Maria Stuarda with Charles Mackerras, La Rondine with Lorin Maazel and the London Symphony Orchestra, Mozart Requiem with Daniel Barenboim and Orchestra de Paris and Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius with Sir Colin Davis and the London Symphony Orchestra.