Kenneth (Ken) Neate (28 July 1914 – 27 June 1997) was an Australian operatic and concert tenor, opera producer and singing teacher, composer and author.
He appeared at the Bayreuth Festival in 1963 as Loge in Das Rheingold and was noted as a dramatic tenor in German, French, and Italian repertoire in opera houses in England, France, Italy, Austria, Germany, and Australia.
[2] After hearing Neate sing in 1939, John Brownlee introduced him to the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, and recommended he study with his own teacher, Emilio de Gogorza,[1] and with Elisabeth Schumann.
[2] In 1950 and 1951, Ken Neate sang the roles of Rodolfo (La bohème), Cavaradossi (Tosca), and Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly) in productions televised by the BBC.
He returned in 1955 (when he appeared with an Italian touring company alongside Gabriella Tucci and the up-and-coming Donald Smith[5]), 1960, 1968 and 1970 (that year as Florestan in Fidelio[4]).
[1] In May 1956 at Bordeaux, Neate created the title role in Henri Tomasi's Sampiero Corso, which was repeated at the Holland Festival in June.
The 1959 Franco Zeffirelli production of Lucia di Lammermoor at Covent Garden is famous for Joan Sutherland's breakthrough performance in the title role.
[2] On 26 October 1961, Neate created the role of Danforth in the world premiere of Robert Ward's The Crucible at the New York City Opera.
He sang in such works as Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Mahler's Symphony of a Thousand and Das Lied von der Erde, Schoenberg's Gurre-Lieder, Handel oratorios, Dvořák's Stabat Mater, and the Requiems of Mozart, Verdi and Berlioz (Grande Messe des morts), under such conductors as Sir Thomas Beecham, Antal Doráti, Eduard van Beinum, Jascha Horenstein, Josef Krips, Rudolf Kempe, Wolfgang Sawallisch and Carlo Maria Giulini.
[4] Neate also produced operas in Ireland and Austria, such as Il trovatore, Don Carlo, Tosca, Samson and Delilah, Tannhäuser and Fidelio.