Dermot Troy

Dermot Troy (31 July 1927 – 6 September 1962) was an Irish Lyric Tenor associated with the music of Mozart.

Life and career

Troy was born in Tinahely, County Wicklow, and was raised in Inchicore, Dublin. As a young man he joined the Royal Air Force in 1945. He left the R.A.F. in 1948 but had received a serious hearing loss in his right ear due to an explosion.

In 1952 he entered a voice competition, which was coordinated with the opening of the Mario Lanza film, The Great Caruso. After winning the Irish section of this competition, he attended the finals in England where he was runner-up. This brought a good deal of interest in his voice. He began with the noted Italian tenor Dino Borgioli and had a number of singing engagements in England.

He received his big break in 1958 when he was invited to sing leading tenor roles at the Mannheim State Opera. Another opportunity opened up for him in 1960 when he was invited to sing at the prestigious Hamburg State Opera.

In June 1961 he suffered a heart attack. He was known to be a very heavy smoker. He returned to Dublin for his recovery and in April, 1962, he was able to return to Hamburg where in September 1962 he suffered a fatal heart attack.

Troy did not leave many recordings. He is a member of a prestigious cast on an EMI recording of Richard Strauss' Capriccio and in the 1957 recording of a live performance of Les Troyens by Berlioz. He did record selections of Thomas Moore's Melodies plus a small number of other various songs. He also recorded Mozart's Zaide.

Further reading

• Irish Stars of the Opera, Gus Smith, ISBN 1-870862-02-3