Ian Wallace (bass-baritone)

Ian Bryce Wallace OBE (July 10, 1919–October 12, 2009) was a British bass-baritone opera and concert singer, of Scottish extraction.

Born in London and educated at Charterhouse School, Wallace trained as a lawyer, but never practised. He made his operatic debut with the New London Opera Company at the Cambridge Theatre, London, in 1946, as Schaunard in La bohème. Throughout the 1950s, he was a feature at Glyndebourne, specializing in basso buffo roles, notably Dr Bartolo in The Barber of Seville. In the 1960s and 1970s he was closely associated with Scottish Opera. From the early 1960s to the 1980s, he performed a one-man show, featuring operatic excerpts, ballads and comic songs. He was particularly noted for his performances of the music of Flanders and Swann, and "The Hippopotamus" became his signature tune.

He also acted occasionally on TV and in films, one example being tom thumb, made in 1958.

To the general public, Wallace was best known for having been a panellist throughout the 27-year run of the radio panel game My Music, not missing a single episode of more than 520 that were broadcast.

Although proudly Scottish by ancestry and upbringing, Wallace happened to be born in London, a fact that was the subject of several jokes and at least one trivia question on My Music.

At the time of his death, he lived in Highgate in North London and is survived by his wife Patricia. He published two autobiographies: Promise Me You'll Sing Mud and Nothing Quite Like It.

Recordings

Wallace made a number of recordings. His Gilbert and Sullivan recordings include the following:

• 1957 Sargent/EMI Mikado: as Pooh-Bah
• 1959 Sargent/EMI Iolanthe: as Earl of Mountararat
• 1966 BBC Mikado: as Pooh-Bah
• 1973 BBC-TV Mikado: as Pooh-Bah
• 1974 Gilbert & Sullivan Spectacular: as a soloist

References

• Ian Wallace's obituary

also survived by daughter Rosemary and son John

External Links

• Ian Wallace - Daily Telegraph obituary
• BBC obituary