George Lambert

Who is George Lambert?

George James Lambert was an English baritone and voice teacher who was primarily active in Canada.

Lambert was born in Long Preston. Following World War I, he studied singing in his native country with Frederic Lord while concurrently playing soccer professionally. He was highly active as an oratorio singer in England during the early 1920s. In 1923 he relocated to Rome where he studied opera with Alfredo Martino. He made his professional opera debut in Rome soon after as Giorgio Germont in Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata. He returned to England where he became a frequent soloist on BBC Radio during the late 1920s. During this time Sir Henry Wood was his vocal coach.

Lambert relocated to Canada in the early 1930s to continue vocal studies with Lord who now resided in Ontario. He performed in concerts with symphony orchestras and with opera companies in many Canadian cities during the 1930s and 1940s. He was particularly active as a soloist with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra; notably performing the part of Christus in the TSO's annual presentations of Bach's St Matthew Passion with conductor Sir Ernest MacMillan and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir every year from 1938-1945.