Pears, Sir Peter

Pears, Sir Peter, 1910–86, English tenor. Pears studied at the Royal College of Music and became a member of the Sadler's Wells Opera and the English Opera Group. In 1948 he made his Covent Garden debut. He worked closely with Benjamin Britten from 1946. Together they made a number of international tours, presenting works by Britten and other English composers. Pears sang many premieres of Britten operas, including Peter Grimes, Billy Budd, Gloriana, and The Turn of the Screw. In 1974 he made his Metropolitan Opera debut singing Aschenbach in Britten's opera Death in Venice, based on the novella by Thomas Mann. He was knighted in 1978.