Alberto Telisforo Remedios was widely considered to be one of the outstanding Wagnerian tenors of his age. He was born in Liverpool on 27th February 1935, the son of merchant seaman Albert Remedios and his Irish wife Ida (née O’Farrell), whose home was rented rooms at 3 Bloom Street L8. His grandfather was a Spanish seaman who settled in Liverpool. The family later moved to 166 Grove Street L8 which remained Alberto’s home until he left Liverpool in the 1950s. (Both houses have since been demolished.
After leaving school Alberto started an apprenticeship as a welder at Cammell Laird’s shipyard. A very capable footballer he also played on a semi-professional basis for New Brighton F.C., who played in the Football League until 1951. Having had a passion for singing since childhood, his parents scarped together the money for him to have lessons from the noted singing teacher Edwin Francis (who also coached Wallasey-born opera star Rita Hunter). His singing progress was interrupted by his National service as a cook in the army, but following his demob he gained a place at the Royal College of Music, winning its Queen’s Medal in 1957.
He went on to have a long and highly successful career, establishing himself as one of the great performers of Wagnerian tenor roles, performing in the world’s greatest concert halls alongside many leading stars.
Remedios appeared on the TV programme This Is Your Life in January 1976 (it is available to view on YouTube). A life-long Liverpool F.C. fan the show included recorded messages from Bill Shankly, Emlyn Hughes and Kevin Keegan. He performed Nessun Dorma at the Last Night of the Kop concert on 1st May 1994.
He married Liverpool-born Shirley Swindells in 1958 and they had one son, Anthony. They were divorced in 1965 and he married Australian ballet-dancer Judy Hosken the same year, eventually moving to live in Australia when he retired in 1999. They had two children, Richard and Tonina. He died in Sydney on 11th June 2016.
His younger brother Ramon also enjoyed a successful career as an opera singer.
A view of Bloom Street dating from c.1910s.
The obituaries in The Guardian and the Daily Telegraph give quite full appraisals of Remedios' career. There is also a Wikipedia entry which lists his recordings. There are a host of YouTube clips of his performances.
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