03-08-2025
David Rendallo obituary: talented tenor discovered in BBC back room
David Rendall was working in the BBC gramophone library preparing recordings for shows such as Desert Island Discs and checking them for transmission quality. On one occasion he pulled out a recording of Questa o quella from Verdi's Rigoletto and started playing it. Unconvinced by the tenor's voice, he felt sure that he could do better and began singing along.
Unknown to him, Roy Plomley and Ronald Cook, the show's presenter and producer, were in the control room with the microphones open. Suddenly, a buzz came through the studio speakers: 'Mr Rendall, I think it's time we had a chat.' Rendall feared he was about to be sacked, but was instead asked whether he had considered vocal training. He had not. With Cook's help and encouragement, he was accepted at the Royal Academy of Music in 1970. Two years later he received his first review when The Times noted how he 'gave much pleasure' in a student production of Donizetti's opera Belisario.
