while, he was in Bernard Delfont's production of Gay Rosalinda at the Palace Theatre, in London, under the musical direction of Richard Tauber. He later worked for Delfont again in a show in Ryde, on the Isle of Wight. A chance meeting with Henry Robinson, formerly stage manager at Sadler's Wells, resulted in Evans applying for an audition with the newly formed Covent Garden Opera Company. Singing "E lucevan le stelle" from Tosca and the "Flower Song" from Carmen, he was chosen from scores of tenor hopefuls from around the world and progressed successfully through three auditions to receive the offer of a contract from the Administrator, David Webster, in the middle of August 1946. His first roles were as the Bird God and Lover in Purcell's The Fairy-Queen in a cast that included Michael Hordern, Constance Shacklock, Margot Fonteyn and Moira Shearer. He made his Covent Garden debut, deputising for Heddle Nash, as Des Grieux in Manon, under the direction of Reginald Goodall. He became one of the first British singers to sing in opera abroad after the War when Erich Kleiber took him to sing in Wagner's Ring in Rome, with the Rome Opera. Later, he was the tenor soloist in Beethoven's Choral Symphony when Kleiber conducted the work at Covent Garden at a concert to help establish an artists' pension fund. Reviews From that first appearance as Des Grieux to his farewell performance, as the butler in The Visit of the Old Lady by Gottfried von Einem at Glyndebourne in 1974, Evans was a well-respected member of the music world. His acting and vocal ability evoked comparison with the very best and elicited reviews such as: His voice has a pleasant timbre and is produced with ease. But the most notable thing about his performance was the fact that it realised perfectly the elegant as well as the sentimental character of the melodic line. (The Daily Telegraph, April 1947, on his debut as Des Grieux in Manon) 'As the cheerful but unfortunate King of Sweden (in A Masked Ball), Edgar Evans follows in the line of some of the greatest tenors who have ever sung in opera, including Jean de Reszke and Caruso.' (Education, 27 November 1953) Of that production of Masked Ball in 1953 – singing with Gobbi – Evans commented: "Hearing Gobbi reminded me of Ricci's teaching. It inspired me to sing the best I