Collection JC - John Cameron papers

John Ewen Cameron (d.2002) was born at Coolamon, NSW, on March 20, 1918, in very modest circumstances. He studied at the NSW State Conservatorium of Music and then sang all over Australia before emigrating to England in 1949. He was engaged by the then resident British company at Covent Garden on the recommendation of Eugene Goossens. He immediately made his mark as Germont in La Traviata (1949), and went on to sing a variety of parts, notably Mozart's Figaro. Later, Glyndebourne engaged him to sing Arbace in Mozart's Idomeneo and two roles in Gluck's Alceste. From 1962 Cameron travelled to the Continent, appearing for a time with the Oldenburg Opera in Germany, and singing Britten's War Requiem in Prague. He frequently returned to Australia, singing from 1949 to 1974 with the Elizabethan Trust, and latterly to adjudicate singing competitions. After his retirement as a performer, he taught with relish at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester. John Cameron married Patricia Valma Lawrie (b.1930) in March 1961.