William McAlpine: Ladder to success for Stenhousemuir opera singer

These have a long history from Hughie Green’s “Opportunity Knocks” from the late 50’s onwards to “The Voice”, “Britain’s Got Talent” and “The X Factor” today.

But one Stenhousemuir singer achieved his ambition, many years before that and in a much more interesting and romantic manner.

William McAlpine was born on December 3, 1922 in McMillan Place on North Main Street, Stenhousemuir, which later was renamed King Street. It was a fine building on the north side of the

street, looking down Union Street to Larbert Central School. The building was demolished in the 70s to allow the realignment of the road.

William’s father was also called William and he worked as a journeyman stonemason. His mother, Mary Thomson, was from Musselburgh. William attended Larbert Central School which took primary through to secondary pupils. He left in 1936 at the school leaving age of 14 and, having failed an RAF medical, sought work in the building trade like his father. This was the middle of the 1930s depression and work of any kind was difficult to find. William took the brave decision to travel to London where he hoped to find the streets, if not paved with gold, at least with plenty of bricks that he could work with.

In 1943, he got a job there on a building site and as he mixed cement and carried hods of bricks up ladders, he did what he loved most – singing in his rich, untrained tenor voice. The notes carried across the street, reaching the window of a musical lady who was so impressed by his voice that she paid for singing lessons for him with Roy Henderson, who had taught the famous soprano Kathleen Ferrier. William subsequently studied with two other singing teachers before winning a place at the prestigious Guildhall School of Music to study singing. There, he won the coveted Gold Medal, the highest accolade given by the School.

He made his stage debut in a small part in a revival of Richard Strauss’s opera Salome at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. He was offered a contract there in 1952 and spent much of his career there or at the Sadler’s Wells Company which he joined as a principal tenor in 1956. Over his career, he played a number of principal roles in operas such as La Traviata, La Boheme, Eugenie Onegin and Tales of Hoffmann. He made his debut at the Glyndbourne Festival in 1956 and returned regularly to sing many varied roles. He sang a number of times in the City Opera in Berlin. In 1963, he was at the Aix-en-Provence Festival then Vancouver in 1966 followed by Hamburg and Prague.

However the call of home was never far away and later in his career, he appeared with Scottish Opera, first in the title role of Faust and in subsequent years in Boris Godunov, Peter Grimes and

Otello.

Radio and television broadcasts featured frequently in his career. He often appeared on TV in broadcasts of complete operas. He opened the 1964 Edinburgh International Festival with a performance of Berlioz’s Grande Messe des Morts, broadcast on Radio 3. Many broadcasts on both radio and TV were with a surprising conductor – Vic Oliver. Older readers may remember him as a comedian on stage, radio and TV with an act which concluded with a terrible playing of a violin.

However, he was a very fine musician who had studied under Mahler and William often sang in his broadcasts. William had a reputation for being willing and competent to step in at the last minute to take the place of a performer unable to be present. William also had an impressive list of record recordings (LPs) some of which can still be found on YouTube.

Critics were not slow to recognise the quality of his voice or his acting. “One of the greatest tenors Scotland has ever produced with an ease and lyrical quality to his voice”; “a world class singer”;

“singing of the highest order with a sympathetic stage personality and voice sometimes with a plaintive quality”. He had an extremely powerful voice with a quality generally associated with top

ranking Italian opera stars.

William was always unassuming and reticent about his talent. Perhaps reflecting the way in which he achieved success, he preferred to help others rather than promote his own career. Otherwise, many consider that he could have become one of the greatest operatic tenors of his age.

He returned to Scotland and to Stenhousemuir quite often to visit family and friends and to appear in concerts, not in the major cities, but in smaller towns and villages. He always requested that he appear with local musicians and singers, rather than his friends from the world of opera. Places like Berwick, Armadale and Bathgate all benefitted from his presence and local musical talent and endeavour received a boost from his appearances. In the Bathgate concert, he appeared with Anne and Laura Brand whom readers of a certain age may remember from the days of “The White Heather Club” on TV.

On March 10, 1965, he filled the Dobbie Hall in a concert in aid of the Tryst Youth Club. Appearing with him was local cellist, Robert McIntosh and talented and acclaimed local soprano Ann Dobbie (later Marshall). The programme covered works by Schubert, Mendelssohn, Handel, Puccini, Mascagni, as well as traditional Scottish music.

Speaking of her memories of the concert, Ann Marshall, who still lives locally, said: “The adult advisory committee was raising money for premises for Tryst Youth Club and locally born tenor William McAlpine was invited to sing at a fundraising concert in the Dobbie Hall. He was asked if he was bringing another artist with him and he said no, that he would rather share the programme wiht a local person and Mr McOustra, the committee chairman, invited me.

“I was very surprised to be invited to sing on the same programme as Bill, he liked to be known as Bill. I was delighted but also apprehensive. He was a tenor of international renown and I was a girl of 22 who sang for a hobby. The third person on the programme was a young cellist called Ronald McIntosh.

“I met Bill at rehearsal having no idea what he was like, but I need not have worried because he immediately put me at ease. He was a modest, gentle, kindly man who had no airs or arrogance about him whatsoever.

“When he appeared on stage Bill cut an imposing figure in his evening tails. He didn’t make the cellist or myself feel as though we were just there to make up the numbers. Let’s face it, it was Bill the paying public had come to see and listen to.

“When he started to sing he immediately had the audience in the palm of his hand. There was a purity about his voice that made the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. It was a glorious voice and we were privileged to hear it.

“The concert went off without a hitch but there was no after concert wrap up. A car was waiting to take Bill to Larbert station to catch the London sleeper train so he departed quite hurriedly from the concert. Thanks to Mr McOustra I had the experience of a lifetime.”

In the 1970s, diabetes forced him to give up performing and he returned to the Guildhall School of Music as a singing teacher.

He died of a heart attack on February 2, 2004 after a teaching session at the school. He was survived by his wife and two daughters. It is perhaps fitting that he died as he was helping others on the first steps of the ladder to success just as he was helped in such romantic circumstances at that London building site all those years ago.