An opera star has won one of classical music’s top awards after undergoing throat cancer surgery.
London-born tenor Toby Spence, 42, was named best singer at the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards last night at Mayfair’s Dorchester hotel, telling the audience: “Musicians and music lovers will appreciate what it must be like to lose one’s voice, albeit temporarily.”
The award would “spur him on to get back to the stage as soon as possible”, he said.
Spence starred last year in the English National Opera production of Eugene Onegin, which also won an RPS award last night.
His cancer was discovered in December during a routine medical check-up the day after his debut in the Royal Opera House’s Die Meistersinger.
His thyroid gland and several lymph nodes were removed in February and his prognosis is excellent. He admitted the cancer “raised a lot of questions” but said there was a “positive side”.
“I have realised how valuable my voice is to me every day and how much I miss it — the exhilaration of singing and the satisfaction of doing something well.”
