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The tragically short-lived Alfreda Hodgson had become one of England's most-respected mezzo-sopranos, regarded with much affection by many colleagues and conductors who were all inspired by her deep and intuitive musicianship. Her voice was a full mezzo-soprano (or mezzo-contralto) of great warmth, if sometimes one of imperfect steadiness. Her interpretations, however, frequently probed far beneath surface elements to reach a life-altering musical truth. While she occasionally sang in opera, her greatest imprint was made on the concert stage, both in recital and in orchestral performance. Many recordings survive to attest to her stature as a singer. Hodgson received her formal training at the Northern School of Music in Manchester and made her first concert appearance in Liverpool in 1961. Two years later, she made her London debut, after which engagements followed with many of England's principal orchestras. Within the next decade, she traveled to America and Israel, continually expanding her repertory. In 1974, she accepted a contract with the English National Opera and she later sang at Covent Garden (1983), but she principally remained a concert artist. Her interests were wide ranging, from music of the Baroque to scores by contemporary composers. Within Hodgson's recorded legacy are many significant items. Her Das Lied von der Erde with conductor Jascha Horenstein is regarded as among the best ever. Hodgson's heart-piercing poignancy is matched by Horenstein's own in leading the live performance. The mezzo's singing of the alto arias in Robert Shaw's final recording of Messiah was striking, as was her work in an English-language recording of Bach's St. John Passion led by Benjamin Britten. Hodgson recorded Elgar's The Kingdom twice and left a memento of her way with the music of Michael Tippett when she recorded Sosostris' aria under the direction of the composer himself. Other important discs included those devoted to an English-language Bach St. Matthew Passion directed by David Willcocks, madrigals by Monteverdi, and Rossini's Petite messe solonnelle conducted by Laszlo Heltay.

Baritone Benjamin Luxon enjoyed an international career propelled by a handsome instrument and a musical intelligence that allowed equal space for warmth of feeling. Against the attractiveness of vocal timbre, however, was the presence of a strong vibrato that frequently reached the point of intrusiveness, especially at higher volume. Nonetheless, Luxon forged many memorable performances, a number of them preserved on disc. His Mussorgsky recital was warmly praised by the critical press and won the endorsement of native Russian-speaking listeners as well. In addition to opera and concert performances, he was appreciated for his work in restoring respect in parlor songs of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As a student at London's Guildhall School of Music, Luxon studied with Walther Grünner. After finding himself a prizewinner at Munich's International Voice Competition, he soon launched upon a career. Luxon became a member of the English Opera Group in 1963, accompanying the troupe to the Soviet Union during his first season. After success in such roles as Tarquinius in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia and Sid in Albert Herring, Britten called upon Luxon to sing the role of Owen Wingrave for that opera's 1971 television production premiere. That year, he appeared with the English Opera Group at the San Francisco Opera. The British company presented its production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Luxon sang the role of Demetrius. In 1972, Luxon made his Glyndebourne Festival debut, singing the title role in Raymond Leppard's celebrated realization of Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse. During that same year, his Covent Garden debut took place as the Jester in Peter Maxwell Davies' Taverner. A later return as Yevgeny Onegin established Luxon as one of the leading interpreters of Tchaikovsky's anti-hero. Onegin served as Luxon's calling card for a Metropolitan Opera debut in February 1980. In 1986, Luxon made his La Scala debut, and in 1988, he sang the title role in Wozzeck for Los Angeles. For the English National Opera, he sang the title role in Verdi's Falstaff in 1992. In addition to frequent appearances in Munich and with the Wiener Staatsoper, Luxon sang in Switzerland at both Geneva and Berne. Luxon suffered from the onset of deafness in the 1990s and retired from the stage. He was able to continue putting his voice to work through poetry reading, narrating audiobooks, and teaching master classes. In 2019, he performed his own one-person adaption of Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale. Luxon died in Sandisfield, Massachusetts, on July 25, 2024; he was 87. ~ Erik Eriksson

John Mitchinson became one of the most important British tenors in the 1950s and into the 1980s, particularly in heroic roles and oratorios.

He studied at the Royal Manchester College of Music. While still a student there he joined the BBC Northern Singers in 1953, becoming one of its founding members. Upon graduation, he sang with the Chelsea Opera Group. This semi-professional group, which was founded in 1950 by the young conductor Colin Davis to give concert performances of Mozart operas, was an important means of entrée for talented young singers, including Mitchinson, whose debut performance in operatic music was in one of Chelsea's concert presentations of Mozart's Don Giovanni.

Mitchinson did not debut on stage until 1959, when he sang the part of Jupiter in Handel's Semele at the Handel Opera Society. He had a notable career in the 1960s, including participation in Leonard Bernstein's pioneering recording of Mahler's Symphony No. 8, "The Symphony of a Thousand." He also sang on Jascha Horenstein's stereo recording of Liszt's Faust Symphony in 1958 and Colin Davis' recording of Berlioz's Beatrice and Benedict.

Other items that were important to his repertory included the roles of Wagner's Tristan, Florestan in Beethoven's Fidelio, Britten's Peter Grimes, and Aegisthus in Strauss' Elektra, and Stravinsky's Oedipus. He was also noted for his interpretation of Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde. He was on the roster of the English National Opera from 1972 to 1978 and the Welsh National Opera from 1978 to 1982. While a member of the WNO he participated in the historic performance under the baton of Charles Mackerras (recorded on Supraphon Records) of Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu's operatic masterwork The Greek Passion.