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M. Owen Lee

Lee was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on May 28, 1930, to Robert Leo Lee and Helen (née Miller) Lee.

Father Lee was a member of the Basilian Fathers (C.S.B.) from 1951. He was the first person to be awarded a PhD in classics at the University of British Columbia (in 1960), a professor emeritus of classics at the University of Toronto, a holder of four honorary degrees, and an author of more than 20 books on various subjects, such as opera, Richard Wagner, and Der Ring des Nibelungen.^[1][2]

Lee was also active as a commentator on musical topics. He was especially well known for his many contributions as intermission commentator, pianist, and quiz panelist on the Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts.^[3]

Lee died in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada on July 25, 2019, at the age of 89.^[2]

Major writings[edit]

• Word, Sound, and Image in the Odes of Horace (University of Michigan Press, 1969)
• Fathers and Sons in Virgil's Aeneid (SUNY Press, 1979)
• Wagner's Ring: Turning the Sky Round (Summit Books, 1990)
• First Intermissions (Oxford University Press, 1995)
• The Olive-Tree Bed and Other Quests (University of Toronto Press, 1997)
• Wagner: The Terrible Man and his Truthful Art (University of Toronto Press, 1999)
• A Book of Hours (Continuum Press, 2004)
• The Great Instrumental Works (Amadeus Press, 2005)
• The Best Films of Our Years (Authorhouse, 2007) ISBN 978-1-4259-9620-8
• Athena Sings: Wagner and the Greeks (University of Toronto Press, 2003)
• Wagner and the Wonder of Art: An Introduction to Die Meistersinger (University of Toronto Press, 2007)
• A Season of Opera: From Orpheus to Ariadne (University of Toronto Press, 1998)

References[edit]