M. Owen Lee
Mark Owen Lee, also known as M. Owen Lee and Father Owen Lee, was an American-Canadian classics and music scholar and Roman Catholic priest.
Lee was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on May 28, 1930 to Robert Leo Lee and Helen Lee.
Father Lee was a member of the Basilian Fathers from 1951. He was the first person to be awarded a PhD in Classics at the University of British Columbia, 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.
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.
Lee died in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada on July 25, 2019 at the age of 89.Major writings
- Word, Sound, and Image in the Odes of Horace
- Fathers and Sons in Virgil's Aeneid
- Wagner's Ring: Turning the Sky Round
- First Intermissions
- The Olive-Tree Bed and Other Quests
- Wagner: The Terrible Man and his Truthful Art
- A Book of Hours
- The Great Instrumental Works
- The Best Films of Our Years
- Athena Sings: Wagner and the Greeks
- Wagner and the Wonder of Art: An Introduction to Die Meistersinger
- A Season of Opera: From Orpheus to Ariadne
