M. Owen Lee

M. Owen Lee, also known as Father Owen Lee (b. 1930, Detroit), is an American classics and music scholar.

Father Lee has been a member of the Basilian Fathers (C.S.B.) since 1947. He is a professor emeritus of classics at the University of Toronto, holder of four honorary degrees, and the author of 18 books on various subjects.

Lee has also been active as a commentator on musical topics. He is especially well known for his many contributions as intermission commentator, pianist, and quiz panelist on the Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts.

Major writings

• 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