Dr michael tanner

Tributes have been pouring in from myriad different sources – testimony to a life well lived – following the death of Michael Tanner, who taught philosophy at the University of Cambridge for 36 years, was a life fellow at Corpus Christi, a world-renowned expert on Wagner, and a much-loved and resonant opera critic at The Spectator.

The Telegraph described Dr Tanner as "one of the most brilliant and single-minded Cambridge dons of his generation"; The Times remarked "he was even incapable of writing a dull footnote."

And the Master of Corpus Christi, Professor Christopher Kelly, said: "Michael was one of the great figures in Corpus in the latter half of the twentieth century.

Quite aside from his loss to culture, his passing will be keenly felt in Cambridge socially, where he was a hugely popular and respected educator, wit, raconteur, fine dining con