Search Results

(b Herceg Novi, Montenegro, Dec 5, 1921; d Sarajevo, Bosnia, April 17, 2012) Bosnian baritone and opera soloist of Montenegrin origin. He made his début at the National Theatre in Sarajevo (1946), and after that, except for short engagements at the Zagreb Opera (1955–7), his artistic work was tied to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Before beginning his musical education he attended the Maritime Trade Academy, after which he enrolled in solo singing at the Rossini Conservatory in Pesaro. He also worked as a member of the Ivo Lola Ribar ensemble in Belgrade.

His début in the role of Rigoletto (Rigoletto, G. Verdi) enabled him to gain the status of first soloist at the Sarajevo Opera, which was the decisive moment in his career. During his artistic career he interpreted the roles of Papageno (The Magic Flute, W.A. Mozart), Sima (Ero s onog svijeta...

Member of Bannister family

(b Deptford, London, May 12, 1760; d London, Nov 7, 1836). English actor and baritone, son of Charles Bannister. During his career he played, according to his Memories, well over 400 different parts. He became a favourite comic actor and after his marriage to the soprano Elizabeth Harper in 1783 he began to take singing roles. Robson praised his voice as ‘full, round, clear, manly, and intelligible’ and declared: ‘everybody loved Jack Bannister’. In Storace’s operas, from The Haunted Tower (1789) onwards, he and Nancy Storace were frequently paired as the secondary lovers and Kelly later wrote roles for him. In Storace’s exuberant afterpiece The Three and the Deuce (1795) he played identical triplets, while as Walter, the saviour of the babes in Arnold’s The Children in the Wood, he delighted audiences from 1793 until his farewell performance in ...

Member of Bland family

(b London, March 5, 1798; d London, July 17, 1861). English bass-baritone and actor, son of Maria Theresa Bland. He sang in the company of the English Opera House at the Lyceum (1826–30) and then, after a brief period acting minor roles at Drury Lane, achieved fame in J.R. Planché's burlesque burlettas. Planché called him the ‘monarch of the extravaganza’, praised his ‘good baritone voice’ and wrote that his acting never degenerated into buffoonery. He died suddenly at the Strand Theatre, where he was due to perform in ...

Member of Devriès family

(b New York, Dec 28, 1858; d Chicago, Aug 24, 1949). Dutch baritone, son of Rosa de Vries-van Os. He studied with J.-B. Faure in Paris, where he made his début in 1878 at the Opéra as Méru in Les Huguenots. He sang other minor roles such as Wagner (...

Member of Devriès family

(b New York, 1854; d Chicago, 1919). Dutch baritone, son of Rosa de Vries-van Os. He made his début in 1874 at Liège as Nevers (Les Huguenots). He was engaged at the Théâtre de la Monnaie, where in 1884 he created Gunther in Reyer’s ...

(b Sydney, Feb 8, 1943; d Oct 10, 2021). Australian baritone. He studied in Sydney, where he made his début in 1966, and then in London before joining Scottish Opera (1972), with which he sang Count Almaviva, Malatesta, the Music-Master (Ariadne auf Naxos), James Stewart (Musgrave’s ...

Member of Fumagalli family

(b Milan, Sept 4, 1864; d Rome, Sept 17, 1936). Italian baritone and actor, son of Luca Fumagalli. He studied singing, but was forced to abandon his career when he lost his voice. He became a theatre director and a teacher of acting at the S Cecilia school in Rome. In his final years he was also librarian of the Conservatorio di S Cecilia....

Member of Grazani family

(b Fermo, April 26, 1828; d Fermo, June 30, 1901). Italian baritone, brother of Giuseppe Graziani. He made his début in 1851 at Ascoli Piceno in Donizetti’s Gemma di Vergy and the following season sang Francesco in Verdi’s I masnadieri at Macerata. He appeared at the Théâtre Italien, Paris, from 1853 to 1861 and made his London début at Covent Garden in 1855 as Carlo in Ernani, continuing to appear there regularly for the next 25 years. Though his repertory was enormous, ranging from Mozart (Don Giovanni and Le nozze di Figaro), Rossini (Otello, La donna del lago and Guillaume Tell), Donizetti (Lucia di Lammermoor, Linda di Chamounix and La favorite), and Bellini (La sonnambula and I puritani) to Flotow’s Martha, Gounod’s Faust, Meyerbeer’s L’Africaine and Thomas’ Hamlet, it was in Verdi roles that his greatest successes were gained. He was the first Luna to be heard in Paris (...

Member of Grazani family

(b Fermo, Feb 16, 1836; d Fermo, Nov 2, 1906). Italian baritone, brother of Giuseppe Graziani. He made his début in 1862 as Belcore in L’elisir d’amore, but had to abandon his career when, following an illness, he became partly deaf.

For Bibliography, see ...

[František]

Member of Hauser family

(b Krasowitz [now Krasovice], nr Prague, Jan 12, 1794; d Freiburg, Aug 14, 1870). Bohemian baritone and teacher. Having studied with Tomášek in Prague, he sang first with the Prague opera (1817–21, making his début as Sarastro), then in Kassel (1821–5, under Spohr), Dresden (1825–6, under Weber), Frankfurt (1826–9) and Vienna (1829–32). In 1832 he visited London with Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient. Later engagements took him to Leipzig (1832–5, as regisseur as well as singer), Berlin (1835–6) and Breslau (1836–8). He also made regular guest appearances throughout Germany. On his retirement in 1838 he settled in Vienna as a singing teacher. In 1846 he was appointed director of the newly founded Munich Conservatory. On its reorganization after Wagner's arrival he retired in 1864 and lived at Karlsruhe and Freiburg. According to early critics his style was pure though he was considered cold as an actor; but he gave satisfaction to Weber and was later praised for his interpretations of Mozart's and Rossini's Figaro, Bertram, William Tell and Spohr's Faust. His wide interests won him the friendship of many leading artists and composers, including Mendelssohn, Schumann and Moritz Hauptmann, with whom he often corresponded. As a teacher he was much respected, and among those whom he instructed or advised were Henriette Sontag and Jenny Lind. Hauser's ...

Member of Hauser family

(b Frankfurt, Sept 29, 1828; d Karlsruhe, May 4, 1903). German baritone, son of Franz Hauser. He had a repertory of more than 130 roles, and also appeared widely as a concert singer. Wagner wanted him to sing Kurwenal in 1865 and Alberich in ...

(b Washburn, IL, Nov 20, 1959). American bass-baritone. He studied at Millikin University and Wichita State University under Richard Cross and George Gibson. In 1986, he made his debut with Central City Opera in Denver as Colline in La Bohème. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1989 as Mr. Redburn in Billy Budd. He has since been heard with many major companies, including those in Washington, Chicago, San Francisco, Vienna, Salzburg, London, Paris, and Milan. He is a winner of the Birgit Nilsson Prize. His rich-hued, powerful voice is especially well suited to the operas of Wagner and Strauss, including such roles as Wotan, Kurwenal, the Dutchman, Jochanaan, and Orestes. He has also been successful in such dramatically demanding roles as Wozzeck in in comic roles such as Leporello and the Four Villains in Les contes d’Hoffmann. As a concert soloist, he has performed with the Chicago Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the National Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Paris Orchestra, and the Kirov Opera Orchestra. His recordings include Donner in Wagner’s ...

(b United States). American baritone. One of his earliest professional performances took place at the Lake George Opera Festival, where he performed as Damis in Kirke Mechem’s Tartuffe in 1982. He appeared there again as Papageno in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, one of his signature roles. His voice, while not overpowering, is full of nuance and carries a light brilliance. A sought after performer, he has served as a principal singer with Glimmerglass Opera, Virginia Opera, Chicago Opera Theatre, New York Grand Opera, El Paso Opera, and the Natchez Opera Festival. By the early 2010s, he had performed nearly 150 different roles in a variety of theatrical productions, including bel canto opera, musical theater, and, especially, light opera. During more than a quarter century singing with the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players, he has performed in each opera and in more than 20 roles. His international reputation as a premiere interpreter of this repertoire has been built on more than 500 Gilbert and Sullivan performances. Other notable works he has performed in New York include Carlisle Floyd’s ...

(b Vânju Mare, Romania, June 2, 1930; d Bucharest, Aug 30, 2015). Romanian baritone. He graduated from the Theatre Faculty in Iași (1948–9) and the Bucharest Music Conservatory (1952–6) where he studied with Constantin Stroescu. He continued his studies in Salzburg (Mozarteum, 1956), Paris (1958–60), and Rome (1960). He made his début in 1949 in the operetta Cântec de viață nouă (‘Song for a new life’) by Florin Comișel; he gave his Bucharest Opera and Ballet Theatre début in December 1956. He performed 262 international tours in 61 countries, appearing in almost 1100 opera performances across the globe. He performed 45 operatic roles, and gave over 1600 lieder recitals. He sang on the major stages of Europe and North America, in productions alongside Mario Del Monaco, Placido Domingo, Mirella Freni, Renata Scotto, Virginia Zeani, Montserrat Caballé, Luciano Pavarotti, Franco Corelli, N. Rossi-Lemeni, and Giuseppe Di Stefano, among others. He was awarded various prizes throughout his lengthy career, including the Robert Schumann Prize (Berlin, ...

(b Akron, OH, Nov 10, 1954). American baritone and teacher. He received his vocal training at the University of Houston where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music. His teachers included Franco Corelli, Jean Preston, louis Quilico , and Michael Trimble. He made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1991 and has subsequently sung numerous roles there, including Germont (La traviata), Enrico (Lucia di Lammermoor), and Rigoletto (Rigoletto). In 2009 he appeared in the premiere of André Previn’s opera Brief Encounter with Houston Grand Opera and in 2010 the premiere of Stephen Schwartz’s Séance on a Wet Afternoon with Opera Santa Barbara. In 2011 he performed William Bolcom’s A View from the Bridge with the Rome Opera Theater. He has been recognized with awards from the William Sullivan–George London Foundation, the Loren L. Zachary Society, the Licia Albanese–Puccini Foundation, and the Bagby Foundation, and has also received a Bruce Yarnell Scholarship and a career grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation. He has also worked as associate professor of voice at the University of Oklahoma....

Member of Mandini family

(b Arezzo, 1757; d Bologna, Jan 25, 1842). Italian tenor and baritone, brother of Stefano Mandini. He is sometimes confused with Stefano because, like him, Paolo had a wide range and sang both tenor and baritone roles. A pupil of Saverio Valente, he made a successful début at Brescia in 1777 and sang widely in Italy before joining Haydn’s company at Eszterháza in 1783–4. He appeared as Don Fabio in Cimarosa’s Il falegname, Gianetto in Anfossi’s I viaggiatori felici, Armidoro in Cimarosa’s L’amor costante, the Marquis in Sarti’s Le gelosie villane and the Count in Bianchi’s La villanella rapita. Haydn wrote Idreno for him in Armida. For the 1785–6 season he joined his brother in Vienna, where he made his début in Anfossi’s I viaggiatori felici as Gianetto and sang Paulino in Bianchi’s La villanella rapita. He went on to sing throughout Italy, returning briefly to Eszterháza (...

Member of Mandini family

(b 1750; d c1810). Italian baritone. His first known appearance, in Ferrara in 1774, was followed by a string of engagements throughout Italy. At Parma in 1776 he was described as ‘primo buffo mezzo carattere’. In 1783 he and his wife were engaged by Joseph II for his new Italian opera company in Vienna, Stefano making his début on 5 May 1783 as Milord Arespingh in Cimarosa’s L’italiana in Londra. That season he distinguished himself as Mingone in Sarti’s Fra i due litiganti and as Count Almaviva in Paisiello’s Il barbiere di Siviglia; in the last, Zinzendorf noted, he excelled in all four disguises in Almaviva’s role. In 1784 he created the title role in Paisiello’s Il re Teodoro in Venezia and the following season created Artidoro in Storace’s Gli sposi malcontenti and Plistene in Salieri’s La grotta di Trofonio. He also sang in Bianchi’s ...

(b Kiel, March 7, 1929; d La Palma, Canada, May 11, 2020). German baritone. After studying in Vienna, he was engaged in 1954 at the Theater am Gärtnerplatz, Munich, first as a tenor, then as a baritone. In 1964 he moved to Cologne, where he remained for over 25 years; he took part in the première of Die Soldaten (1965) and with the company sang the Secretary in the first London performance of Der junge Lord at Sadler’s Wells (1969). His huge and varied repertory included Almaviva, Guglielmo and Don Alfonso, Rossini’s Figaro, Billy Budd, Monteverdi’s Ulysses, and many operetta roles. In 1979 he sang Count Robinson (Il matrimonio segreto) at Cologne, repeating the part at Edinburgh (1980), Sadler’s Wells (1983), Schwetzingen, and Washington, DC (1986). A superb character actor, he had a light but serviceable voice....

Member of De Reszke family

(b Warsaw, Jan 14, 1850; d Nice, April 3, 1925). Polish baritone, later tenor. He studied with Ciaffei and Cotogni as a baritone, making his début (under the name of Giovanni di Reschi) at La Fenice, Venice, in 1874 as Alphonse XI (La favorite), the role of his London début at Drury Lane the same year. He also sang Valentin and Don Giovanni. In 1876 (now as Jean de Reszke), he sang Melitone (Forza) and Rossini’s Figaro in Paris, then retired to restudy as a tenor with Sbriglia. His first appearance as a tenor, in the title role of Robert le diable at Madrid in 1879, was not a success and he did not sing again until 1884, when he made a triumphant reappearance as John the Baptist in the first Paris performance of Massenet’s Hérodiade, at the Théâtre Italien. The following year he created the title role in ...

Member of Robinson family (ii)

(b Dublin, Aug 20, 1815; d Dublin, Aug 23, 1898). Irish baritone, conductor, and composer, brother of Francis James Robinson. He was a chorister at St Patrick’s at the age of eight. In 1834 he founded the Antient Concerts Society, which he conducted for 29 years. In 1837 he became conductor of the University Choral Society, founded by the students; at one of its concerts Mendelssohn’s music for Antigone was given for the first time outside Germany. He conducted this Society for ten years. He conducted music for the opening of the Cork Exhibition in 1852, and the Dublin International Exhibition in 1853. In 1856 efforts were made to revive the Irish Academy of Music, founded in 1848 but languishing for want of funds and pupils. Robinson and his wife Fanny Arthur joined as professors, and when, after 20 years, Robinson resigned, the institution had become stable and important. He also taught Stanford harmony. For the Handel centenary in ...