Donald Gramm
Encyclopedia
Donald Gramm was an American bass-baritone
whose career was divided between opera
and concert
performances. His appearances were primarily limited to the United States, which at the time was unusual for an American singer. John Rockwell of The New York Times
described Gramm as follows: "He had an unusually rich, noble tone, and although its volume may not have been large, it penetrated even the biggest theaters easily. Technically, he could handle bel-canto ornamentation fluently. But his real strengths lay in his aristocratic musicianship (impeccable phrasing that he polished by accompanying himself at the piano, and an easy command of five languages) and his instinctive acting." Among the most notable of his many operatic roles were the title role in Verdi's Falstaff
, Leporello in Mozart's Don Giovanni
, and Dr. Schön and Jack the Ripper in Berg's Lulu
.
. He later studied at the Chicago Musical College
and with Martial Singher
.
with the Little Orchestra Society. The following year he made his New York City Opera
debut as Colline in Puccini's La bohème
and continued to sing with that company in nearly every season for the next 30 years. His roles there included both the Count and Figaro in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, Orlofsky (transposed down from the original) in Johann Strauss's Die Fledermaus
, Dandini in Rossini's La Cenerentola
, Bartolo in Rossini's The Barber of Seville, and the title role in Verdi's Falstaff
. In 1953 he created the role of The Bachelor in the world premiere of Bohuslav Martinů
's The Marriage
with the NBC Opera Theatre
.
Gramm also performed major roles frequently with Sarah Caldwell
's Opera Company of Boston
and John Crosby's
Santa Fe Opera
. In an interview Caldwell had this to say about Gramm as a performer: "Conductors and stage directors love him. Donald's high level of musicianship and intelligence, and his beautiful voice are attributes which make him the logical choice of a conductor. His remarkable ability for physical characterization and his deep interest in its development make him the logical choice of a stage director. This fusion of musical and dramatic qualities sets him apart as one of the most extraordinary singing actors of our time."
debut was on 10 January 1964, in the minor role of Truffaldino in Richard Straus's Ariadne auf Naxos
. One of the most important roles Gramm performed during his career at the Met was Leporello in Mozart's Don Giovanni
. He performed the part 24 times with the company between 1966 and 1981; of these only 5 were in New York, the remainder were on tour. He was otherwise, however, often confined to smaller parts. Roles performed in the 1964–65 season included the Maharajah in Menotti's The Last Savage (a part which rises to high F-sharp), Don Alfonso in Mozart's Così fan tutte
, and the Doctor in Berg's Wozzeck
; in the 1965–66 season, Count Waldner in Strauss's Arabella
, Pedro in Offenbach's La Périchole
, Geronte in Puccini's Manon Lescaut
, and Leporello in Don Giovanni; in the 1966–67 season, Dr.Falke in Die Fledermaus
; in the 1967–68 season, the Speaker in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Plunkett in Flotow's Martha
, and again the Doctor in Wozzeck; and in the 1968–69 season, the Doctor in Wozzeck. He did not perform in the 1969–70 season.
In the 1970–71 season he appeared again as Pedro in La Périchole and Leporello in Don Giovanni but also added Don Basilio in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia and the Bailiff in Massenet's Werther
. In the 1971–72 season he repeated the role of Bailiff in Werther, added Kothner in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
, but most importantly sang Sulpice in Donizetti's La fille du régiment
(with Dame Joan Sutherland
as Marie and Luciano Pavarotti
as Tonio). In the 1972–73 season he was cast as Zuniga in Göran Gentele
's new production of Bizet's Carmen
(with Marilyn Horne
as Carmen and James McCracken
as Don José); he repeated his roles as the Speaker, Leporello, and Sulpice, and added Captain Balstrode in Britten's Peter Grimes
(with Jon Vickers
in the title role). In the 1973–74 season he performed Papageno in Die Zauberflöte. In the 1974–75 season he repeated the Doctor in Wozzeck and added Varlaam in Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov
. In the 1975–76 season he repeated Papageno and added the roles of Dr. Schön and Jack the Ripper in Berg's Lulu
, the Met's first production of the opera, directed by John Dexter
. In the 1977–78 season he repeated Captain Balstrode and Leporello. In the 1978–79 season, on the Met's Spring Tour, he added the title role in Donizetti's Don Pasquale
. He never performed this part at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.
In the 1980–81 season he again sang only on tour, repeating his portrayal of Leporello; but in the 1981–82 season he appeared as Don Alfonso in in a new production of Così fan tutte; on the tour he repeated his portrayal of Papageno. In 1982-83, his final season at the Met, Gramm alternated with Paul Plishka
as Varlaam and Pimen in Boris Godunov
, and repeated the role of Count Waldner in a new production premiere of Arabella on 10 February 1983. Patrick J. Smith, writing in Opera
, described his performance as follows: "Donald Gramm, as Waldner, underplayed the role rather than making it into a broad-accented German buffo, and brought to life the inner pride of the down-at-heel nobleman. His first-act scene with Mandryka was a highpoint of the evening (this must be one of the most closely characterized duologues in opera); the clarity of his enunciation was exemplary." Gramm repeated the role 6 more times, giving his final performance at the Met in a matinee broadcast on 5 March 1983. In total he had appeared 230 times with the company.
with Sarah Caldwell
and the Opera Company of Boston
on 29 May. His publicist said he had complained of chest pains in the last week, but otherwise appeared to be in good health.
, Harvard Glee Club, Radcliffe Choral Society Principal singers: David Poleri (Faust); Martial Singher
(Méphistophélès); Suzanne Danco
(Margeurite); Donald Gramm (Brander)
Label: RCA Victor (USA) LM-6114 (E4RP-8102 – E4RP-8107) (3 LP
s, mono
, issued [1954])
Label: HMV (UK) ALP1225-7 (3 LPs, mono)
Label: RCA Victrola (UK) VIC6109/1-2 (mono
) and VICS6109/1-2 (electronic stereo
) (2 LP
s)
Label: RCA Victor Gold Seal (UK) GD87940 (2 CDs, 141 minutes, ADD
)
Mozart: Don Giovanni
• English Chamber Orchestra
, Ambrosian Singers
Donizetti: Don Pasquale
• London Symphony Orchestra
, Ambrosian Opera Chorus
• London Philharmonic Orchestra
, Glyndbourne
Chorus
Bass-baritone
A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three Wagnerian roles: the Dutchman in Der fliegende...
whose career was divided between opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
and concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
performances. His appearances were primarily limited to the United States, which at the time was unusual for an American singer. John Rockwell of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
described Gramm as follows: "He had an unusually rich, noble tone, and although its volume may not have been large, it penetrated even the biggest theaters easily. Technically, he could handle bel-canto ornamentation fluently. But his real strengths lay in his aristocratic musicianship (impeccable phrasing that he polished by accompanying himself at the piano, and an easy command of five languages) and his instinctive acting." Among the most notable of his many operatic roles were the title role in Verdi's Falstaff
Falstaff (opera)
Falstaff is an operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV. It was Verdi's last opera, written in the composer's ninth decade, and only the second of his 26 operas to be a comedy...
, Leporello in Mozart's Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
, and Dr. Schön and Jack the Ripper in Berg's Lulu
Lulu (opera)
Lulu is an opera by the composer Alban Berg. The libretto was adapted by Berg himself from Frank Wedekind's plays Erdgeist and Die Büchse der Pandora .-Composition history:...
.
Early life and training
Gramm was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin of German ancestry with the surname Grambsch, which he later changed to Gramm. He received his early musical training at the Wisconsin College Conservatory of Music (1933–1944) and sang his operatic debut at age 17 at Chicago's Eighth Street Theater as Raimondo in Donizetti's Lucia di LammermoorLucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
. He later studied at the Chicago Musical College
Chicago Musical College
Chicago Musical College is a division of Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt UniversityIt was founded in 1867, less than four decades after the city of Chicago was incorporated...
and with Martial Singher
Martial Singher
Martial Singher was a French baritone opera singer born in Oloron-Sainte-Marie, Pyrénées-Atlantiques.Initially singing only as a hobby, he was encouraged by then French education minister Édouard Herriot to pursue singing professionally...
.
Career
He made his New York debut in 1951 in Berlioz's L'enfance du ChristL'enfance du Christ
L'enfance du Christ , Opus 25, is an oratorio by the French composer Hector Berlioz, based on the Holy Family's flight into Egypt. Berlioz wrote his own words for the piece. Most of it was composed in 1853 and 1854, but it also incorporates an earlier work La fuite en Egypte...
with the Little Orchestra Society. The following year he made his New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
debut as Colline in Puccini's La bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
and continued to sing with that company in nearly every season for the next 30 years. His roles there included both the Count and Figaro in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, Orlofsky (transposed down from the original) in Johann Strauss's Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...
, Dandini in Rossini's La Cenerentola
La Cenerentola
La Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the fairy tale Cinderella...
, Bartolo in Rossini's The Barber of Seville, and the title role in Verdi's Falstaff
Falstaff (opera)
Falstaff is an operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV. It was Verdi's last opera, written in the composer's ninth decade, and only the second of his 26 operas to be a comedy...
. In 1953 he created the role of The Bachelor in the world premiere of Bohuslav Martinů
Bohuslav Martinu
Bohuslav Martinů was a prolific Czech composer of modern classical music. He was of Czech and Rumanian ancestry. Martinů wrote six symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. Martinů became a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic...
's The Marriage
The Marriage (opera)
The Marriage is a comic opera in 2 acts by Bohuslav Martinů, to the composer's own libretto, after the play of the same name by Nikolai Gogol. The opera was commissioned for television by the NBC, and the NBC Opera Theatre performed the work's world premiere on their television program NBC TV Opera...
with the NBC Opera Theatre
NBC Opera Theatre
The NBC Opera Theatre was an American opera company operated by the National Broadcasting Company from 1949 to 1964. The company was established specifically for the purpose of filming both established and new operas for television...
.
Gramm also performed major roles frequently with Sarah Caldwell
Sarah Caldwell
Sarah Caldwell was a notable American opera conductor, impresario, and stage director of opera.- Life :Caldwell was born in Maryville, Missouri, and grew up in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She was a child prodigy and gave public performances on the violin by the time she was ten years old...
's Opera Company of Boston
Opera Company of Boston
The Opera Company of Boston was an American opera company located in Boston, Massachusetts that was active during the late 1950s through the early 1990s. The company was founded by American conductor Sarah Caldwell in 1958 under the name Boston Opera Group. At one time, the touring arm of the...
and John Crosby's
John Crosby (conductor)
John O’Hea Crosby was an American musician, conductor and arts administrator...
Santa Fe Opera
Santa Fe Opera
The Santa Fe Opera is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe in the U.S. state of New Mexico, headquartered on a former guest ranch of .-General history:...
. In an interview Caldwell had this to say about Gramm as a performer: "Conductors and stage directors love him. Donald's high level of musicianship and intelligence, and his beautiful voice are attributes which make him the logical choice of a conductor. His remarkable ability for physical characterization and his deep interest in its development make him the logical choice of a stage director. This fusion of musical and dramatic qualities sets him apart as one of the most extraordinary singing actors of our time."
Metropolitan Opera performances
Gramm's Met OperaMetropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
debut was on 10 January 1964, in the minor role of Truffaldino in Richard Straus's Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos is an opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Bringing together slapstick comedy and consuming beautiful music, the opera's theme is the competition between high and low art for the public's attention.- First version :The opera was originally...
. One of the most important roles Gramm performed during his career at the Met was Leporello in Mozart's Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
. He performed the part 24 times with the company between 1966 and 1981; of these only 5 were in New York, the remainder were on tour. He was otherwise, however, often confined to smaller parts. Roles performed in the 1964–65 season included the Maharajah in Menotti's The Last Savage (a part which rises to high F-sharp), Don Alfonso in Mozart's Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
, and the Doctor in Berg's Wozzeck
Wozzeck
Wozzeck is the first opera by the Austrian composer Alban Berg. It was composed between 1914 and 1922 and first performed in 1925. The opera is based on the drama Woyzeck left incomplete by the German playwright Georg Büchner at his death. Berg attended the first production in Vienna of Büchner's...
; in the 1965–66 season, Count Waldner in Strauss's Arabella
Arabella
Arabella is a lyric comedy or opera in 3 acts by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, their sixth and last operatic collaboration. It was first performed on 1 July 1933, at the Dresden Sächsisches Staatstheater....
, Pedro in Offenbach's La Périchole
La Périchole
La Périchole is an opéra bouffe in three acts by Jacques Offenbach. Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy wrote the French-language libretto based on the 1829 one act play Le carrosse du Saint-Sacrement by Prosper Mérimée, which was revived on 13 March 1850 at the Théâtre-Français...
, Geronte in Puccini's Manon Lescaut
Manon Lescaut
Manon Lescaut is a short novel by French author Abbé Prévost. Published in 1731, it is the seventh and final volume of Mémoires et aventures d'un homme de qualité . It was controversial in its time and was banned in France upon publication...
, and Leporello in Don Giovanni; in the 1966–67 season, Dr.Falke in Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...
; in the 1967–68 season, the Speaker in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Plunkett in Flotow's Martha
Martha (opera)
Martha, oder Der Markt zu Richmond is a 'romantic comic' opera in four acts by Friedrich von Flotow, set to a German libretto by Friedrich Wilhelm Riese and based on a story by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges....
, and again the Doctor in Wozzeck; and in the 1968–69 season, the Doctor in Wozzeck. He did not perform in the 1969–70 season.
In the 1970–71 season he appeared again as Pedro in La Périchole and Leporello in Don Giovanni but also added Don Basilio in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia and the Bailiff in Massenet's Werther
Werther
Werther is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann based on the German epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe....
. In the 1971–72 season he repeated the role of Bailiff in Werther, added Kothner in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is an opera in three acts, written and composed by Richard Wagner. It is among the longest operas still commonly performed today, usually taking around four and a half hours. It was first performed at the Königliches Hof- und National-Theater in Munich, on June 21,...
, but most importantly sang Sulpice in Donizetti's La fille du régiment
La fille du régiment
La fille du régiment is an opéra comique in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. It was written while the composer was living in Paris, with a French libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-François Bayard.La figlia del reggimento, a slightly different Italian-language version , was...
(with Dame Joan Sutherland
Joan Sutherland
Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, OM, AC, DBE was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano noted for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s....
as Marie and Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti
right|thumb|Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in [[Strelna]], 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of [[St...
as Tonio). In the 1972–73 season he was cast as Zuniga in Göran Gentele
Göran Gentele
Göran Gentele was a Swedish actor, director, and opera manager.Born in Stockholm, Gentele studied from 1944 until 1946 at the Dramatens elevskola, beginning a brief career as a film actor not long afterwards...
's new production of Bizet's Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
(with Marilyn Horne
Marilyn Horne
Marilyn Horne is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She specialized in roles requiring a large sound, beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and the ability to execute difficult coloratura passages....
as Carmen and James McCracken
James McCracken
James McCracken was an American operatic tenor. At the time of his death The New York Times stated that McCracken was "the most successful dramatic tenor yet produced by the United States and a pillar of the Metropolitan Opera during the 1960s and 1970s."-Biography:Born in Gary, Indiana,...
as Don José); he repeated his roles as the Speaker, Leporello, and Sulpice, and added Captain Balstrode in Britten's Peter Grimes
Peter Grimes
Peter Grimes is an opera by Benjamin Britten, with a libretto adapted by Montagu Slater from the Peter Grimes section of George Crabbe's poem The Borough...
(with Jon Vickers
Jon Vickers
Jonathan Stewart Vickers, CC , known professionally as Jon Vickers, is a retired Canadian heldentenor.Born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, he was the sixth in a family of eight children. In 1950, he was awarded a scholarship to study opera at The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto...
in the title role). In the 1973–74 season he performed Papageno in Die Zauberflöte. In the 1974–75 season he repeated the Doctor in Wozzeck and added Varlaam in Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov
Boris Godunov (opera)
Boris Godunov is an opera by Modest Mussorgsky . The work was composed between 1868 and 1873 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is Mussorgsky's only completed opera and is considered his masterpiece. Its subjects are the Russian ruler Boris Godunov, who reigned as Tsar during the Time of Troubles,...
. In the 1975–76 season he repeated Papageno and added the roles of Dr. Schön and Jack the Ripper in Berg's Lulu
Lulu (opera)
Lulu is an opera by the composer Alban Berg. The libretto was adapted by Berg himself from Frank Wedekind's plays Erdgeist and Die Büchse der Pandora .-Composition history:...
, the Met's first production of the opera, directed by John Dexter
John Dexter
John Dexter was an English theatre, opera, and film director.- Theatre :Born in Derby, England, Dexter left school at the age of fourteen to serve in the British army during World War II. Following the war, he began working as a stage actor before turning to producing and directing shows for...
. In the 1977–78 season he repeated Captain Balstrode and Leporello. In the 1978–79 season, on the Met's Spring Tour, he added the title role in Donizetti's Don Pasquale
Don Pasquale
Don Pasquale is an opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The librettist Giovanni Ruffini wrote the Italian language libretto after Angelo Anelli's libretto for Stefano Pavesi's Ser Marcantonio ....
. He never performed this part at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.
In the 1980–81 season he again sang only on tour, repeating his portrayal of Leporello; but in the 1981–82 season he appeared as Don Alfonso in in a new production of Così fan tutte; on the tour he repeated his portrayal of Papageno. In 1982-83, his final season at the Met, Gramm alternated with Paul Plishka
Paul Plishka
Paul Plishka is a Ukrainian-American bass opera singer.Mr Plishka comes from Old Forge, Pennsylvania and Paterson, New Jersey; his parents were American-born children of Ukrainian immigrants...
as Varlaam and Pimen in Boris Godunov
Boris Godunov (opera)
Boris Godunov is an opera by Modest Mussorgsky . The work was composed between 1868 and 1873 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is Mussorgsky's only completed opera and is considered his masterpiece. Its subjects are the Russian ruler Boris Godunov, who reigned as Tsar during the Time of Troubles,...
, and repeated the role of Count Waldner in a new production premiere of Arabella on 10 February 1983. Patrick J. Smith, writing in Opera
Opera (magazine)
Opera is a monthly British magazine devoted to covering all things related to opera.Based in London, the magazine was founded in 1950 by George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood. It was launched at the house of Richard Buckle, under the imprint 'Ballet Publications Ltd'...
, described his performance as follows: "Donald Gramm, as Waldner, underplayed the role rather than making it into a broad-accented German buffo, and brought to life the inner pride of the down-at-heel nobleman. His first-act scene with Mandryka was a highpoint of the evening (this must be one of the most closely characterized duologues in opera); the clarity of his enunciation was exemplary." Gramm repeated the role 6 more times, giving his final performance at the Met in a matinee broadcast on 5 March 1983. In total he had appeared 230 times with the company.
Death
Gramm died of a heart attack in New York City on 2 June 1983. He was 56 years old. He had just finished a set of performances in Bellini's NormaNorma (opera)
Norma is a tragedia lirica or opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with libretto by Felice Romani after Norma, ossia L'infanticidio by Alexandre Soumet. First produced at La Scala on December 26, 1831, it is generally regarded as an example of the supreme height of the bel canto tradition...
with Sarah Caldwell
Sarah Caldwell
Sarah Caldwell was a notable American opera conductor, impresario, and stage director of opera.- Life :Caldwell was born in Maryville, Missouri, and grew up in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She was a child prodigy and gave public performances on the violin by the time she was ten years old...
and the Opera Company of Boston
Opera Company of Boston
The Opera Company of Boston was an American opera company located in Boston, Massachusetts that was active during the late 1950s through the early 1990s. The company was founded by American conductor Sarah Caldwell in 1958 under the name Boston Opera Group. At one time, the touring arm of the...
on 29 May. His publicist said he had complained of chest pains in the last week, but otherwise appeared to be in good health.
Audio
Berlioz: La damnation de Faust • Boston Symphony OrchestraBoston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...
, Harvard Glee Club, Radcliffe Choral Society
- Recording date: 1952 (Boston Symphony Hall)
- Conductor: Charles MünchCharles MünchCharles Munch was an Alsatian symphonic conductor and violinist. Noted for his mastery of the French orchestral repertoire, he is best known as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.-Biography:...
Martial Singher
Martial Singher was a French baritone opera singer born in Oloron-Sainte-Marie, Pyrénées-Atlantiques.Initially singing only as a hobby, he was encouraged by then French education minister Édouard Herriot to pursue singing professionally...
(Méphistophélès); Suzanne Danco
Suzanne Danco
Suzanne Danco , was a celebrated Belgian soprano and mezzo-soprano.-Career:Suzanne Danco was born in Brussels and grew up in a Flemish background although French was her native language...
(Margeurite); Donald Gramm (Brander)
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
s, mono
Monaural
Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction is single-channel. Typically there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or channels are fed from a common signal path...
, issued [1954])
- "Magnificent! ... The Brander (presumably American) does the Song of the Rat effectively...." Gramophone review December 1955, p. 178. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
Monaural
Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction is single-channel. Typically there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or channels are fed from a common signal path...
) and VICS6109/1-2 (electronic stereo
Stereophonic sound
The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective...
) (2 LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
s)
- Re: electronic stereo: "I could detect no sense of direction, nor clarification of texture...." Gramophone review March 1969, p. 1332. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
SPARS Code
SPARS is an acronym for the Society of Professional Audio Recording Services. The SPARS code is a three-letter code that appears on some Compact Disc recordings telling the consumer whether analog or digital equipment was used in producing the recording...
)
- Also includes Debussy's La damoiselle élue.
- "...Sir Colin Davis's electrifying Philips performance ... is not only unsurpassed but likely to remain so.... Munch ... shows a greater grasp of Berliozian nuance than Ozawa...." Gramophone comparative review of the Ozawa and Munch recordings February 1989, p. 1320. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
Mozart: Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
• English Chamber Orchestra
English Chamber Orchestra
The English Chamber Orchestra is a British chamber orchestra based in London. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts at Cadogan Hall, and the ECO Ensemble performs at Wigmore Hall...
, Ambrosian Singers
Ambrosian Singers
The Ambrosian Singers are one of the best-known London choral groups, particularly appreciated for its great variety of recorded repertory.They were founded after World War II in England...
- Recording date: 1969
- Conductor: Richard BonyngeRichard BonyngeRichard Alan Bonynge, AO, CBE is an Australian conductor and pianist.Bonynge was born in Sydney and educated at Sydney Boys High School before studying piano at the Royal College of Music in London. He gave up his music scholarship, continuing his private piano studies, and became a coach for...
- Principal singers: Gabriel BacquierGabriel BacquierGabriel Bacquier is a French operatic baritone. One of the leading baritones of the 20th century and particularly associated with the French and Italian repertories, he is considered a fine singing-actor equally at home in dramatic or comic roles.-Life and career:Gabriel Bacquier was born in...
(Don Giovanni); Joan SutherlandJoan SutherlandDame Joan Alston Sutherland, OM, AC, DBE was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano noted for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s....
(Donna Anna); Pilar LorengarPilar LorengarLorenza Pilar García Seta was a Spanish soprano who used the professional name Pilar Lorengar. She was best known for her interpretations of opera and the Spanish genre Zarzuela, and as a soprano she was known for her full register, a youthful timbre as well as a distinctive vibrato.Pilar was...
(Donna Elvira); Marilyn HorneMarilyn HorneMarilyn Horne is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She specialized in roles requiring a large sound, beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and the ability to execute difficult coloratura passages....
(Zerlina); Werner Krenn (Don Ottavio); Donald Gramm (Leporello); Leonardo Monreale (Masetto); Clifford GrantClifford GrantClifford Scantlebury Grant is a retired Australian operatic bass singer.Clifford Grant was born in Sydney. In 1966 he joined Sadler's Wells Opera company and on 20 December 1974 he had his debut at the Royal Opera House in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, in the role of Doctor Bartolo...
(Commendatore) - Label: DeccaDecca RecordsDecca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
(UK) SET412-5 (4 LPLP albumThe LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
s, stereo)- "Donald Gramm's Leporello, distinctly darker-toned than [the] Giovanni, comes across well: good, unaffected singing, without exaggeration or coarseness ... [but] perhaps, not a strongly characterful reading." Gramophone review, February 1970, pp. 1312, 1319. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
- Label: Decca Grand OperaDecca RecordsDecca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
(UK) 448 973-2DMO3 (3 CDs, 184 minutes, ADD)- "Leporello (the excellent Donald Gramm) ... a landmark set in its way...." Gramophone review, May 1997, pp. 112-113. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
Donizetti: Don Pasquale
Don Pasquale
Don Pasquale is an opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The librettist Giovanni Ruffini wrote the Italian language libretto after Angelo Anelli's libretto for Stefano Pavesi's Ser Marcantonio ....
• London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
, Ambrosian Opera Chorus
- Recording date: 1978
- Conductor: Sarah CaldwellSarah CaldwellSarah Caldwell was a notable American opera conductor, impresario, and stage director of opera.- Life :Caldwell was born in Maryville, Missouri, and grew up in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She was a child prodigy and gave public performances on the violin by the time she was ten years old...
- Principal singers: Donald Gramm (Don Pasquale); Beverly SillsBeverly SillsBeverly Sills was an American operatic soprano whose peak career was between the 1950s and 1970s. In her prime she was the only real rival to Joan Sutherland as the leading bel canto stylist...
(Norina); Alfredo KrausAlfredo KrausAlfredo Kraus Trujillo was a distinguished Spanish tenor of partly Austrian descent, particularly known for the artistry he brought to opera's bel canto roles...
(Ernesto); Alan TitusAlan TitusAlan Titus is an internationally-celebrated baritone. He studied under Aksel Schiøtz at the Colorado School of Music, and Hans Heinz at The Juilliard School. His official debut was as Marcello in La bohème, in Washington, DC, in 1969. He came to prominence, however, in Leonard Bernstein's...
(Dr. Malatesta); Henry Newman (Notary) - Label: Angel (USA) SBLX 3871 (2 LPs, issued 1978)
- Label: EMI ClassicsEMI ClassicsEMI Classics is a record label of EMI, formed in 1990 in order to reduce the need to create country-specific packaging and catalogs for internationally distributed classical music releases....
724356603028 (2 CDs, 122 minutes, ADDSPARS CodeSPARS is an acronym for the Society of Professional Audio Recording Services. The SPARS code is a three-letter code that appears on some Compact Disc recordings telling the consumer whether analog or digital equipment was used in producing the recording...
)- "Donald Gramm is a well-mannered, vivid Pasquale...." Gramophone review, March 1997, p. 93. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
Video
Verdi: FalstaffFalstaff (opera)
Falstaff is an operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV. It was Verdi's last opera, written in the composer's ninth decade, and only the second of his 26 operas to be a comedy...
• London Philharmonic Orchestra
London Philharmonic Orchestra
The London Philharmonic Orchestra , based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, the LPO is the main resident orchestra of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera...
, Glyndbourne
Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an English opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.-History:...
Chorus
- Recording date: 1976 (live at the Opera Festival, GlyndbourneGlyndebourne Festival OperaGlyndebourne Festival Opera is an English opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.-History:...
) - Conductor: John Pritchard
- Stage Director: Jean-Pierre PonnelleJean-Pierre PonnelleJean-Pierre Ponnelle was a noted French opera director.-Biography:Ponnelle was born in Paris. He studied philosophy, art, and history there and, in 1952, began his career in Germany as a theatre designer for Hans Werner Henze's opera Boulevard Solitude...
- Principal singers: Donald Gramm (Falstaff); Benjamin LuxonBenjamin LuxonBenjamin Matthew Luxon CBE is a retired British baritone.-Biography:He studied with Walter Grünner at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and established an international reputation as a singer when he won a third prize at the 1961 ARD International Music Competition in Munich...
(Ford); Kay GriffelKay GriffelKay Griffel is an American operatic spinto soprano.-Early life and education:After earning a Bachelor of Music from Northwestern University, she pursued further studies with Lotte Lehmann at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara. She received a Fulbright Scholarship and a Rockefeller...
(Alice Ford); Elizabeth Gale (Nannetta); Max-René Cosotti (Fenton); Nucci Condò (Mistress Quickly); Reni Penkova (Meg Page); John FryattJohn FryattJohn James Fryatt was an English actor and opera singer best known for his performance in comic character roles....
(Doctor Caius); Bernard Dickerson (Bardolph); Ugo Trama (Pistol) - Label: Arthaus Musik 101 083 (DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, NTSCNTSCNTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...
4:3Aspect ratio (image)The aspect ratio of an image is the ratio of the width of the image to its height, expressed as two numbers separated by a colon. That is, for an x:y aspect ratio, no matter how big or small the image is, if the width is divided into x units of equal length and the height is measured using this...
, PCM stereo, 118 min)- "Gramm is a true cavaliere of a Falstaff: we can tell that here is an idealist manqué with a natural dignity of manner and mien, while the American baritone's singing, while not as ideally rounded as José van DamJosé van DamJoseph, Baron van Damme , known as José van Dam, is a Belgian bass-baritone.At the age of 17, he entered the Brussels Royal Conservatory and studied with Frederic Anspach. A year later, he graduated with diplomas and first prizes in voice and opera performance...
(CambrelingSylvain CambrelingSylvain Cambreling is a French conductor. Trained as a trombone player, he studied at the Paris Conservatoire. He joined l'Orchestre Symphonique de Lyon as a trombonist in 1971. In 1974, he took second prize in the International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors...
) and Ambrogio Maestri (Muti) on the rival versions..., is always well-groomed and exact." Gramophone review July 2005, pp. 107, 109. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
- "Gramm is a true cavaliere of a Falstaff: we can tell that here is an idealist manqué with a natural dignity of manner and mien, while the American baritone's singing, while not as ideally rounded as José van Dam
External links
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_IDEiJUKeE Donald Gramm in Il turco in Italia (1978).