Ramón Vinay
Encyclopedia
Ramón Vinay was a famous Chilean opera
tic tenor
with a powerful, dramatic voice. He is probably best remembered for his appearances in the title role of Giuseppe Verdi
's tragic opera Otello
.
in Mexico
in 1938. He later switched to tenor
, making a second debut in 1943 and forging a successful international career after World War II
. Vinay eventually returned to the baritone fold in 1962 and retired from the stage in 1969.
Even as a tenor, however, his vocal timbre retained its dark, baritonal colouration.
Son of Jean Vinay Robert and Rosa Sepúlveda. Born in Chillán
, Chile
, Vinay earned particular renown throughout the operatic world for his interpretation of the role of Otello. For a time, he made the part his own. Perhaps his most significant appearance as Otello occurred in 1947, in a radio broadcast of the opera under the baton of Arturo Toscanini
. His colleagues on this occasion were Herva Nelli
, Giuseppe Valdengo
and Nan Merriman
, together with the NBC Symphony Orchestra
and Chorus. This performance was subsequently issued by RCA Victor on both LP
and CD. In recent years, it has appeared on CDs issued by other companies, notably on the Guild label. Many critics consider it the best complete Otello ever recorded.
A fine actor, Vinay was also the first tenor to sing the role of Otello on television. That was in 1948, in the initial telecast of an entire opera from the Met. He also sang Otello at La Scala
, in Salzburg
and at the Royal Opera House
, Covent Garden
. In all, he performed it hundreds of times. He is said to be the only opera singer to have sung both Otello and Iago (the baritone villain) in Verdi's tragic masterpiece during the course of a career.
Vinay's overall tenor repertoire was comparatively ample. It also embraced heavy Wagnerian roles (he sang at the Bayreuth Festival
in 1952-57), as well as Canio in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci
, Don José in Bizet's Carmen
and Samson in Saint-Saëns
's Samson et Dalila. Apart from Iago, the baritone parts which he performed included Telramund, Bartolo, Falstaff and Scarpia.
He was a National Patron of Delta Omicron
, an international professional music fraternity.
He died in Mexico, aged 84.
Dirigent: Clemens Krauss; Festspielhaus Bayreuth, 1953
Dirigent: Wolfgang Sawallisch; Festspielhaus Bayreuth, 1962
Dirigent: Wolfgang Sawallisch; Festspielhaus Bayreuth, 1962
To the list of the selected recordings, could be added the Die Walkure production of 1957, with the Orchester der Bayreuth Festspiele conducted by Hans Knappertsbusch. Ramon Vinay sings Siegmund with Birgit Nillson as Sieglinde. This latter became known as the "Legendary 1957 Bayreuth Production".
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...
tic tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
with a powerful, dramatic voice. He is probably best remembered for his appearances in the title role of Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
's tragic opera Otello
Otello
Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play Othello. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on February 5, 1887....
.
Biography
The young Vinay was encouraged by his mother to learn to sing. He commenced his opera career as a baritoneBaritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
in 1938. He later switched to tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
, making a second debut in 1943 and forging a successful international career after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Vinay eventually returned to the baritone fold in 1962 and retired from the stage in 1969.
Even as a tenor, however, his vocal timbre retained its dark, baritonal colouration.
Son of Jean Vinay Robert and Rosa Sepúlveda. Born in Chillán
Chillán
Chillán is a city in the Biobío Region of Chile located about south of the country's capital, Santiago, near the geographical center of the country. It is the capital of Ñuble Province and, with a population of approximately 170,000 people , the most populated urban center of this province...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Vinay earned particular renown throughout the operatic world for his interpretation of the role of Otello. For a time, he made the part his own. Perhaps his most significant appearance as Otello occurred in 1947, in a radio broadcast of the opera under the baton of Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...
. His colleagues on this occasion were Herva Nelli
Herva Nelli
Herva Nelli was an Italian-born operatic soprano.-Biography:Named after the French socialist Gustave Hervé, she was born in Florence, where she attended a convent school...
, Giuseppe Valdengo
Giuseppe Valdengo
Giuseppe Valdengo was an Italian operatic baritone. Opera News said that, "Although his timbre lacked the innate beauty of some of his baritone contemporaries, Valdengo's performances were invariably satisfying — bold and assured in attack but scrupulously musical."-Biography:Valdengo first...
and Nan Merriman
Nan Merriman
Nan Merriman is an American operatic mezzo-soprano.Nan Merriman studied singing in Los Angeles with Alexis Bassian and the legendary Lotte Lehmann. By the age of twenty she was singing in Hollywood film soundtracks and it was there that she was spotted by Laurence Olivier...
, together with the NBC Symphony Orchestra
NBC Symphony Orchestra
The NBC Symphony Orchestra was a radio orchestra established by David Sarnoff of the National Broadcasting Company especially for conductor Arturo Toscanini...
and Chorus. This performance was subsequently issued by RCA Victor on both LP
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
and CD. In recent years, it has appeared on CDs issued by other companies, notably on the Guild label. Many critics consider it the best complete Otello ever recorded.
A fine actor, Vinay was also the first tenor to sing the role of Otello on television. That was in 1948, in the initial telecast of an entire opera from the Met. He also sang Otello at La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
, in Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
and at the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
, Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
. In all, he performed it hundreds of times. He is said to be the only opera singer to have sung both Otello and Iago (the baritone villain) in Verdi's tragic masterpiece during the course of a career.
Vinay's overall tenor repertoire was comparatively ample. It also embraced heavy Wagnerian roles (he sang at the Bayreuth Festival
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
in 1952-57), as well as Canio in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci
Pagliacci
Pagliacci , sometimes incorrectly rendered with a definite article as I Pagliacci, is an opera consisting of a prologue and two acts written and composed by Ruggero Leoncavallo. It recounts the tragedy of a jealous husband in a commedia dell'arte troupe...
, Don José in 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...
and Samson in Saint-Saëns
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
's Samson et Dalila. Apart from Iago, the baritone parts which he performed included Telramund, Bartolo, Falstaff and Scarpia.
He was a National Patron of Delta Omicron
Delta Omicron
Delta Omicron is a co-ed international professional music honors fraternity whose mission is to promote and support excellence in music and musicianship.-History:...
, an international professional music fraternity.
He died in Mexico, aged 84.
Selected Recordings
- Bizet - Carmen (Stokowski/Heidt, Pease, M. Koshetz) - Eklipse
- Leoncavallo - Pagliacci (Antonicelli/Quarteraro, Warren, Thompson) - Guild
- Saint-Saëns - Samson et Dalila (Cellini/Stevens) - VAI
- Verdi - Otello (Toscanini/Nelli, Valdengo) - RCA
- Verdi - Otello (Busch/Albanese, Warren) - Preiser Arkadia
- Verdi - Otello (Furtwängler/Martinis, Schöffler) - EMI
- Verdi - Otello (Cleva 1950/1951/excerpts/Steber, Guarrera) - Preiser
- Verdi - Otello (Beecham 1958/Stella, Taddei, Modesti) - Idis
- Wagner - Lohengrin (Sawallisch/Thomas, Silja, Varnay, Crass) - Philips
- Wagner - Parsifal (Krauss/Mödl, London, Weber, Uhde, Greindl) - Arlecchino
- Wagner - Parsifal (Knappertsbusch/Mödl, Fischer-Dieskau, Greindl) - Myto
- Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen (Keilberth/Mödl, Resnik, Hotter, Windgassen, Uhde, Weber) - Melodram
- Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen (Krauss/Varnay, Hotter, Resnik, Greindl, Malaniuk) - Gala
- Wagner - Tannhäuser (Keilberth/Brouwenstijn, Fischer-Dieskau, Greindl)- Melodram
- Wagner - Tristan und Isolde (Jochum/Varnay, Neidlinger, Weber, Malaniuk) - Melodram
- Wagner - Tristan und Isolde (Karajan/Mödl, Weber, Hotter, Malaniuk) - Myto
- Recital live (Arias by Verdi, Leoncavallo, Saint-Saëns, Wagner, duets with Ljuba Welitsch) - Melodram
- Four Famous Met-Tenors of the Past (Peerce, Björling, Tucker) - Preiser - LV
- Met - 100 Singers - RCA
Audio Examples
- http://www.heldentenor.narod.ru/tenor/Vinay53.mp3 Richard Wagner, Walküre 2. Aufzug: "Weh! Weh! Suessestes Weib!"
Dirigent: Clemens Krauss; Festspielhaus Bayreuth, 1953
- http://www.heldentenor.narod.ru/tenor/Vinay62.mp3 Richard Wagner, Lohengrin 2. Aufzug: "Erhebe dich, Genossin meiner Schmach!" (as Telramund)
Dirigent: Wolfgang Sawallisch; Festspielhaus Bayreuth, 1962
- http://www.heldentenor.narod.ru/tenor/VV62.mp3 Richard Wagner, Lohengrin 2. Aufzug: "Du wilde Seherin" (as Telramund)
Dirigent: Wolfgang Sawallisch; Festspielhaus Bayreuth, 1962
External links
- Ramon Vinay, 1911-1996
- Discography (Capon's Lists of Opera Recordings)
To the list of the selected recordings, could be added the Die Walkure production of 1957, with the Orchester der Bayreuth Festspiele conducted by Hans Knappertsbusch. Ramon Vinay sings Siegmund with Birgit Nillson as Sieglinde. This latter became known as the "Legendary 1957 Bayreuth Production".