William Blankenship
Encyclopedia
William Leonard Blankenship (born 7 March 1928 Gatesville, Texas
) is an American
operatic tenor, music pedagogue at the collegiate level, stage and television actor, and stage director.
In Europe, Blankenship sang roles at the opera houses in Vienna
(Vienna Volksoper
& Vienna State Opera
), Stuttgart
, Hamburg
, Braunschweig
(1957–1960), Bern (1960), Mannheim
, Brunswick
, Munich
(from 1965), Berne
, Klagenfurt (1956 European debut), Bregenz
(1972 as Phoebus in The Fairy-Queen
by Henry Purcell
). In the United States, he sang with the Santa Fe Opera
, San Antonio, San Diego (1968), Dallas Opera
, and Houston Grand Opera
. He has sang in international festivals in Moscow
, Salzburg
, Vienna
, Munich
, and Rio de Janeiro
. He has concertized with major orchestras on radio and television.
He is the father of Rebecca Blankenship, an American
operatic soprano.
, Blankenship, in 1947, won a three-year scholarship to study with Mary McCormic
at the University of North Texas College of Music
, where in 1950 he earned a Bachelor of Music degree. While an undergraduate at North Texas, he sang major opera roles with the school's Opera Workshop directed by Mary McCormic
. After three years in the Air Force (1950–1953), he attended the Juilliard School
(1953–1955), studying voice with Mack Harrell
and Povla Frijsh
.
In 1954, Blankenship was selected by Mary Garden
for the National Arts Foundation
's operatic fellowship, which included a $1,200 stipend and promise of engagements in leading opera houses of France and Italy. Garden, who had auditioned 300 young American singers said that Blankenship was the finest tenor voice she had heard in America. The fellowship included a tour of study at the Vienna Academy of Music from 1955 to 1956, where he earned a opera diploma.
In 1971, University of North Texas
honored Blankenship as a "Distinguished Graduate."
Gatesville, Texas
Gatesville is a city in and the county seat of Coryell County in Central Texas, United States of America. The population was 15,591 at the 2000 census...
) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
operatic tenor, music pedagogue at the collegiate level, stage and television actor, and stage director.
In Europe, Blankenship sang roles at the opera houses in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
(Vienna Volksoper
Vienna Volksoper
The Vienna Volksoper is a major opera house in Vienna, Austria. It gives about three hundred performances of twenty-five productions during an annual season running from September through June....
& Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
), Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Braunschweig
Staatstheater Braunschweig
Staatstheater Braunschweig is a theatre and opera house in Braunschweig, Germany. Joachim Klement has been the intendant there since 2010.The Staatstheater comprises music theatre, ballet and theatre....
(1957–1960), Bern (1960), Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
, Brunswick
Brunswick
-Australia:* Brunswick, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne* Electoral district of Brunswick, an electoral district in Victoria* Brunswick Junction, Western Australia, a town near Bunbury* Brunswick Heads, a town on the North Coast of New South Wales-Canada:...
, Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
(from 1965), Berne
Berne
The city of Bern or Berne is the Bundesstadt of Switzerland, and, with a population of , the fourth most populous city in Switzerland. The Bern agglomeration, which includes 43 municipalities, has a population of 349,000. The metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000...
, Klagenfurt (1956 European debut), Bregenz
Bregenz
-Culture:The annual summer music festival Bregenzer Festspiele is a world-famous festival which takes place on and around a stage on Lake Constance, where a different opera is performed every second year.-Sport:* A1 Bregenz HB is a handball team....
(1972 as Phoebus in The Fairy-Queen
The Fairy-Queen
The Fairy-Queen is a masque or semi-opera by Henry Purcell; a "Restoration spectacular". The libretto is an anonymous adaptation of William Shakespeare's wedding comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream. First performed in 1692, The Fairy-Queen was composed three years before Purcell's death at the age...
by Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...
). In the United States, he sang with the 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:...
, San Antonio, San Diego (1968), Dallas Opera
Dallas Opera
The Dallas Opera is an opera company located in Dallas, Texas . The company was founded in 1957 as the Dallas Civic Opera by Laurence Kelly and Nicolà Rescigno, both of whom had been active with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the first as administrator, the second as artistic director.-The company's...
, and Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera was founded in 1955 through the joint efforts of Maestro Walter Herbert and cultural leaders Mrs. Louis G. Lobit, Edward Bing and Charles Cockrell...
. He has sang in international festivals in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, 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...
, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, and Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
. He has concertized with major orchestras on radio and television.
He is the father of Rebecca Blankenship, an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
operatic soprano.
Selected discography
- Giuseppe VerdiGiuseppe VerdiGiuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
: OtelloOtelloOtello 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....
, re-released by Arthaus Musik (in mono) (2010)
-
- Singers: Adolf DallapozzaAdolf DallapozzaAdolf Dallapozza is an Austrian tenor in opera, operetta and musical theatre He worked for more than 40 years at the Vienna Volksoper.-Career:Dallapozza was trained as a clerk and started work in a book shop...
, Willy Ferenz, Margarita Lilova, Leo Heppe, Norman MittelmannNorman MittelmannNorman Mittelmann is a Canadian operatic baritone. In 1959 he won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. He has sung leading roles with the Bavarian State Opera, the Berlin State Opera, the Canadian Opera Company, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Metropolitan...
, Walter Kreppel, Wolfgang WindgassenWolfgang WindgassenWolfgang Windgassen was a tenor internationally known for his performances in Wagner operas.-Life and career:...
, William Blankenship, Sena JurinacSena JurinacSena Jurinac Sena (Srebrenka) Jurinac Sena (Srebrenka) Jurinac ([juˈrinats] (24 October 192122 November 2011) was a Bosnian Croat/Austrian operatic soprano.Born in Travnik, Bosnia-Herzegovina, she studied at the Zagreb Academy of Music, and also with Milka Kostrenčić (whose other well-known... - Conductor: Argeo Quadri
- Orchestras: Vienna State OperaVienna State OperaThe Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
Chorus, South German Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Boys' ChoirVienna Boys' ChoirThe Vienna Boys' Choir is a choir of trebles and altos based in Vienna. It is one of the best known boys' choirs in the world. The boys are selected mainly from Austria, but also from many other countries....
- Ernst KrenekErnst KrenekErnst Krenek was an Austrian of Czech origin and, from 1945, American composer. He explored atonality and other modern styles and wrote a number of books, including Music Here and Now , a study of Johannes Ockeghem , and Horizons Circled: Reflections on my Music...
, Jonny spielt aufJonny spielt aufJonny spielt auf is an opera with words and music by Ernst Krenek about a jazz violinist. The work typified the cultural freedom of the 'golden era' of the Weimar Republic.-Performance history:...
(Jonny Strikes Up)
- Ernst Krenek
- LP – AmadeoAmadeo (Austrian record label)Amadeo Österreichische Schallplatten Ges.m.b.H. was an Austrian record label founded in 1956 and based in Vienna. "Ges.m.b.H." is an abbreviation for Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, an Austrian Limited Liability Company. Amadeo is now owned by Universal Music Group....
AVRS 5038, PhilipsPhilips RecordsPhilips Records is a record label that was founded by Dutch electronics company Philips. It was started by "Philips Phonographische Industrie" in 1950. Recordings were made with popular artists of various nationalities and also with classical artists from Germany, France and Holland. Philips also...
SAL 3498 (1965) ; AmadeoAmadeo (Austrian record label)Amadeo Österreichische Schallplatten Ges.m.b.H. was an Austrian record label founded in 1956 and based in Vienna. "Ges.m.b.H." is an abbreviation for Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, an Austrian Limited Liability Company. Amadeo is now owned by Universal Music Group....
AVRS 13 257 - CD (re-release) Vanguard Classics (1994)
- William Blankenship (Max), Evelyn LearEvelyn LearEvelyn Lear is an American soprano and opera singer.During her career between 1959 and 1992, Evelyn Lear appeared in more than forty operatic roles, appeared with every major opera company in the US and won a Grammy Award in 1966...
(Anita), Gerd Feldhoff (Jonny), Thomas StewartThomas StewartThomas Stewart was an illegitimate son of King Robert II of Scotland. In 1380, Avignon Pope Clement VII provided Thomas with the Archdeaconry of the Bishopric of St. Andrews, as well as the canonry of Stobo in the Bishopric of Glasgow...
(Daniello), Lucia PoppLucia PoppLucia Popp was a notable Slovak operatic soprano. She began her career as a soubrette soprano, and later moved into the light-lyric and lyric coloratura soprano repertoire and then the lighter Richard Strauss and Wagner operas. Her career included performances at Vienna State Opera, the...
(Yvonne) - Vienna VolksoperVienna VolksoperThe Vienna Volksoper is a major opera house in Vienna, Austria. It gives about three hundred performances of twenty-five productions during an annual season running from September through June....
Orchestra, Vienna Academy Chamber Choir, Heinrich HollreiserHeinrich HollreiserHeinrich Hollreiser was a German conductor.Born in Munich, he attended the State Academy of Music there, and went on to serve as the conductor at the opera houses in Wiesbaden, Darmstadt, Mannheim, and Duisburg. From 1942-1945 he served as the principal conductor of the Bavarian State Opera, while...
, conductor- Othmar SchoeckOthmar SchoeckOthmar Schoeck was a Swiss composer and conductor.He was known mainly for his considerable output of art songs and song cycles, though he also wrote a number of operas and instrumental compositions including two string quartets and...
, PenthesileaPenthesilea (opera)Penthesilea is a one-act opera by Othmar Schoeck, to a German-language libretto by the composer, after the work of the same name by Heinrich von Kleist. It was first performed at the Staatsoper in Dresden, Germany on 8 January 1927....
BASFBASFBASF SE is the largest chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Germany. BASF originally stood for Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik . Today, the four letters are a registered trademark and the company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, and Zurich Stock...
Harmonia MundiHarmonia MundiHarmonia Mundi is an independent music record label founded in 1958 by Bernard Coutaz in Arles . The Latin phrase means "world harmony"....
49 22485-6 (1975)
- Othmar Schoeck
- Hana JankuHana JankůHana Janků was a Czech operatic soprano of international renown. Born in Brno, she studied with Jaroslav Kvapil in her home city before making her professional opera début at the Brno Opera in Vítězslav Novák's Lucerna. She became a principal singer at the Opéra national du Rhin and the Deutsche...
, Barbara ScherlerBarbara ScherlerBarbara Scherler is a German classical mezzo-soprano and contralto singer in opera and concert. She was a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin and active in performances and recordings of operas of the 20th century....
, sopranos; Carl Smith, mezzo-soprano; Raili Kostia, contralto; William Blankenship, tenor; Roland Hermann, Kurt Widmer, baritones; supporting soloists; Choir of North German Radio HamburgNorddeutscher RundfunkNorddeutscher Rundfunk is a public radio and television broadcaster, based in Hamburg. In addition to the city-state of Hamburg, NDR transmits for the German states of Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein...
; Kölner Rundfunkchor; Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester; Zdeněk MácalZdenek MácalZdeněk Mácal is a Czech conductor.Mácal began violin lessons with his father at age four. He later attended the Brno Conservatory and the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts, where he graduated in 1960 with top honors. He became principal conductor of the Prague Symphony Orchestra and...
, conductor
- Singers: Adolf Dallapozza
Education
After a year at the University of Texas at AustinUniversity of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
, Blankenship, in 1947, won a three-year scholarship to study with Mary McCormic
Mary McCormic
Mary McCormic was an American operatic soprano and a professor of opera at the University of North Texas College of Music ....
at the University of North Texas College of Music
University of North Texas College of Music
The University of North Texas College of Music, based in Denton, is a comprehensive music school with the largest enrollment of any music institution accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, and the oldest in the world offering a degree in jazz studies...
, where in 1950 he earned a Bachelor of Music degree. While an undergraduate at North Texas, he sang major opera roles with the school's Opera Workshop directed by Mary McCormic
Mary McCormic
Mary McCormic was an American operatic soprano and a professor of opera at the University of North Texas College of Music ....
. After three years in the Air Force (1950–1953), he attended the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
(1953–1955), studying voice with Mack Harrell
Mack Harrell
Mack Harrell was an American baritone who was regarded as one of the greatest concert singers of his generation....
and Povla Frijsh
Povla Frijsh
Povla Frijsh was a Danish classical soprano and voice teacher. She mainly sang in concerts and recitals; although she did make a few opera appearances at the Paris Opera and the Royal Danish Theatre...
.
In 1954, Blankenship was selected by Mary Garden
Mary Garden
Mary Garden , was a Scottish operatic soprano with a substantial career in France and America in the first third of the 20th century...
for the National Arts Foundation
National Arts Foundation
The National Arts Foundation, Incorporated., was a private American New York not-for-profit corporation devoted to promoting fine arts. Robert Carleton Smith founded the organization in 1947, served as its president and later as Chairman of its Advisory Committee.- People :* Vaughan Williams –...
's operatic fellowship, which included a $1,200 stipend and promise of engagements in leading opera houses of France and Italy. Garden, who had auditioned 300 young American singers said that Blankenship was the finest tenor voice she had heard in America. The fellowship included a tour of study at the Vienna Academy of Music from 1955 to 1956, where he earned a opera diploma.
In 1971, University of North Texas
University of North Texas College of Music
The University of North Texas College of Music, based in Denton, is a comprehensive music school with the largest enrollment of any music institution accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, and the oldest in the world offering a degree in jazz studies...
honored Blankenship as a "Distinguished Graduate."