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William Johns

December 20, 2023

For the British writer, William Earl Johns, see W. E. Johns.

William Johns (born 2 October 1936) is an American tenor who sang leading roles in the opera houses of Europe and the United States in a career spanning more than 25 years. Several of his live performances in Germany and Italy during the 1970s have been preserved on CD, including the title roles in Alfano's Cyrano de Bergerac and Mercadante's Il bravo.

Life and career edit

Johns was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He attended Capitol Hill High School in Oklahoma City and then studied vocal performance and music at Oklahoma City University, followed by further study in New York.[1][2] A national finalist in the 1965 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions,[3] he made his professional début in 1967 at Lake George Opera as Rodolfo in La bohème. That same year he went to Germany and was primarily based there throughout the 1970s, first as a company soloist at the Bremen Opera (1967–1971), and then at the National Theatre Mannheim (1971–1975) and the Cologne Opera (1975–1979).[4] He sang in five productions the Bayreuth Festival, initially in smaller roles such as 2nd noble of Brabant in Lohengrin (1968), 4th Esquire in Parsifal (1969), and Augustin Moser in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1968 and 1969), but returned there in 1987 in the leading role of Walther von Stolzing in Die Meistersinger (one performance).[5]

The late 1970s and 1980s saw several major house and festival debuts in Europe and the United States. Johns's first appearance at Lyric Opera of Chicago was in 1976 as Hoffmann in Les Contes d'Hoffmann. He later returned there as Walther von Stolzing in Die Meistersinger (1977), Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos (1981), and the title role in Otello (1985). He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1979 as Don José in Carmen and went on to appear there in 28 performances through 1993, primarily in dramatic tenor and Wagnerian roles. His last Met performance was in the title role of Siegfried.[3] Other major house debuts during this period included the Paris Opera in 1985 as Tristan in Tristan und Isolde, La Scala in 1986 as The Emperor in the Die Frau ohne Schatten, and the Royal Opera House in 1987 as Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos.[4]

Recordings edit

References edit

  1. ^ Forbes, Elizabeth (2001). "Johns, William". Grove Music Online. Retrieved 26 October 2015 (subscription required for full access).
  2. ^ The Oklahoman (14 April 1989). "Cityan's Tenor Son To Perform at Met". Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  3. ^ a b Metropolitan Opera Archives. "Johns, William (Tenor)". Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  4. ^ a b Kutsch, Karl-Josef Kutsch and Leo Riemens (2004). "Johns, William". Großes Sängerlexikon, Vol. 4, p. 2259–2260. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 359844088X (in German)
  5. ^ Bayreuth Festival Archives. "William Johns". Retrieved 26 October 2015 (in German).

External links edit

  • Interview with William Johns by Bruce Duffie, November 30, 1980

December 20, 2023
william, johns, british, writer, william, earl, johns, johns, born, october, 1936, american, tenor, sang, leading, roles, opera, houses, europe, united, states, career, spanning, more, than, years, several, live, performances, germany, italy, during, 1970s, ha. For the British writer William Earl Johns see W E Johns William Johns born 2 October 1936 is an American tenor who sang leading roles in the opera houses of Europe and the United States in a career spanning more than 25 years Several of his live performances in Germany and Italy during the 1970s have been preserved on CD including the title roles in Alfano s Cyrano de Bergerac and Mercadante s Il bravo Contents 1 Life and career 2 Recordings 3 References 4 External linksLife and career editJohns was born in Tulsa Oklahoma He attended Capitol Hill High School in Oklahoma City and then studied vocal performance and music at Oklahoma City University followed by further study in New York 1 2 A national finalist in the 1965 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions 3 he made his professional debut in 1967 at Lake George Opera as Rodolfo in La boheme That same year he went to Germany and was primarily based there throughout the 1970s first as a company soloist at the Bremen Opera 1967 1971 and then at the National Theatre Mannheim 1971 1975 and the Cologne Opera 1975 1979 4 He sang in five productions the Bayreuth Festival initially in smaller roles such as 2nd noble of Brabant in Lohengrin 1968 4th Esquire in Parsifal 1969 and Augustin Moser in Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg 1968 and 1969 but returned there in 1987 in the leading role of Walther von Stolzing in Die Meistersinger one performance 5 The late 1970s and 1980s saw several major house and festival debuts in Europe and the United States Johns s first appearance at Lyric Opera of Chicago was in 1976 as Hoffmann in Les Contes d Hoffmann He later returned there as Walther von Stolzing in Die Meistersinger 1977 Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos 1981 and the title role in Otello 1985 He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1979 as Don Jose in Carmen and went on to appear there in 28 performances through 1993 primarily in dramatic tenor and Wagnerian roles His last Met performance was in the title role of Siegfried 3 Other major house debuts during this period included the Paris Opera in 1985 as Tristan in Tristan und Isolde La Scala in 1986 as The Emperor in the Die Frau ohne Schatten and the Royal Opera House in 1987 as Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos 4 Recordings editAlfano Cyrano de Bergerac as Cyrano RAI National Symphony Orchestra Maurizio Arena conductor Label Opera D oro Mayr Medea in Corinto as Giasone Teatro San Carlo Orchestra and Chorus Maurizio Arena conductor Label Myto Records Mercadante Il bravo as il bravo Teatro dell Opera di Roma Orchestra and Chorus Gabriele Ferro conductor Label Warner Fonit Puccini Messa di Gloria tenor soloist Symphonic Orchestra and Chorus of the Gulbenkian Foundation of Lisbon Michel Corboz conductor Label Erato Wagner Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg as Augustin Moser Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and Chorus Karl Bohm conductor Label Orfeo D OrReferences edit Forbes Elizabeth 2001 Johns William Grove Music Online Retrieved 26 October 2015 subscription required for full access The Oklahoman 14 April 1989 Cityan s Tenor Son To Perform at Met Retrieved 26 October 2015 a b Metropolitan Opera Archives Johns William Tenor Retrieved 26 October 2015 a b Kutsch Karl Josef Kutsch and Leo Riemens 2004 Johns William Grosses Sangerlexikon Vol 4 p 2259 2260 Walter de Gruyter ISBN 359844088X in German Bayreuth Festival Archives William Johns Retrieved 26 October 2015 in German External links editInterview with William Johns by Bruce Duffie November 30 1980 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Johns amp oldid 1144556991, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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