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William Walker (baritone)

October 23, 2023

For other uses, see William Walker (disambiguation).

William Sterling Walker (October 29, 1931[1] – April 10, 2010) was a baritone with the Metropolitan Opera (1962–1980) whose singing career included performances at the White House, at Carnegie Hall and other concert venues across North America and Europe, and some 60 appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. From 1991-2002, he produced opera as General Director of Fort Worth Opera in Fort Worth, Texas.

William Walker, 1966

Early life Edit

William Walker was born in Waco, Texas and moved with his family to Fort Worth at the age of 6, where his father eventually went to work for Consolidated Vultee, a predecessor of General Dynamics. Known as "Bill" to his family and friends, Walker began singing professionally at the age of 12 but secretly yearned to play baseball. After watching him strike out four times one night at a high school game, Walker's father suggested that perhaps his son should think more seriously about being a singer.[2] In 1949, upon graduation from Arlington Heights High School, Walker was awarded a vocal scholarship to Texas Christian University.[3]

His studies were interrupted when he was drafted into the U.S. Army and sent to serve in the Korean War. During his time in Korea, he was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service. Upon his honorable discharge, Walker returned to Fort Worth, completed his bachelor's in voice and graduated from Texas Christian University in 1956. In 1957, he married the former Marci Martin and they moved to New York City.[4]

Singing career Edit

In 1960, Walker made his Broadway debut as Tattoo in Wildcat, a musical comedy by N. Richard Nash, Cy Coleman, and Carolyn Leigh, starring Lucille Ball, directed and choreographed by Michael Kidd. He was listed in the program as "Bill Walker".[5] A frequent performer in summer stock during the 1960s, Walker sang in many performances with the St. Louis Municipal Opera,[6] the Kansas City Starlight Theatre, and the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera in such works as Blossom Time, The Desert Song, Damn Yankees, and Carousel.

In 1962, Walker was a finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and was offered a contract to join the Metropolitan Opera.[7] His first roles at the Met were small ones, but subsequent exposure on television shows such as The Bell Telephone Hour, The Voice of Firestone, and most notably The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson—where Walker appeared some 60 times – led to a higher profile in his opera career.[3] During his 18 seasons there, Walker gave more than 360 performances at the Met and sang the role of Marcello in La bohème more than 30 times.[8]

In 1965, Walker was featured in two new productions at the Met. He was selected to sing the role of Valentin in Faust co-starring Nicolai Gedda, Gabriella Tucci and Cesare Siepi, directed by Jean-Louis Barrault and conducted by Georges Prêtre. He also sang the role of Prince Yeletsky in a new English-language production of Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades, conducted by Thomas Schippers. In 1972, Walker repeated the role in the first production of The Queen of Spades ever presented in its original Russian at the Met.[8]

In 1975 when the Met toured Japan for the first time, Walker sang the role of Marcello in La bohème with Franco Corelli and Dorothy Kirsten.[8] The following season, Walker stepped in for an ailing colleague and sang the role of Germont in La traviata for the first time at the Met, a role he had already sung at the Santa Fe Opera and in other regional productions. Critic Harold C. Schonberg wrote in The New York Times, "the best singing of the night came from Mr. Walker,"[9] and Time magazine called his Germont "splendidly sung."[10]

Other roles at the Met included Figaro in The Barber of Seville, Papageno in The Magic Flute, Lescaut in Manon Lescaut, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, Ford in Falstaff, Escamillo in Carmen, the High Priest in Samson et Dalila, Peter in Hansel und Gretel, Schaunard in La bohème, Count Di Luna in Il trovatore, The Herald in Lohengrin, Michele in Il tabarro, Silvio in Pagliacci, Dr. Malatesta in Don Pasquale, and Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor[8]

Walker's career included performances at the White House: In 1967 during the Johnson administration he was the principal entertainer at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. During the Carter administration, he sang at a White House state dinner honoring Helmut Schmidt, Chancellor of West Germany. In 1976, under the auspices of the U.S. State department, Walker was sent abroad to perform as a representative of the United States. In addition to recitals in Reykjavík, Iceland and at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm, Walker sang Germont in La traviata and Amonasro in Aida in both Warsaw and Łódź, in Poland.

From 1969 to 1976, Walker gave more than 250 solo recitals in the United States and Canada, performing classical operatic arias, art songs and American musical show stoppers, most memorably "Soliloquy" from Carousel and "Surrey With The Fringe On Top" from Oklahoma!. With a technique considered innovative at the time, Walker addressed his recital audiences directly from the stage, interspersing his songs with funny, often self-deprecating stories, making him a more accessible performer to his audiences then the stereotypically aloof classical artist.

Walker was a frequent soloist with many great American orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. In the 1970s, Walker appeared twice at Carnegie Hall as the baritone soloist in performances of Mahler's 8th Symphony with the Chicago Symphony, conducted by Sir Georg Solti.

Walker retired from singing in 1982.[7] In 1970, Walker was named Distinguished Alumnus of the Year by his alma mater, Texas Christian University. In 1980, he was named the Hearndon Distinguished Visiting Professor of Music at Texas Christian University and taught master classes in performance for several years. He also taught master classes as the Carol Kyle Distinguished Visiting Professor of Music at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas from 1980 to 1984.

General Director, Fort Worth Opera Edit

In 1991, Walker returned to his hometown of Fort Worth to accept the position of General Director of the Fort Worth Opera, a small regional company "with a low budget, low profile and low community confidence."[11]

Even when he was still at the Met and working with world-class stage directors and designers, Walker believed that great singing was what made great opera. "'That's what opera's all about, you know: let the opera singer sing and opera will flourish.'"[12] When he began to produce opera in Fort Worth, Walker capitalized on this philosophy of "a singer's opera" by recognizing the opportunity for Fort Worth Opera to be a showcase for up-and-coming vocal talent.

Focusing mostly on the standard Italian and French repertory, Walker led the company through "seven seasons of rising artistry and record audiences,"[13] ultimately increasing season subscriptions, wiping out deficits, and bolstering the company's annual budget and its endowment to what were then record levels. During Walker's tenure, Fort Worth Opera joined other major Fort Worth performing arts organizations (Fort Worth Symphony, Texas Ballet Theater, the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and Cliburn Concerts series) when they moved into their permanent home at Bass Performance Hall.[14] Tickets for the 1998-1999 inaugural season of Fort Worth Opera at Bass Performance Hall were sold out.[13]

In 1998, despite the successes achieved under Walker's tenure, the executive committee of the larger Fort Worth Opera board of directors attempted to force Walker to retire, but their decision was overridden by a vote of the full board. "I'm the happiest man in America," Walker said at the time. "This is the job I prepared for my whole life. I can't wait to get started again."[15] Walker's contract was extended until 2002, when he retired and was named Executive Director Emeritus by the Fort Worth Opera board of directors.[16]

Recordings Edit

Commercially available audio and video recordings of Walker are rare.

Audio Edit

  • Cole Porter: A Remembrance RCA/NBC, rare recording from a Today Show broadcast in 1965
  • The Naked Carmen Mercury SRM 1-604, 1970
  • Wildcat Original Broadway Cast Soundtrack, RCA Victor LOC-1060, 1961

Video Edit

  • The Voice of Firestone: A Firestone French Opera Gala (as Mercutio in Romeo et Juliette, telecast of February 10, 1963) ISBN 1-56195-054-8, New England Conservatory of Music/Video Artists International. Inc.
  • The Bell Telephone Hour shows on file at the Paley Center for Media (formerly the Museum of Television and Radio) in New York. New York

Other recordings and career memorabilia are on deposit in the William Walker Collection at the library at Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas.

Personal life Edit

In 2007, Walker and his wife, Marci, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. The couple had four children and three grandchildren. One of his sons,[17] popularly known by the pseudonym "Wammo", was a co-founder, songwriter and performer with the Asylum Street Spankers.

References Edit

  1. ^ "Baritone sang on one of opera's biggest stages: the Met in New York," Chris Vaughn, Fort Worth Star Telegram, 04/12/2010, accessed via web 04/18/2010
  2. ^ "William Walker: Director of the Fort Worth Opera" Sheila Taylor Wells, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3/10/94, Life section, p. 1, accessed 9/17/2007
  3. ^ a b "A New Voice: William Walker Aims Opera in Different Direction," Wayne Lee Gay, Fort Worth Star Telegram, 12/16/91, Life section, p. 1, accessed 8/27/2007
  4. ^ "A New Voice: William Walker Aims Opera in Different Direction" by Wayne Lee Gay, Fort Worth Star Telegram, 12/16/91, Life section, p. 1, 8/27/2007
  5. ^ Internet Broadway Database: Bill Walker Credits on Broadway
  6. ^ The Muny
  7. ^ a b "A New Voice: William Walker Aims Opera in Different Direction," Wayne Lee Gay, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12/16/91, Life section, p.1, accessed 8/27/2007
  8. ^ a b c d Metropolitan Opera Association 2008-02-03 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ The Opera; 'La Traviata' Is Led by Miss Caldwell - Free Preview - The New York Times
  10. ^ "An Elegant Debut", Printout, Time[dead link]
  11. ^ "Singing a happy tune: William Walker aims to bolster reputation of Fort Worth Opera," Wayne Lee Gay, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11/19/1992, A&E section, page 1, accessed 8/29/07
  12. ^ "New In Seville", Florence Stevenson, Opera News, March 2, 1974, p. 19
  13. ^ a b "Opera Director to Retire at Season's End," Wayne Lee Gay, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9/19/98, News section, p.1, accessed 9/16/2007
  14. ^ Bass Performance Hall: History of the Hall
  15. ^ "Opera reverses decision on director", Wayne Lee Gay, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9/25/98, Metro section, p.1, accessed 9/16/2007
  16. ^ "Walker says he'll retire from Fort Worth Opera in 2002", Wayne Lee Gay, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12/29/00, Metro section, p. 1, accessed 9/16/2007
  17. ^ Street, Asylum (2005-07-31). "The Asylum Street Spankers, Sounding Off". NPR. Retrieved 2012-03-13.

External links Edit

  • The MetOpera Database

October 23, 2023
william, walker, baritone, other, uses, william, walker, disambiguation, william, sterling, walker, october, 1931, april, 2010, baritone, with, metropolitan, opera, 1962, 1980, whose, singing, career, included, performances, white, house, carnegie, hall, other. For other uses see William Walker disambiguation William Sterling Walker October 29 1931 1 April 10 2010 was a baritone with the Metropolitan Opera 1962 1980 whose singing career included performances at the White House at Carnegie Hall and other concert venues across North America and Europe and some 60 appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson From 1991 2002 he produced opera as General Director of Fort Worth Opera in Fort Worth Texas William Walker 1966 Contents 1 Early life 2 Singing career 3 General Director Fort Worth Opera 4 Recordings 4 1 Audio 4 2 Video 5 Personal life 6 References 7 External linksEarly life EditWilliam Walker was born in Waco Texas and moved with his family to Fort Worth at the age of 6 where his father eventually went to work for Consolidated Vultee a predecessor of General Dynamics Known as Bill to his family and friends Walker began singing professionally at the age of 12 but secretly yearned to play baseball After watching him strike out four times one night at a high school game Walker s father suggested that perhaps his son should think more seriously about being a singer 2 In 1949 upon graduation from Arlington Heights High School Walker was awarded a vocal scholarship to Texas Christian University 3 His studies were interrupted when he was drafted into the U S Army and sent to serve in the Korean War During his time in Korea he was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service Upon his honorable discharge Walker returned to Fort Worth completed his bachelor s in voice and graduated from Texas Christian University in 1956 In 1957 he married the former Marci Martin and they moved to New York City 4 Singing career EditIn 1960 Walker made his Broadway debut as Tattoo in Wildcat a musical comedy by N Richard Nash Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh starring Lucille Ball directed and choreographed by Michael Kidd He was listed in the program as Bill Walker 5 A frequent performer in summer stock during the 1960s Walker sang in many performances with the St Louis Municipal Opera 6 the Kansas City Starlight Theatre and the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera in such works as Blossom Time The Desert Song Damn Yankees and Carousel In 1962 Walker was a finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and was offered a contract to join the Metropolitan Opera 7 His first roles at the Met were small ones but subsequent exposure on television shows such as The Bell Telephone Hour The Voice of Firestone and most notably The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson where Walker appeared some 60 times led to a higher profile in his opera career 3 During his 18 seasons there Walker gave more than 360 performances at the Met and sang the role of Marcello in La boheme more than 30 times 8 In 1965 Walker was featured in two new productions at the Met He was selected to sing the role of Valentin in Faust co starring Nicolai Gedda Gabriella Tucci and Cesare Siepi directed by Jean Louis Barrault and conducted by Georges Pretre He also sang the role of Prince Yeletsky in a new English language production of Tchaikovsky s The Queen of Spades conducted by Thomas Schippers In 1972 Walker repeated the role in the first production of The Queen of Spades ever presented in its original Russian at the Met 8 In 1975 when the Met toured Japan for the first time Walker sang the role of Marcello in La boheme with Franco Corelli and Dorothy Kirsten 8 The following season Walker stepped in for an ailing colleague and sang the role of Germont in La traviata for the first time at the Met a role he had already sung at the Santa Fe Opera and in other regional productions Critic Harold C Schonberg wrote in The New York Times the best singing of the night came from Mr Walker 9 and Time magazine called his Germont splendidly sung 10 Other roles at the Met included Figaro in The Barber of Seville Papageno in The Magic Flute Lescaut in Manon Lescaut Sharpless in Madama Butterfly Ford in Falstaff Escamillo in Carmen the High Priest in Samson et Dalila Peter in Hansel und Gretel Schaunard in La boheme Count Di Luna in Il trovatore The Herald in Lohengrin Michele in Il tabarro Silvio in Pagliacci Dr Malatesta in Don Pasquale and Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor 8 Walker s career included performances at the White House In 1967 during the Johnson administration he was the principal entertainer at the White House Correspondents Dinner During the Carter administration he sang at a White House state dinner honoring Helmut Schmidt Chancellor of West Germany In 1976 under the auspices of the U S State department Walker was sent abroad to perform as a representative of the United States In addition to recitals in Reykjavik Iceland and at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm Walker sang Germont in La traviata and Amonasro in Aida in both Warsaw and Lodz in Poland From 1969 to 1976 Walker gave more than 250 solo recitals in the United States and Canada performing classical operatic arias art songs and American musical show stoppers most memorably Soliloquy from Carousel and Surrey With The Fringe On Top from Oklahoma With a technique considered innovative at the time Walker addressed his recital audiences directly from the stage interspersing his songs with funny often self deprecating stories making him a more accessible performer to his audiences then the stereotypically aloof classical artist Walker was a frequent soloist with many great American orchestras including the Cleveland Orchestra the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra In the 1970s Walker appeared twice at Carnegie Hall as the baritone soloist in performances of Mahler s 8th Symphony with the Chicago Symphony conducted by Sir Georg Solti Walker retired from singing in 1982 7 In 1970 Walker was named Distinguished Alumnus of the Year by his alma mater Texas Christian University In 1980 he was named the Hearndon Distinguished Visiting Professor of Music at Texas Christian University and taught master classes in performance for several years He also taught master classes as the Carol Kyle Distinguished Visiting Professor of Music at Lamar University in Beaumont Texas from 1980 to 1984 General Director Fort Worth Opera EditIn 1991 Walker returned to his hometown of Fort Worth to accept the position of General Director of the Fort Worth Opera a small regional company with a low budget low profile and low community confidence 11 Even when he was still at the Met and working with world class stage directors and designers Walker believed that great singing was what made great opera That s what opera s all about you know let the opera singer sing and opera will flourish 12 When he began to produce opera in Fort Worth Walker capitalized on this philosophy of a singer s opera by recognizing the opportunity for Fort Worth Opera to be a showcase for up and coming vocal talent Focusing mostly on the standard Italian and French repertory Walker led the company through seven seasons of rising artistry and record audiences 13 ultimately increasing season subscriptions wiping out deficits and bolstering the company s annual budget and its endowment to what were then record levels During Walker s tenure Fort Worth Opera joined other major Fort Worth performing arts organizations Fort Worth Symphony Texas Ballet Theater the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and Cliburn Concerts series when they moved into their permanent home at Bass Performance Hall 14 Tickets for the 1998 1999 inaugural season of Fort Worth Opera at Bass Performance Hall were sold out 13 In 1998 despite the successes achieved under Walker s tenure the executive committee of the larger Fort Worth Opera board of directors attempted to force Walker to retire but their decision was overridden by a vote of the full board I m the happiest man in America Walker said at the time This is the job I prepared for my whole life I can t wait to get started again 15 Walker s contract was extended until 2002 when he retired and was named Executive Director Emeritus by the Fort Worth Opera board of directors 16 Recordings EditCommercially available audio and video recordings of Walker are rare Audio Edit Cole Porter A Remembrance RCA NBC rare recording from a Today Show broadcast in 1965 The Naked Carmen Mercury SRM 1 604 1970 Wildcat Original Broadway Cast Soundtrack RCA Victor LOC 1060 1961Video Edit The Voice of Firestone A Firestone French Opera Gala as Mercutio in Romeo et Juliette telecast of February 10 1963 ISBN 1 56195 054 8 New England Conservatory of Music Video Artists International Inc The Bell Telephone Hour shows on file at the Paley Center for Media formerly the Museum of Television and Radio in New York New YorkOther recordings and career memorabilia are on deposit in the William Walker Collection at the library at Texas Christian University Fort Worth Texas Personal life EditIn 2007 Walker and his wife Marci celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary The couple had four children and three grandchildren One of his sons 17 popularly known by the pseudonym Wammo was a co founder songwriter and performer with the Asylum Street Spankers References Edit Baritone sang on one of opera s biggest stages the Met in New York Chris Vaughn Fort Worth Star Telegram 04 12 2010 accessed via web 04 18 2010 William Walker Director of the Fort Worth Opera Sheila Taylor Wells Fort Worth Star Telegram 3 10 94 Life section p 1 accessed 9 17 2007 a b A New Voice William Walker Aims Opera in Different Direction Wayne Lee Gay Fort Worth Star Telegram 12 16 91 Life section p 1 accessed 8 27 2007 A New Voice William Walker Aims Opera in Different Direction by Wayne Lee Gay Fort Worth Star Telegram 12 16 91 Life section p 1 8 27 2007 Internet Broadway Database Bill Walker Credits on Broadway The Muny a b A New Voice William Walker Aims Opera in Different Direction Wayne Lee Gay Fort Worth Star Telegram 12 16 91 Life section p 1 accessed 8 27 2007 a b c d Metropolitan Opera Association Archived 2008 02 03 at the Wayback Machine The Opera La Traviata Is Led by Miss Caldwell Free Preview The New York Times An Elegant Debut Printout Time dead link Singing a happy tune William Walker aims to bolster reputation of Fort Worth Opera Wayne Lee Gay Fort Worth Star Telegram 11 19 1992 A amp E section page 1 accessed 8 29 07 New In Seville Florence Stevenson Opera News March 2 1974 p 19 a b Opera Director to Retire at Season s End Wayne Lee Gay Fort Worth Star Telegram 9 19 98 News section p 1 accessed 9 16 2007 Bass Performance Hall History of the Hall Opera reverses decision on director Wayne Lee Gay Fort Worth Star Telegram 9 25 98 Metro section p 1 accessed 9 16 2007 Walker says he ll retire from Fort Worth Opera in 2002 Wayne Lee Gay Fort Worth Star Telegram 12 29 00 Metro section p 1 accessed 9 16 2007 Street Asylum 2005 07 31 The Asylum Street Spankers Sounding Off NPR Retrieved 2012 03 13 External links EditThe MetOpera Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Walker baritone amp oldid 1166511322, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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