Here's something you might be interested in.
How could I forget about George London? I was absently listening to the last act of Wagner's Die Walküre the other day and thought to myself, "Good Lord, this Wotan is off the charts".
A quick check, it was George London.
Later that week, in an unrelated incident, my roommate was gushing over George London on YouTube.
It had been far too long since I listened to this titan. George London is the best bass-baritone ever--not to be confused with the greatest bass ever, Feodor Chaliapin, or the greatest baritone ever, Ettore Bastianini. I will shout you down if you utter the names Nathan Gunn or Thomas Hampson.
Born in Montreal and raised in Los Angeles, London's first recognition came in touring with the Bel Canto Trio which also included Mario Lanza. Mario Lanza was the Andrea Bocelli of his generation and I hope George London vocally smashed him every night.
In 1949 London decided he needed time to study voice and the experience of singing in Europe. A representative of the Vienna State Opera, only the most venerable house in the world after La Scala, heard him and a contract was offered.
His performance at the Vienna State Opera was received with ecstasy. He made his Met debut at age 31. That same year he had sang Amfortas in Parsifal at Bayreuth--the musical temple that Wagner built.
To debut as Amfortas at age 51 at Bayreuth makes a lot more sense but George London was the best bass-baritone ever.
London's La Scala debut also occured in 1951. Let me emphasize this. In one year, George London debuted at The Met in New York, Bayreuth in--Bayreuth, and La Scala in Milan.
Perhaps more impressive than that was his 1960 performance of Boris Godunov at the Bolshoi in Moscow as the first American to perform the role in Russia. I wasn't alive but I hear the Cold War was a bit intense at the time.
How good was George London? The Russians let him sing THE Russian role of all time while they were creating a 100 megaton nuclear bomb with our name written on it. The bomb only ended up being 50 megatons.
George London sings Wotan's Farewell from the best Walküre ever recorded.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_9ewyER6Jo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQOTXnZpMwA
How could I forget about George London? I was absently listening to the last act of Wagner's Die Walküre the other day and thought to myself, "Good Lord, this Wotan is off the charts".
A quick check, it was George London.
Later that week, in an unrelated incident, my roommate was gushing over George London on YouTube.
It had been far too long since I listened to this titan. George London is the best bass-baritone ever--not to be confused with the greatest bass ever, Feodor Chaliapin, or the greatest baritone ever, Ettore Bastianini. I will shout you down if you utter the names Nathan Gunn or Thomas Hampson.
Born in Montreal and raised in Los Angeles, London's first recognition came in touring with the Bel Canto Trio which also included Mario Lanza. Mario Lanza was the Andrea Bocelli of his generation and I hope George London vocally smashed him every night.
In 1949 London decided he needed time to study voice and the experience of singing in Europe. A representative of the Vienna State Opera, only the most venerable house in the world after La Scala, heard him and a contract was offered.
His performance at the Vienna State Opera was received with ecstasy. He made his Met debut at age 31. That same year he had sang Amfortas in Parsifal at Bayreuth--the musical temple that Wagner built.
To debut as Amfortas at age 51 at Bayreuth makes a lot more sense but George London was the best bass-baritone ever.
London's La Scala debut also occured in 1951. Let me emphasize this. In one year, George London debuted at The Met in New York, Bayreuth in--Bayreuth, and La Scala in Milan.
Perhaps more impressive than that was his 1960 performance of Boris Godunov at the Bolshoi in Moscow as the first American to perform the role in Russia. I wasn't alive but I hear the Cold War was a bit intense at the time.
How good was George London? The Russians let him sing THE Russian role of all time while they were creating a 100 megaton nuclear bomb with our name written on it. The bomb only ended up being 50 megatons.
George London sings Wotan's Farewell from the best Walküre ever recorded.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_9ewyER6Jo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQOTXnZpMwA