Clamma Dale

Last updated

Clamma Dale
Born
Clamma Churita Dale

1948 (age 7576)
Education Juilliard School (BM, MM)
Spouse
Terry Shirk
(m. 1981;died 1987)

Clamma Churita Dale (born 1948) is an American operatic soprano. She portrayed "Bess" in the highly successful 1976 Houston Grand Opera production of Porgy and Bess . The show was transferred from Houston to Broadway and Dale was awarded a 1977 Drama Desk Award for Best Actress in a musical and received a Tony Award nomination. She won a Grammy award in 1978 for Best Opera Recording of the Porgy & Bess soundtrack.

Contents

Early life and education

Dale was born and raised in Chester, Pennsylvania. Her father was a jazz musician and she received much of her early musical training from him, playing the clarinet, cello, saxophone, piano, and guitar during her youth [ citation needed ] as well as singing in the school choir. She studied music at the Settlement Music School earned a bachelor's degree in music from the Juilliard School in 1970. She earned her master's degree from the Juilliard School in 1975. [1]

Career

After graduating from school, Dale worked as a first grade music teacher in Brooklyn until her singing career began to take off. [2]

Dale made her professional opera debut on February 20, 1973 as St. Teresa I in Virgil Thomson's Four Saints in Three Acts at the Vivian Beaumont Theater in a production mounted by the Metropolitan Opera. In 1974 she portrayed Bess for the first time at the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera. In 1975 she won the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation's music competition which led to her New York City recital debut at Town Hall in May 1976. [2] She returned to the NYCO several times in the late 1970s to portray such roles as the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro , and Nedda in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci . In 1975 she signed a three-year contract with the New York City Opera (NYCO) and made her NYCO debut in October 1975 as Antonia in Jacques Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann . [2] She returned to the NYCO several times in the late 1970s to portray such roles as the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro , and Nedda in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci .

Dale first drew wide acclaim in 1976 for her portrayal of "Bess" in Porgy and Bess with the Houston Grand Opera, a production which went on to a highly successful run at first the Uris Theatre and then the Mark Hellinger Theatre on Broadway in 1976 and 1977. She won the 1977 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a musical and a Tony nomination. [3] She won an In 1977 she performed as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic in the premiere of Leonard Bernstein's Songfest in Washington D.C. In 1978, she won a Grammy Award for best Opera Performance for the Porgy & Bess soundtrack. [3]

In 1980, she sang at a gala concert celebrating the 35th anniversary of the United Nations. Later that year, she sang the roles of Giulietta and Antonia in Les Contes d'Hoffmann for her debut at the Opéra national du Rhin, Nedda for her debut with the Opera Company of Philadelphia, and both the title role in Aida and Leonora in Il Trovatore at the opera house in Bogotá, Colombia. [ citation needed ]

In 1983, Dale made her first appearance at the Opéra National de Paris as Fata Morgana in The Love for Three Oranges . She spent the next several years working in various opera houses in Paris, singing roles like Liu in Puccini's Turandot , Musetta in Puccini's La bohème , Pamina in The Magic Flute , and the one-woman tour de force of the bloodthirsty title character in Erzsebet , an opera by Charles Chaynes. [4]

In 1986, she appeared at the Opéra de Nancy et de Lorraine (now the Opéra national de Lorraine). In 1988 she sang Bess for her debut at the Theater des Westens in Berlin. The following year she portrayed Liu at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. She has given many recitals including two resulting from winning the Walter W. Naumburg voice competition. She gave recitals at Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie Hall among other places. She appeared at the White House in a Gershwin evening on February 12, 1978, with pianist Neil Stannard. In 1991, she sang the world premiere of John Duffy's Time for Remembrance with the Honolulu Symphony for the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. [5]

Personal life

Dale married Terry Shirk in 1981. He died suddenly of a heart attack in 1987. [4]

Recordings

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leontyne Price</span> American soprano (born 1927)

Mary Violet Leontyne Price is an American spinto soprano who was the first African-American soprano to receive international acclaim. From 1961 she began a long association with the Metropolitan Opera. She regularly appeared at the world's major opera houses, including the Royal Opera House, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and La Scala; at La Scala, she was also the first African American to sing a leading role. She was particularly renowned for her performances of the title role in Giuseppe Verdi's Aida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adele Addison</span> American lyric soprano (born 1925)

Adele Addison is an American lyric soprano who was a figure in the classical music world during the 1950s and 1960s. Although she did appear in several operas, Addison spent most of her career performing in recital and concert. Her performances spanned a wide array of literature from the Baroque period to contemporary compositions. She is best remembered today as the singing voice for Bess in the 1959 movie, Porgy and Bess. Known for her polished and fluent tone, Addison made a desirable Baroque vocal artist. She can be heard on numerous recordings, of which her Baroque performances are perhaps her best work. Many of her recordings were made with the New York Philharmonic under the baton of Leonard Bernstein.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raina Kabaivanska</span> Bulgarian opera singer

Raina Yakimova Kabaivanska is a Bulgarian opera singer, one of the leading lirico-spinto sopranos of her generation, particularly associated with Verdi and Puccini, although she sang a wide range of roles.

Lawrence Winters(néLawrence Lafayette Whisonant; 15 November 1915 King's Creek, South Carolina – 24 September 1965 Hamburg, Germany), bass-baritone, was an American opera singer who had an active international career from the mid-1940s through the mid-1960s. He was part of the first generation of black opera singers to achieve wide success and is viewed as part of an instrumental group of performers who helped break down the barriers of racial prejudice in the opera world. He began his opera career at the New York City Opera in 1946 during a time when the NYCO was one of the few American opera companies hiring black artists. He sang a varied repertoire there through 1955, after which his career was largely based in Europe until his death at the age of fifty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camilla Williams</span> American opera singer

Camilla Ella Williams was an American operatic soprano who performed nationally and internationally. After studying with renowned teachers in New York City, she was the first African American to receive a regular contract with a major American opera company, the New York City Opera. She had earlier won honors in vocal competitions and the Marian Anderson Fellowship in 1943–44.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frances Yeend</span> American opera singer

Frances Yeend was an American classical soprano who had an active international career as a concert and opera singer during the 1940s through the 1960s. She had a long and fruitful association with the New York City Opera (NYCO) between 1948 and 1958, after which she joined the roster of principal sopranos at the Metropolitan Opera where she sang between 1961 and 1963. She also had an extensive concert career, particularly in the United States. By 1963 she had sung in more than 200 orchestral concerts in North American with major symphonies like the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gloria Davy</span> American opera singer

Gloria Davy was a Swiss soprano of American birth who had an active international career in operas and concerts from the 1950s through the 1980s. A spinto soprano, she was widely acclaimed for her portrayal of the title role in Verdi's Aida, a role she performed in many of the world's top opera houses. She was notably the first black artist to perform the role of Aida at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in 1958. While she performed a broad repertoire, she was particularly admired for her interpretations of 20th-century music, including the works of Richard Strauss, Benjamin Britten and Paul Hindemith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elena Mauti Nunziata</span> Italian opera singer (1946–2024)

Elena Mauti Nunziata was an Italian operatic soprano. Her voice had spinto qualities, with a slightly dark timbre and an easy upper register. She gained international recognition with the title role in Verdi's La traviata at the Teatro Real in Madrid in 1977. At the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, she performed as Mimi in Puccini's La bohème, as La traviata, and as Nedda in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joy Clements</span> American soprano

Joy Clements was an American lyric coloratura soprano who had a substantial opera and concert career from 1956 through the late 1970s. She notably sang regularly with both the New York City Opera and the Metropolitan Opera during the 1960s through the early 1970s. She also traveled regularly for performances with opera companies and orchestras throughout the United States but only appeared in a relatively few number of performances internationally.

Donnie Ray Albert is an American operatic baritone who has had an active international career since 1976.

Elaine Malbin is an American soprano who had a prolific international career singing in operas, musicals, and concerts from the 1940s through the 1960s. She made her Town Hall debut at the age of 14. She appeared in a number of Broadway productions in the 1940s and 1950s and notably portrayed Marsinah in the original 1953 West End production of Kismet. She starred on Broadway in the title role of My Darlin’ Aida & sang a season of Gilbert and Sullivan at the Mark Hellinger Theater in New York. She was a regular at the New York City Opera during the 1950s and 1960s with leading roles in Love for Three Oranges, Carmen (Micaela), Turandot (Liù), La Bohème (Mimi) and Don Giovanni (Zerlina). She appeared with most of America's leading opera companies during this time as well, including the Houston Grand Opera and the San Francisco Opera. In San Francisco Malbin debuted in a staged version of Carmina Burnana and sang Mimi in La Bohème. She also appeared in concert with several notable orchestras including the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra. On the International stage she appeared at a number of opera houses and major music festivals in the United Kingdom, Italy, and France. She performed at the Glyndebourne and Edinburgh Festivals as well as Madama Butterfly with the Scottish Opera Company. She is perhaps best remembered for appearing in several opera roles live for television with the NBC Opera Theatre and for recording two duets with Mario Lanza at RCA on 11 April 1950.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Fenn</span> American soprano (1928–2021)

Jean Fenn was an American soprano who had an active opera career in North America during the 1950s through the 1970s. Fenn was a disciplined, well-schooled singer with an excellent technique, wide range, and a highly polished sound. She was notably a regular performer at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City between 1953 and 1970. A lyric soprano, she particularly excelled in portraying roles from the operas of Giacomo Puccini, Jules Massenet, and Charles Gounod.

Regina Sarfaty, later Regina Sarfaty Rickless after her marriage to Elwood A. Rickless in 1963, is an American operatic mezzo-soprano who had an active career during the 1950s through the 1980s. Sarfaty first rose to prominence through her work at the Santa Fe Opera and the New York City Opera during the late 1950s. She later enjoyed international success in the 1960s and 1970s, and had a particularly lengthy career singing with the Zurich Opera.

Eva Likova was an American operatic soprano of Czech descent. She was notably one of the major sopranos at the New York City Opera during the company's early years. She also made guest appearances with a number of opera houses in North America and Europe, enjoying a particularly fruitful partnership with the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company. After retiring from the opera stage in 1966, she embarked on a second career as a voice teacher.

Geraldine McMillian is an American soprano who has had an active career in concerts and operas since the mid-1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Mosley</span> American opera singer

Robert Mosley was an American operatic bass-baritone. Part of the first generation of African-American opera singers to achieve wide success, he performed in numerous opera productions, recitals, and in concerts from the 1950s through the 1990s. In 1957 he won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. He drew particular acclaim for his portrayal of Porgy in George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, a role which he portrayed in the landmark 1976 Houston Grand Opera production, on Broadway, and at the Metropolitan Opera among other opera companies both in the United States and in Europe.

Faith Esham is an American soprano and college professor of voice.

Andrew Benny Frierson was an American operatic baritone and music educator. He was part of the first generation of black opera singers to achieve success and is viewed as part of an instrumental group of performers who helped break down the barriers of racial prejudice in the opera world. In 2000 he was the recipient of the Legacy Award by the National Opera Association, an award given annually to recognize the contributions made by African-American artists to opera in America.

Billie Lynn Daniel was an American operatic soprano and composer. A winner of several notable vocal competitions, she was best known for her portrayal of Clara in Porgy and Bess and for her work as an exponent of American art song. She performed the world premieres of works by composers Richard Hundley, William Flanagan, and Claude Debussy among other composers.

Francesca Roberto is an American operatic soprano. A winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, she sang leading roles throughout the United States during the 1960s and early 1970s.

References

  1. "The Creative Woman: Success Requires Talent and Drive". Ebony: 135–138. August 1977.
  2. 1 2 3 Mel Gussow (September 29, 1976). "Clamma Dale Sings Way to Top And Seeks Out New Challenges". The New York Times .(subscription required)
  3. 1 2 "Clamma Dale". www.masterworksbroadway.com. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  4. 1 2 Bourdain, G.S. (May 11, 1990). "The Winding Road From 'Bess' to Tully Hall". The New York Times. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
  5. Nicholson, David (December 1, 1991). "For Those Who Died". Daily Press.