Gary Lakes

Last updated

Gary Lakes (born September 26, 1950) is an American opera heldentenor.

Gary Lakes
Born (1950-09-26) September 26, 1950 (age 73)
Alma mater Southern Methodist University
Occupation opera heldentenor
Years active1981–present

Lakes was born in Woodward, Oklahoma, and raised in Irving, Texas. He made his professional debut with the Seattle Opera in the role of Froh in 1981 in Wagner's Das Rheingold , after attending Southern Methodist University where he studied with Thomas Hayward. [1] [2] He was a high school football defensive tackle, but switched his career aspirations to singing after a cracked vertebra derailed any hope for a football career. [2] He debuted with the Metropolitan Opera on February 4, 1986 as the High Priest in Mozart's Idomeneo and soon after sang the ensemble role of Walther von der Vogelweide in Wagner's Tannhäuser . [1] In 1987, he sang the role of Siegmund in Wagner's Die Walküre with the Met. [2] [3] He sang the role of Siegmund on both the Met's DVD and CD of Die Walküre opposite Jessye Norman as Sieglinde with James Levine conducting. [4] Other roles he has sung at the Met include Don José in Bizet's Carmen , Samson in Saint-Saëns' Samson et Dalila , the Emperor in Strauss' Die Frau ohne Schatten , Erik in Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer , Grigory in Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov , Florestan in Beethoven's Fidelio , the title role in Wagner's Parsifal , Laca in Janáček's Jenůfa , Aeneas in Berlioz' Les Troyens and Jimmy Mahoney in Weill's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny . [3]

Other Wagner roles he has sung at various opera houses include Tristan in Tristan und Isolde , Siegfried in Götterdämmerung and the title roles in Tannhäuser and Lohengrin . [5] Other roles have included Admete in Gluck's Alceste , Herod in Strauss' Salome , the title role in Berlioz' La damnation de Faust and concert performances of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and Gustav Mahler's Lied von der Erde . [1] [2] [5] Besides Siegmund, he has recorded the roles of Bacchus in Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos and Aeneas in Les Troyens, [2] and also albums of Irish songs and ballads (in English). He appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on January 14, 1993. [4]

Lakes is a fellow of the Music Academy of the West, where he attended in 1977. [6]

Related Research Articles

A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; Italian:[ˌmɛddzosoˈpraːno]; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above (i.e. A3–A5 in scientific pitch notation, where middle C = C4; 220–880 Hz). In the lower and upper extremes, some mezzo-sopranos may extend down to the F below middle C (F3, 175 Hz) and as high as "high C" (C6, 1047 Hz). The mezzo-soprano voice type is generally divided into the coloratura, lyric, and dramatic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Gould (tenor)</span> American heldentenor (1962–2023)

Stephen Grady Gould was an American heldentenor and leading interpreter of Richard Wagner's stage works. He performed around 100 times at the Bayreuth Festival, notably as Tannhäuser starting in 2004, and later Siegfried and Tristan. In 2022, his performance in all three roles earned him nicknames such as Iron Man.

The German Fach system is a method of classifying singers, primarily opera singers, according to the range, weight, and color of their voices. It is used worldwide, but primarily in Europe, especially in German-speaking countries and by repertory opera houses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonie Rysanek</span> Austrian dramatic soprano (1926–1998)

Leopoldine Rysanek was an Austrian dramatic soprano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Vickers</span> Canadian opera singer

Jonathan Stewart Vickers,, known professionally as Jon Vickers, was a Canadian heldentenor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gwyneth Jones (soprano)</span> Welsh soprano

Dame Gwyneth Jones is a Welsh dramatic soprano, widely regarded as one of the greatest Wagnerian sopranos in the second half of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Günther Treptow</span> German opera singer

Günther Treptow was a German operatic tenor, best known for Wagner roles.

Ticho Parly was a Danish-born Heldentenor who sang leading roles in most of the major opera houses of Europe as well as the United States, including the Metropolitan Opera, where he debuted in 1966 as Tristan opposite Birgit Nilsson in Tristan und Isolde.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Cassilly</span> American opera singer

Richard Cassilly was an American operatic tenor who had a major international opera career between 1954–90. Cassilly "was a mainstay in the heldentenor repertory in opera houses around the world for 30 years", and particularly excelled in Wagnerian roles like Tristan, Siegmund and Tannhäuser, and in dramatic parts that required both stamina and vocal weight, such as Giuseppe Verdi's Otello and Camille Saint-Saëns's Samson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blanche Thebom</span> American opera singer (1915–2010)

Blanche Thebom was an American operatic mezzo-soprano, voice teacher, and opera director. She was part of the first wave of American opera singers that had highly successful international careers. In her own country she had a long association with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City which lasted 22 years. Opera News stated, "An ambitious beauty with a velvety, even-grained dramatic mezzo, Thebom was a natural for opera: she commanded the stage with the elegantly disciplined hauteur of an old-school diva, relishing the opportunity to play femmes du monde such as Marina in Boris Godunov, Herodias and Dalila."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernd Aldenhoff</span> German opera singer

Bernd Aldenhoff was a German Heldentenor.

Deborah Polaski is an American opera and concert singer (soprano). She has specialized in dramatic soprano roles and also sings mezzo-soprano roles occasionally.

A dramatic soprano is a type of operatic soprano with a powerful, rich, emotive voice that can sing over, or cut through, a full orchestra. Thicker vocal folds in dramatic voices usually (but not always) mean less agility than lighter voices but a sustained, fuller sound. Usually this voice has a lower tessitura than other sopranos, and a darker timbre. They are often used for heroic, often long-suffering, tragic women of opera. Dramatic sopranos have a range from approximately low A (A3) to "high C" (C6). Some dramatic sopranos, known as Wagnerian sopranos, have an exceptionally big voice that can assert itself over a large orchestra (of more than 80 or even 100 players). These voices are substantial, often denser in tone, extremely powerful and, ideally, evenly balanced throughout the vocal registers. Wagnerian sopranos usually play mythic heroines. Successful Wagnerian sopranos are rare and often Wagnerian roles are performed by Italianate dramatic sopranos.

Kenneth (Ken) Neate was an Australian operatic and concert tenor, opera producer and singing teacher, composer and author. He appeared at the Bayreuth Festival in 1963 as Loge in Das Rheingold and was noted as a dramatic tenor in German, French, and Italian repertoire in opera houses in England, France, Italy, Austria, Germany, and Australia. His operatic career lasted 38 years, followed by ten years as lecturer in Voice and Opera Studies at the Richard Strauss Conservatorium in Munich.

William Cochran was an American Heldentenor who achieved an international career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heinrich Vogl</span> German opera singer

Heinrich Vogl was a German operatic heldentenor.

Gary Lehman is an American operatic tenor, specialising in the Heldentenor repertoire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berit Lindholm</span> Swedish soprano (1934–2023)

Berit Maria Lindholm was a Swedish dramatic soprano. She was first based at the Royal Swedish Opera and made an international career, performing at the Royal Opera House in London, the Bayreuth Festival and the Vienna State Opera, among many others. She is regarded as one of the greatest Wagner singers of her generation.

The following lists note recordings in opera and recital of soprano Jessye Norman.

Kwangchul Youn is a South Korean operatic bass and academic voice teacher. He made an international career based in Germany, from 1994 to 2004 at the Berlin State Opera. He has performed leading roles at international opera houses and festivals, such as Gurnemanz in Parsifal at the Bayreuth Festival, Mephisto in Faust at the Vienna State Opera, and King Marke in Tristan und Isolde at the Metropolitan Opera.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Hamilton,D., ed. (1987). The Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia] . Simon & Schuster. p.  184. ISBN   0-671-61732-X.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Rockwell, J. (April 3, 1989). "Gary Lakes, Lost to Sports, Is a Wagnerian Gain". The New York Times . Retrieved 2009-09-27.
  3. 1 2 "Gary Lakes Met performances" . Retrieved 2009-09-27.
  4. 1 2 "Gary Lakes". IMDb . Retrieved 2009-09-27.
  5. 1 2 Croan, Robert (November 9, 2001). "Gary Lakes embraces the tough role of Herod in Salome". The Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2009-09-27.
  6. "Alumni Roster". musicacademy.org. Archived from the original on 5 June 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2020.