Walter Cassel

Last updated • 7 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Walter Cassel (May 15, 1910 – July 3, 2000) was an American operatic baritone and actor. He began his career singing on the radio during the mid-1930s and appeared in a couple of Hollywood musical films in the late 1930s. He made his first stage appearances in a handful of Broadway productions during the late 1930s and early 1940s. He began his opera career at the Metropolitan Opera in 1942, and went on to have a long and fruitful association with that house that lasted until his retirement from the stage in 1974. In addition to working with the Met, Cassel was also a regular performer with the New York City Opera between 1948 and 1954 and worked frequently as a freelance artist with important opera companies on the international stage as well as in the United States. [1]

Contents

Biography

Born John Walter Cassel in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Cassel began his musical education studying the trumpet while at Thomas Jefferson High School. He began taking private voice lessons with Harry McGee Cooper after joining his high school's glee club during his senior year. In 1933, while studying dentistry at Creighton University, Cassel was provided with the opportunity to sing for renowned baritone Lawrence Tibbett after attending one of Tibbet's recitals in Omaha, Nebraska. Impressed with his performance, Tibbett praised Cassel highly in an interview with the local newspaper and strongly encouraged him to pursue an opera career. Strongly influenced by this encounter, Cassel headed for New York City with just "$40 in his shoe, a pair of coveralls and a briefcase full of music". [1]

Upon reaching New York, Cassel began studying voice with Frank La Forge. Beginning in 1934, he began supporting himself by singing on the radio, including such programs as Air Breaks and Hammerstein's Music Hall . [1] Unable to land work as an opera singer, Cassel tried his luck in Hollywood and managed to land a good sized supporting role in the 1937 film Wine, Women, and Horses which starred Barton MacLane and Ann Sheridan. This was followed by a leading role in the 1938 film Romance Road where his love interest was portrayed by Anne Nagel. Cassel, however, preferred live performance over film work and abandoned his film career after landing a role in the 1938 Broadway play Great Lady . He went on to star in the 1939 musical Stars In Your Eyes and the 1940 musical revue All in Fun. In 1941 he starred in the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera's production of Rio Rita .

In 1942 Cassel auditioned for the Metropolitan Opera and was invited by Edward Johnson to join the roster of singers at the company. He made his debut with the company earlier than expected, replacing an ailing singer at the last minute in the role of Bretigny in Jules Massenet's Manon on December 12, 1942 with Bidu Sayão in the title role. He continued to sing at the Met through the Spring of 1945 in mainly comprimario roles like Count Ceprano in Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto , the Gypsy in Verdi's Il trovatore , Hermann in Jacques Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann , and the Philosopher in Gustave Charpentier's Louise . He did however get to sing two more sizable roles, Valentin in Charles Gounod's Faust and Silvio in Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci . [2]

Feeling he was being pigeon holed into the comprimario repertoire at the Met, Cassel left the company after the close of the 1944-1945 season to pursue other artistic interests. He returned to Broadway in 1946 to portray Pierre Birabeau in the revival of Sigmund Romberg's The Desert Song . He had almost made it back to Broadway Best two years earlier when he created the role of Edvard Grieg in Song of Norway for its pre-Broadway run at the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera. However, he left the cast before the show reached Broadway. [3] He made his debut with the Philadelphia La Scala Opera Company as Escamillo in Georges Bizet's Carmen on October 5, 1946 with Bruna Castagna in the title role. On January 11, 1948 he gave his New York City recital debut at Town Hall. [4]

Shortly after his Town Hall recital, Cassel was approached by Laszlo Halasz to join the roster of principal singers at the New York City Opera (NYCO). Cassel jumped at the chance and made his debut with the company on April 1, 1948 as Scarpia in Giacomo Puccini's Tosca opposite Wilma Spence in the title role and Rudolph Petrak as Cavaradossi. This performance was a major critical success for Cassel, with The New York Times proclaiming that, "Walter Cassel's suave enactment of the treacherous Baron was the hit of the evening." [5]

Cassel remained one of the NYCO's leading baritones up through the Fall of 1954, giving a total of 126 performances with the company. He portrayed such roles as Amelia's Husband in Gian Carlo Menotti's Amelia Goes to the Ball , the Count in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro , Dapertutto in The Tales of Hoffmann, Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen , Ford in Verdi's Falstaff , Gerard in Umberto Giordano's Andrea Chénier , Giorgio Germont in Verdi's La traviata , John the Baptist in Richard Strauss's Salome , Ramiro in Maurice Ravel's L'heure espagnole , and the title roles in Mozart's Don Giovanni and Verdi's Rigoletto among others. He notably recorded the role of Valentin in Faust with the NYCO for MGM Records in 1951 and portrayed Petruccio in the world premiere of Vittorio Giannini's The Taming of the Shrew in 1958.

In 1955 Cassel left the NYCO to rejoin the roster at the Met by the invitation of Rudolf Bing, making his first appearance under his new contract at the house as Scarpia to the Tosca of Renata Tebaldi and Cavaradossi of Giuseppe Campora on March 8, 1955. Cassel remained at the Met up until his retirement from the stage in 1974, being absent at the house during only three seasons of those years. His final and 275th performance at the Met was as Kurwenal in Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde with Jess Thomas and Birgit Nilsson in the title roles. [2]

In 1958, he appeared as a contestant on the TV game show To Tell the Truth shortly after he had sung three roles at the Met -- Baron Scarpia in Tosca , Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde and John the Baptist in Salome -- within 24 hours. One of the panelists (and the only one who did not correctly identify Cassel) was Ronald Reagan. [6]

While busy singing at the Met, Cassel also worked as a guest artist with many notable opera companies throughout North America and Europe. He appeared with such American companies as the Pittsburgh Opera, Cincinnati Opera, and the New Orleans Opera, as well as several major companies internationally such as the Vienna State Opera, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, the Liceu, Ottawa Opera, the Canadian Opera Company, the Palacio de Bellas Artes, the Teatro Massimo, and elsewhere. He notably portrayed Horace Tabor in the world premiere of Douglas Moore's The Ballad of Baby Doe at the Central City Opera in 1956. [3] In 1958 he made his debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Kurwenal. In 1959 he was a featured guest on The Bell Telephone Hour . In 1961 he made his debut with the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company as Friedrich von Telramund in Wagner's Lohengrin .

From 1970 to 1972 Cassel sang the role of Johann Strauss Sr in Korngold's The Great Waltz in London, and then performed in Italy and Spain for a couple years. After retiring from the stage, Cassel began a long teaching career at Indiana University in 1974. He died at the age of 90 in Bloomington, Indiana. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonard Warren</span> Operatic baritone (1911–1960)

Leonard Warren was an American opera singer. A baritone, he was a leading artist for many years with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Especially noted for his portrayals of the leading baritone roles in the operas of Giuseppe Verdi, he had few rival baritones in his time. His power and range were the highlights of his vocal instrument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tito Gobbi</span> Italian baritone (1913–1984)

Tito Gobbi was an Italian operatic baritone with an international reputation.

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">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">Thomas Stewart (bass-baritone)</span> American bass-baritone singer (1928-2006)

Thomas Stewart was an American bass-baritone who sang an unusually wide range of roles, earning global acclaim particularly for his performances in Wagner's operas.

Chester Ludgin was an American operatic baritone.

<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.

Tulsa Opera is an American opera company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniele Barioni</span> Italian opera singer (1930–2022)

Daniele Barioni was an Italian opera singer who had a prolific career during the 1950s through the 1970s. Early on in his career he rose to fame as a leading tenor at the Metropolitan Opera between 1956 and 1962. Afterwards he worked primarily in opera houses and concerts throughout the United States, although he did make numerous appearances in both Europe and South America as well. Barioni was particularly associated with the operas of Giacomo Puccini and the roles of Turiddu in Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana and Alfredo in Giuseppe Verdi's La traviata.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ingvar Wixell</span> Swedish baritone

Karl Gustaf Ingvar Wixell was a Swedish baritone who had an active international career in operas and concerts from 1955 to 2003. He mostly sang roles from the Italian repertory, and, according to The New York Times, "was best known for his steady-toned, riveting portrayals of the major baritone roles of Giuseppe Verdi — among them Rigoletto, Simon Boccanegra, Amonasro in Aida, and Germont in La traviata".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anselmo Colzani</span> Italian opera singer

Anselmo Colzani was an Italian operatic baritone who had an international opera career from the late 1940s through 1980. He particularly excelled in the Italian repertory and was most associated with the works of Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini. He began his career in Italy in 1947 where he quickly became a regular presence at that country's best opera houses, including La Scala. In the mid-1950s he began appearing at major opera houses throughout Europe and the United States. In 1960 he joined the roster at the Metropolitan Opera where he spent most of his time through 1978. Opera News commented that while his voice may have "lacked the sheer beauty [of other baritones], his performances had an Italianate urgency and forthright thrust that were unique, which established himself as a powerful, striking presence."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emilio De Marchi (tenor)</span> Italian opera singer (1861–1917)

Emilio De Marchi was an Italian operatic tenor. He had a significant career during the late 19th and early 20th century, appearing at major theatres on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1900, he entered the annals of musical history as the creator of the role of Cavaradossi in Giacomo Puccini's Tosca. Today, however, he has largely been forgotten because, unlike many of his contemporaries, he did not leave a legacy of commercial gramophone or phonograph recordings.

William Dooley was an American bass-baritone singer who performed with many prominent opera companies. He began his career in Germany in the late 1950s, ultimately becoming a leading performer at the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 1962 to 1964. He then embarked on a highly successful career at the Metropolitan Opera where he sang regularly between 1964 and 1977. Between 1977 and 1982 he sang regularly at the Vienna State Opera, after which he remained active as a freelance artist on the international stage through the early 1990s.

Arthur Newman was an American operatic baritone and actor. He began his career as a stage actor in St. Louis in the early 1930s and in 1939 began an opera career. He was notably a member of the New York City Opera between 1945 and 1959 during which time he performed in more than 1,300 performances with the company in over 50 roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beverly Bower</span> American operatic soprano (1925–2002)

Beverly Bower was an American operatic soprano who had an active international opera career from the mid-1950s through the early 1970s. She began her opera career at the New York City Opera where she sang between 1956 and 1963. She later worked mainly as a freelance artist with important opera companies throughout the United States and with a few opera companies in Europe.

William Chapman was an American operatic baritone and stage actor. He appeared in several Broadway productions and was notably a leading performer at the New York City Opera from 1957 through 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Delavan</span> American operatic bass-baritone

Mark Delavan is an American operatic bass-baritone. He was a national finalist of the Metropolitan Opera auditions and an Adler Fellow with the San Francisco Opera.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giovanni Polese</span> Italian opera singer

Giovanni Polese was an Italian operatic baritone who had an active international singing career from 1894-1928. He achieved the height of his success in the United States in the years 1908-1916 in the cities of Boston, Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia, and again from 1926-1928 in Chicago. While he sang a broad repertoire from the French, German, and Italian repertoires, he was most celebrated for his performances in the operas of Giuseppe Verdi. His voice is preserved on more than 20 recordings made by Edison Records.

Quinn Kamakanalani Kelsey is a Hawaiian baritone, who is particularly noted for his performances in operas by Verdi. He has been featured in leading roles by the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, as well as other major opera companies in America and Europe.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Anthony Tommasini (July 8, 2000). "Walter Cassel, 90, Commanding Met Baritone". New York Times . Retrieved August 11, 2009.
  2. 1 2 Metropolitan Opera archives
  3. 1 2 3 "Obituaries:Walter Cassel". Opera News . September 2000. Retrieved August 11, 2009.
  4. ↑ T.S. (January 12, 1948). "PROGRAM OF SONGS BY WALTER CASSEL; Baritone in Local Bow Offers Bach, Handel, Thomas Arias in Town Hall Program". New York Times . Retrieved August 11, 2009.
  5. ↑ C.H. (April 2, 1948). "'Tosca' Revived by City Opera Company; Wilma Spence, Petrak, Cassel Sing Leads". New York Times . Retrieved August 11, 2009.
  6. ↑ "To Tell the Truth - Ronald Reagan on panel! (Sep 23, 1958)". YouTube .
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.