Willard White

Last updated

The Honourable

Sir Willard White

OM, CBE
Born (1946-10-10) 10 October 1946 (age 76)
Kingston, Jamaica
NationalityBritish
OccupationOpera singer

Sir Willard Wentworth White, OM, CBE (born 10 October 1946) is a Jamaican-born British operatic bass baritone.

Contents

Early life

White was born into a Jamaican family in Kingston. His father was a dockworker, his mother a housewife. White first began to learn music by listening to the radio and singing Nat King Cole songs. He was also inspired by the American bass baritone singer and civil rights activist Paul Robeson. White was a founding member of The Jamaican Folk Singers, [1] and trained at the Jamaican School of Music.

In a visit to Jamaica, Evelyn Rothwell, the oboist and wife of conductor Sir John Barbirolli, heard him sing and suggested that he go to study in London. Instead, his father bought him a one-way ticket to New York City, because "the flight was cheaper". He won a scholarship and continued his studies with bass Giorgio Tozzi at the Juilliard School. While at Juilliard, he was selected by Maria Callas to participate in the master classes she gave there from 1971 to 1972. [2] [3]

Career

In May 1971, White made his debut as the runaway slave Jim in the Juilliard American Opera production of Hall Overton's opera Huckleberry Finn. He next appeared with New York City Opera in 1974 as Colline in La bohème . In 1976, he made his London opera debut with English National Opera as Seneca in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea , having starred with Leona Mitchell that year in the first truly complete recording of Porgy and Bess . He has since sung at the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, Opéra Bastille, the opera houses of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and the major European cities as well as the Festivals at Glyndebourne, Aix-en-Provence, Verbier, [4] and Salzburg.

In addition to covering a wide range of the bass-baritone roles in the standard repertoire by Mozart, Handel, Rossini, Verdi, Puccini and Wagner, White has also explored less traditional territory by appearing as Bluebeard in Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle , [5] Golaud in Debussy's Pelléas and Mélisande , Tchélio in Prokofiev's The Love for Three Oranges , the title role in Messiaen's Saint François d'Assise , Nekrotzar in Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre , Claggart in Britten's Billy Budd , John Adams' El Niño, Nick Shadow in Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress , Creon in Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex , the title role in Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov and Ivan in Khovanshchina . [6]

In 2005 he sang Michael Tippett's A Child of our Time at the First Night of the Proms. His voice was heard as one of the operatic soloists in the Academy Award-winning motion picture Amadeus . Among his most memorable roles are Mephistopheles in Berlioz's The Damnation of Faust and Porgy in Porgy and Bess. He has starred in non-singing roles, such as a Royal Shakespeare Company production of Othello (1989), with Ian McKellen as Iago and Imogen Stubbs as Desdemona. He sang Porgy in the Glyndebourne production (1993) of the opera Porgy and Bess. Both productions were directed by Trevor Nunn and both were videotaped for television. White appeared with Cantamus Girls Choir in Harrogate in 2004.

He has sung the role of Vodnik in Antonín Dvořák's opera Rusalka several times, including in a Stefan Herheim production in 2012 at La Monnaie in Brussels [7] and in 2004 at the Metropolitan Opera, New York. [8]

On 5 June 2019 at Portsmouth, during the ceremony commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Normandy landings, White interpreted in French the "Chant des Partisans", the most popular song of the Free French and French Resistance during World War II, in front of veterans and heads of state including Queen Elizabeth II, Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron. [9]

In August 2020, White caused some controversy when he refused to sing Oley Speaks' setting of Rudyard Kipling's poem "Mandalay", as a planned part of the UK's VJ commemorations, because it "made him feel uncomfortable". [10] [11]

On 22 May 2021 at the age of 74, he sang the role of Seneca in the premiere of the Vienna State Opera production of Claudio Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea . [12] In 2022 White sang the role of Count Monterone in Opera North's production of Rigoletto , directed by Femi Elufowoju jr. [13]

Awards and personal life

In 1977, the first stereo recording of Porgy and Bess, conducted by Lorin Maazel, in which White sang the role of Porgy, received a Grammy Award. White himself received the Gold Musgrave Medal of The Institute of Jamaica. In 1995 he was awarded the CBE and he was made a Knight Bachelor in the 2004 Birthday Honours. In 2000, White was awarded the Jamaican Order of Merit (OM), then the third highest honour in the Jamaican honours system, for eminent international distinction in the performing arts. This entitles him to the prenominal style "The Honourable".

White lives in Lewisham, South East London. [14]

Selected discography

Related Research Articles

<i>Porgy and Bess</i> Opera by George Gershwin

Porgy and Bess is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play Porgy, itself an adaptation of DuBose Heyward's 1925 novel of the same name.

Raymond John Leppard was a British-American conductor, harpsichordist, composer and editor. In the 1960s, he played a prime role in the rebirth of interest in Baroque music; in particular, he was one of the first major conductors to perform Baroque opera, reviving works by Claudio Monteverdi and Francesco Cavalli. He conducted operas at major international opera houses and festivals, including the Glyndebourne Festival where he led the world premiere of Nicholas Maw's The Rising of the Moon, the Metropolitan Opera and the Royal Opera House. He composed film scores such as Lord of the Flies and Alfred the Great.

<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, where she was the first African American to be a leading performer. 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 Verdi's Aida.

<i>Porgy and Bess</i> (Glyndebourne album) 1989 studio album by various

Porgy and Bess is a recording of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera version of the George Gershwin opera of the same name. The cast were accompanied by the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Simon Rattle. The recording took place in February 1988 in No.1 Studio of Abbey Road in London. It was released in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Lewis (tenor)</span>

Richard Lewis CBE was an English tenor of Welsh parentage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria Ewing</span> American opera singer (1950–2022)

Maria Louise Ewing was an American opera singer. In the early part of her career she performed solely as a lyric mezzo-soprano; she later assumed full soprano parts as well. Her signature roles were Blanche, Carmen, Dorabella, Rosina and Salome. Some critics regarded her as one of the most compelling singing actresses of her generation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Chance</span> Musical artist

Michael Chance CBE is an English countertenor and the founder and Artistic Director of The Grange Festival.

Daniel John Taylor, is a Canadian countertenor and early music specialist. Taylor runs the Theatre of Early Music and teaches at the University of Toronto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Connolly</span> English mezzo-soprano

Dame Sarah Patricia Connolly is an English mezzo-soprano. Although best known for her baroque and classical roles, Connolly has a wide-ranging repertoire which has included works by Wagner as well as various 20th-century composers. She was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours and a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to music.

Bruce Hubbard was an American operatic baritone. A Drama Desk and Laurence Olivier Award nominee for Best Actor, he performed on Broadway, the Metropolitan Opera, BBC television, in concert and made several recordings. He is most famous for appearing as Joe in Show Boat, and as Jake, as well as Porgy, in Porgy and Bess on Broadway, the West End, and in several major opera houses and regional theatres. He graduated from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mario Petri</span> Italian opera singer

Mario Petri was an Italian operatic bass-baritone particularly associated with Mozart and Rossini roles.

Matthew Rose is an English operatic bass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anna Caterina Antonacci</span> Italian soprano

Anna Caterina Antonacci is an Italian soprano known for roles in the bel canto and Baroque repertories. She performed as a mezzo-soprano for several years, particularly performing the Rossini canon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Yakar</span> French opera singer (1936–2023)

Rachel Yakar was a French operatic soprano and academic voice teacher. She was known for Mozart roles such as Elvira in Don Giovanni, Baroque opera and contemporary opera. She was a member of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein from 1964 to 1991, and appeared also in Paris, at the Royal Opera House in London and at festivals including Bayreuth and Glyndebourne. She received international attention as Poppea in the 1977 production of Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea at the Oper Zürich conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, which was recorded and filmed. She made many more recordings reviving Baroque operas in historically informed performance. Her portrayal of Debussy's Mélisande was described as ideal. She was admired not only for her voice and diction but also for her stage presence. After her retirement from the stage she taught at the Paris Conservatoire. Ivan A. Alexandre from Diapason summarised her performing: "A darling of the Baroque pioneers and a Mozartian at heart and in style, the soprano from Lyon was also the intimate voice of Strauss, Debussy and Messiaen."

<i>Lincoronazione di Poppea</i> discography

These lists show the audio and visual recordings of L'incoronazione di Poppea by Claudio Monteverdi. The opera was premiered in Venice in 1642-43, but after a 1651 revival in Naples it remained unperformed for 250 years. It began to enter the general opera repertory in the 1960s, and thereafter was increasingly performed in leading opera houses and festivals.

Ulrik Thestrup Cold was a Danish operatic bass. In 1963 he made his professional opera debut at the Royal Danish Theatre (RDT) as Seneca in Claudio Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea. He was active at the RDT for the next several decades and served as the director of the RDT from 1975 to 1977.

Gwawr Edwards is a Welsh concert soprano. Edwards is best known for her television and radio appearances, and has recorded with Bryn Terfel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roberta Alexander</span> American operatic soprano

Roberta Alexander is an American operatic soprano. She began her career as a lyric soprano in 1975 and spent the next three decades performing principal roles with opera houses internationally. Particularly celebrated for her performances of Mozart heroines, she was a leading soprano at the Metropolitan Opera from 1983 to 1991. In addition to principal Mozart roles like Countess Almaviva, Elettra, Fiordiligi, and Donna Elvira, she had particular success with the parts of Mimì in Puccini's La bohème and the title role in Janáček's Jenůfa. More recently she has performed secondary character roles on stage, including performances at the Grand Théâtre de Provence in 2013, La Scala in 2014, and La Monnaie in 2015. She performed the Fifth Maid in Strauss's Elektra at the Met in 2016 and Curra in Verdi's La forza del destino at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 2019.

Camellia Johnson was an American concert and opera singer. She began her career performing works from the mezzo-soprano repertoire, but after encouragement from the staff at the Metropolitan Opera retrained her voice as a soprano. She successfully made that transition after winning the Young Concert Artists competition in 1993. She went on to perform as a leading soprano with orchestras and opera companies internationally.

Cynthia Clarey is an American operatic singer and educator. In opera, she has sung both soprano and mezzo-soprano roles and is often associated with the role of Carmen.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Michael Reckord, "Willard White Sings Paul Robeson Superbly", The Gleaner, 31 December 2012.
  2. ↑ Michael White, "White Heat" (interview), 17 January 2004.
  3. ↑ Chris Routledge, "White, Willard", Contemporary Black Biography, Encyclopedia.com, 27 March 2018.
  4. ↑ "Verbier Festival 2012 in pictures", Classic FM
  5. ↑ Michael White, "The devil and the deep dark voice", The Telegraph, 28 February 2002.
  6. ↑ "Khovanshchina Brussels 2004 White Leggate Kotcherga Zaremba Lindskog", Opera on Video
  7. ↑ Zachary Wolfe, "Nymph Out of Water, Disturbing the Peace of City Dwellers", The New York Times , 9 March 2012.
  8. ↑ White, Willard [Bass], Met performance database
  9. ↑ "D-Day: un émouvant "chant des partisans" entonné à Portsmouth lors de la cérémonie d'hommage". BFM TV. 5 June 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  10. ↑ Oliver Down, "BBC bans Rudyard Kipling’s Mandalay from its VJ Day commemorations", Unity News Network, 14 August 2020
  11. ↑ David Brown, "BBC ditches Kipling poem from VJ Day celebrations over cultural sensitivity", The Times , 15 August 2020
  12. ↑ "Wiener Staatsoper".
  13. ↑ Kettle, Martin (23 January 2022). "Rigoletto review – powerful update, led by stellar duo, is a revelation". The Guardian . Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  14. ↑ Will Hodgkinson (15 July 2005). "Redemption songs". The Guardian . Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  15. ↑ Rusalka, EuroArts.

Further reading

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.