<<

Thomas Anny Benno Harshaw Margaret 16 NI 7964 NI 7964 1 Ossia Il dissoluto Punito in due Atti Poesia di Lorenzo Da Ponte Musica di W. A. Mozart

Leporello Servant to Don Giovanni Benno Kusche Donna Anna, Daughter of the Commendatore and betrothed to Don Ottavio ames Pease ames Hervey Alan Hervey Don Giovanni a Young and Licentious Nobleman J The Commendatore Hervey Alan Don Ottavio Léopold Simoneau Donna Elvira a Lady from Burgos, abandoned by Don Giovanni Zerlina a Peasant Girl Anny Schlemm Masetto a Peasant, betrothed to Zerlina Thomas Hemsley

Conductor

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Continuo played by the Conductor The Festival Chorus éopold Simoneau éopold L Jurinac Sena 2 NI 7964 NI 7964 15 Aldeburgh, Hemsley created the role of Demetrius in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream. His Solti conducted Don Giovanni in nine performances during the 1954 debut in 1970 was as Mangus in Tippett's . Glyndebourne season : on July 7, 9, 11, 14, 17, 21, 23, 25, 27. The BBC In the latter part of his career, Hemsley taught at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, televised it, compressing the opera into 90 minutes and cutting three and also ran the opera programme at the Dartington International Summer School. He of the most popular - ‘Batti, batti’, ‘Deh vieni alla fenestra’ and was awarded the CBE in the 2000 Queen's Millennium Honors List for his services to Music. ‘Dalla sua pace’. These performances of Don Giovanni were Georg Solti’s only Glyndebourne appearances. () (April 25, 1915 - March 28, 1993). Italo Tajo was born in Pinerolo, Piedmont, and studied violin and voice at the Music Conservatory of Turin. His stage debut was in 1935, as Fafner , under . At Busch's invitation, he went to Glyndebourne where This complete performance was broadcast live from the he became a member of the chorus understudying Mozart roles under the conductor as well as on 17 July 1954. The source recording is part of the ‘Itter Broadcast also appearing in supporting roles. During World War two he sang regularly as a member of La Collection’ held by Lyrita Recorded Edition Trust. Scala in as well as at the and Naples theatres. During this period his sonority of voice and committed acting enabled him to build an extensive repertoire of roles in standard th Italian Romantic opera in particular. He did not eschew contemporary works singing in Alban Setting A Spanish town (traditionally Seville) in the 16 Century Berg's in its premiere in 1942, and later he also created roles in works by Luigi DISC 1 62.23 Nono and as well as in Walton’s Troilus and Cressida in 1956 and Shostakovich's Nose in 1964. 1 OVERTURE 5.47

In the immediate post war period, Tajo’s career quickly took an international turn, with debuts in ACT 1 Paris, London, and . He made his American debut in 1946 with the Chicago Opera Company, as Ramfis in Verdi's , adding also Puccini's La Boheme and 2 Scene 1 Leporello: Notte e giorno faticar 5.10 Saint-Saens' Samson et Dalila. In 1948 he made his Met debut as Don Basilio in Il Barbiere di 3 Scene 2 Giovanni: Leporello, ove sei? 0.26 Siviglia. His other roles there included Figaro, Leporello, Don Basilio, Dulcamara, , 4 Scene 3 Anna: Ah!del padre in periglio 6.56 and . In the UK he sang at the Glyndebourne and Edinburgh Festivals where he 5 Scene 4 Giovanni: Orsù, spicciati presto 1.19 revealed his stature as a lively buffo bass, adding Dulcamara with the visiting La Scala company 6 Scene 5 Elvira: Ah! chi mi dice mai 6.06 to Covent Garden in 1950. Meanwhile he did not neglect the great basso roles such as Verdi’s and Mussorgsky's . His versatility included taking over from from Ezio 7 Leporello: Madamina, il catalogo è questo 5.30 Pinza in the role of Emile de Becque () on . 8 Scene 7 Zerlina: Giovinette, che fate all'amore 1.19 9 Scene 8 Giovanni: Manco male, è partita 1.43 From 1966 Italo Tajo taught at the University of helping to establish the opera department there. Among his students were and Barbara Daniels He continued 10 Masetto: Ho capito, signor sì! 1.25 singing until well into his seventies, mostly at the in character roles. His last 11 Scene 9 Giovanni: Alfin siam liberati 1.36 stage appearance was in April 1991 as the Sacristan in . 12 Giovanni: Là ci darem la mano 3.13 Biographies © Robert J Farr, 2017 13 Scene 10 Elvira: Fermati, scellerato! 0.41 14 NI 7964 NI 7964 3 14 Elvira: Ah, fuggi il traditor 1.06 Schlemm had a full tone, as heard in this performance as Zerlina, and as her voice 15 Scene 11 Giovanni: Mi par ch'oggi il demonio si diverta 0.55 darkened she moved into the mezzo-soprano roles becoming a famous exponent of Clytemnestra in , Herodias in , Kabanicha in Káťa Kabanová, and Kostelnicka in Jenůfa, later 16 Scene 12 Elvira: Ah, ti ritrovo ancor 4.19 adding Mistress Quickly in Verdi’s and Mama Lucia in Mascagni’s Cavaleria Rusticana 17 Scene 13 Anna: Don Ottavio... son morta! 3.43 to her repertoire. 18 Anna: Or sai chi l'onore 2.53 An highly versatile singing-actress Anny Schlemm was equally at home in comic and dramatic 19 Scene 14 Ottavio: Come mai creder deggio 5.30 roles and in nearly sixty years in opera and she sang no fewer than 135 roles. She made 20 Scene 15 Leporello: Io deggio ad ogni patto 1.16 many records of operetta and opera, usually singing in her native German. An exception was her 21 Giovanni: Fin ch'han dal vino 1.24 Witch in Solti’s recording of Humperdink’s Hansel and Gretel. For a period of time she was married to conductor (1922-2012). DISC 2 67.06 Thomas Jeffrey Hemsley, CBE. () (12 April 1927 - 11 April 2013). Thomas Hemsley 1 Scene 16 Zerlina: Masetto... senti un po'... 1.16 was born in Hugglescoate near Coalville, Leicestershire. He attended Ashby-de-la-Zouch 2 Zerlina: Batti, batti, o bel Masetto 4.25 Grammar School (where he was head Boy) and then Brasenose College, Oxford, where he took 3 Masetto: Presto, presto... pria ch'ei venga 1.45 a degree in Natural Sciences. His singing had been noted in Oxford, and after graduation he went to London where he became a pupil of Lucie Manén1, and also served as a Vicar Choral at St 4 Scene 18 Zerlina: Tra quest’alberi celata 2.17 Paul's Cathedral. Hemsley made his debut in 1951 as Aeneas in Purcell's at the 5 Scene 19 Elvira: Bisogna aver corragio 4.49 , London, alongside as Dido. The pair recorded the opera for 6 Scene 20 Giovanni: Riposate, vezzose ragazze 8.59 EMI the same year. Hemsley was principal baritone at Opera (1953-1956), at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein ACT 2 (1956-1963), and the Zürich Opera (1962-1967) during which time he encompassed a repertoire 7 Scene 1 Giovanni: Eh via, buffone, non mi seccar 2.38 of some 100 major roles and became a noted interpreter of German opera. His Beckmesser in 8 Scene 2 Elvira: Ah! taci, ingiusto core 5.07 Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg impressed and he specifically 9 Scene 3 Elvira: Eccomi a voi! 1.42 recommended him to the Festival for the role in its centenary production there in 1968. He sang the role there from 1968 to 1970 and recorded it under the baton of Rafael Kubelík. 10 Giovanni: Deh! vieni alla finestra 2.03 11 Scene 4 Giovanni: V'è gente alla finestra 1.04 Hemsley was never away from Britain for so long that he was forgotten. He sang in 16 Promenade 12 Giovanni: Metà di voi qua vadano 2.49 Concerts, including three of Britten’s War . He first appeared at Glyndebourne in 1953 as in Gluck’s , and as well as his Masetto in this 1954 performance, his roles 13 Scene 5 Giovanni: Zitto... Lascia ch'io senta 0.39 included the Music Master in Strauss’s in 1957, and Dr Reichsmann in the 14 Scene 6 Masetto: Ahi! Ahi! La testa mia! 1.34 premiere of Henze’s Elegy for Young Lovers in 1961. In 1970, with the at 15 Zerlina: Vedrai, carino 3.34 1 Lucie Manén (1900-1991) author of 16 Scene 7 Leporello: Di molte faci il lume 3.09 (1987) 4 NI 7964 NI 7964 13 voice subsequently requiring total vocal rest. She was associated with the company in for 17 Scene 8 Zerlina & Masetto: Ferma, perfido; ferma 4.35 almost four decades, receiving an honorary membership of the company with the title of 18 Scene 9 Zerlina: Dunque quello sei tu che 0.18 Kammersängerin. 19 Leporello: Ah, pieta, signori miei 1.49 In 1947 Jurinac sang at Covent Garden in the season given by the , made her 20 Scene 10 Elvira: Ferma, perfido, ferma! 0.42 début at the , and shortly afterwards at La Scala. She became an integral part of 21 Ottavio: intanto 5.08 an illustrious ‘Vienna Ensemble’ including , , , , and . In England between 1951-1956 she sang the 22 Elvira: In quali eccessi, o numi 2.20 principal Mozart soprano roles at Glyndebourne, recording both the Countess in Figaro and Ilia 23 Elvira: Mi trade quell’alma ingrate 4.16 in whilst at Covent Garden her roles between 1959-1963 included Leonore in under Otto Klemperer in 1961. Her American début was in the title role of in DISC 3 60.14 San Francisco in 1959. She featured as Octavian in the film of , 1 Scene 11 Giovanni: Ah! ah! ah! questa è buona! 3.52 with Schwarzkopf as the Marschallin, conducted by . After Karajan took over as Director of the Vienna State Opera in the late 1950s he persuaded Jurinac to extend her 2 Leporello: O statua gentilissima 3.20 range to include Desdemona in Verdi’s , Leonora in and Elisabetta in 3 Scene 12 Ottavio: Calmatevi, idol mio 8.22 , the latter becaming one of her Salzburg Festival triumphs. 4 Scene 13 Giovanni: Già la mensa è preparata 4.43 Anny Schlemm (soprano) (b. 22 February, 1929). A German operatic soprano, and later 5 Scene 14 Elvira: L'ultima prova 2.42 mezzo-soprano, Anny was the daughter of Friedrich Schlemm, a chorister at the Opera, 6 Leporello: Ah, signor…per carita! 0.46 later moving to an der Saale. She studied in Berlin with Erna Westenberger, making her 7 Scene 15 Commendatore: Don Giovanni, a cenar 6.33 debut at the Halle Opera House as Nanette in Lortzing's Der Wildschütz in 1946. In 1949 she 8 Scene 16 Ensemble: Ah! dov'è il perfido? 6.04 joined the Komische Oper Berlin under Walter Felsenstein, where she remained until 1961. During this period her diverse roles included Susanna, Marenka, Donna Elvira, Desdemona, , Octavian, and . As her fame increased her appearances in Arie di Mozart - Italo Tajo, bass expanded to , , , Frankfurt, , , Dusseldorf and later at 9 Mentre ti lascio, K513 (La disfatta di Dario) 4.34 the . 10 Un bacio di mano, K541 1.49 Anny' Schlemm's repertoire was large, extending from Saffi to Zerlina from Rosalinda to the page 11 Per questa bella mano, K612 with E. Francalanci 4.08 Cherubino, from Manon to Arabella. Her large repertoire and acting ability led to guest 12 Cosi dunque tradisci…Aspri rimorsi atroci, K432 (Temistocle) 3.58 appearances in opera houses and Festivals worldwide. She sang at the Vienna State Opera, the 13 Rivolgete a lui lo sguardo, K584 (Cosi fan tutte) 4.17 in London, as well as in Amsterdam, Geneva, the Paris Opéra, , 14 Alcandro, lo confesso…Non sò d’onde viene, K512 4.36 , Moscow, and San Francisco. She also appeared at the Schwetzingen, Edinburgh and Glyndebourne Festivals. From 1978 she went every year to Bayreuth, as Mary in Wagner’s Der Orchestra Sinfonica di Torino della Radiotelevisione Italiana fliegende Holländer. Conducted by Mario Rossi Recorded in 1947 : Cetra BB 25186-88 / 2-71048-51 & 54-55 12 NI 7964 NI 7964 5 Sir Georg Solti, KBE. (21 October 1912 - 5 September 1997) Pierrette Alarie and both left for France. The renowned conductor was born György Stern in Budapest, the younger of two children of Jewish Simoneau made his debut in Paris in 1949 at the Opéra-Comique as Vincent in Gounod's opera parents, the latter fact was to have a significant Mireille, and at the Paris Opéra as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte. The following year he sang at the effect on his career development. His parents Aix-en-Provence Festival as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni and Ferrando in Così fan tutte and in thought it judicious to follow the Hungarian policy 1951 he made his debut at the Glyndebourne Festival as Idamante in Idomeneo. His performances of the time to name him and his sister in a more at these two venues marking him out as a major emerging Mozart lyric . He was invited to nationalistic manner and he became György Solt, sing at the Salzburg Festival, the Edinburgh Festival, at the Vienna State Opera and at La Scala the name being that of a Hungarian town. He in Milan, while also pursuing his career in France where he was outstanding as Nadir in Les studied the , and composition pêcheurs de perles and Gérald in Lakmé. He also sang Orphée in the French version for tenor of with Béla Bartók, Leó Weiner, Zoltán Kodály and Gluck's where he was paired with his wife. Ernő Dohnányi. These teachers set him on a Don Ottavio was his calling card with the Vienna State Opera and at the Royal Festival Hall in musical career, first as a répétiteur at the Hungarian London in 1954, both to much acclaim. This was also the role chosen for his Metropolitan debut State Opera and later at the Salzburg Festival for in New York in 1963. He had become a Mozartian regular at the Salzburg Festival, and Karajan . The Anschluss of March 1938, chose him to sing Ferrando in his renowned recording of Così Fan Tutte in 1954. He sang Wilhem by which voluntary undertook annexation Meister in Thomas's Mignon and Frederic in Delibes's Lakmé roles that benefited from his by the Nazis, and the virulent anti-Semitic laws mellifluous tone and elegant phrasing. He never ventured into heavier tenor roles albeit he sang that followed, had a profound effect on his career. Alfredo opposite Callas’s Violetta in La Traviata at the where he sang After conducting a season of Russian ballet at from 1954 until 1961. Covent Garden he found safe refuge in . There, forbidden from conducting, he earned a Sena Jurinac (soprano) (24 October 1921 - 22 November 2011). Srebrenka Jurinac was born in living as a pianist and won first prize at the 1942 Travnik, Bosnia-Herzegovina, then a constituent part of Yugoslavia, the daughter of a Croatian International Piano Competition in Geneva. father, a doctor, and a Viennese mother. Her given forename proved tricky for the Viennese public and she adopted her nickname ‘Sena’ as her professional forename. With the war finished Solti was appointed Music Director of the in Munich, a post he held between 1946-1952. He then became Music Director of the Frankfurt opera until Jurinac was a woman of striking beauty with a voice placed between soprano and mezzo, 1961. Early on he made his debut as a recording artist for the emerging Decca Record Company enabling her to sing more than one role in several during her career: Cherubino and as a pianist. They were pioneers of the new ‘stereo’ recording process, used to excellent effect in Countess (Le nozze di Figaro), Donna Anna and Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Fiordiligi and the first recording of Wagner’s Ring Cycle. With Solti on the rostrum, alongside a host of the Dorabella (Così fan Tutte), Leonore and Marzelline (Fidelio), Fyodor and Marina (Boris leading Wagnerian singers of the day, the project made world news as each opera in the cycle was Godunov) and the trio of Octavian, Sophie and the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier. released. The impact of the compete recording, (twice voted the greatest recording ever made in She made her debut as Mimi in Zagreb in 1942, and the Vienna State Opera engaged her for the polls by the UK’s Gramophone Magazine), doubtless contributed to Solti’s appointment as season in 1944. Unfortunately the bombing of the Vienna State Opera building in March 1944 musical Director of London’s Covent Garden Opera Company in 1961. He would hold the post delayed her debut (as Cherubino) until 1946. In that first year of her contract she sang no less than for ten years and conduct several major new productions including Wagner’s Ring Cycle, Der one hundred and fifty performances across a wide repertoire. It was a serious strain on her young 6 NI 7964 NI 7964 11 attending my first opera: using UV lighting and responsive make-up Mephisto’s eyes seemed to fliegende Holländer, Die Meistersinger, and , Mozart’s Le nozze di flash while he sang his ‘Serenade’. With Amy Shuard as Marguerite, and Roland Jones in the Figaro, Die Zauberflöte and Così fan Tutte as well as works by and Tchaikovsky. eponymous role I became a lifelong addict to the art form, the memory, of that night living to this There was also a notoriously fleshy production of Schoenberg’s Moses und Aron. More day in my mind’s eye and ear. surprisingly the list includes a well articulated Orfeo ed Euridice (Gluck) and an outstanding production of on 4 July 1973 which featured Shirley Verrett in the eponymous role and From 1949-1960, Hervey Alan made several appearances at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Placido Domingo as Don José. The opening night was a Royal Occasion that my wife and I were including Alidoro in Rossini's , Father Trulove in Stravinsky's The Rake's privileged to attend. Progress, Neptune in Mozart's Idomeneo, the oracle in Gluck's Alceste, Padre Guardiano in Verdi's La forza del destino, Pistol in Falstaff, Tom in , and the Police Under his musical directorship the status of the Covent Garden Company was recognised with Inspector in Der Rosenkavalier. In 1950 he made his first appearance at as the bass the grant of the title ‘’; Solti himself became a British citizen in 1972. soloist in Haydn's Die Schöpfung. He returned regularly over the next 12 years, singing in performances of Verdi's Aida (1954), Wagner's Die Walküre (1955), Coleridge-Taylor's The Between 1969-1991 Solti was music director of the Chicago Orchestra, and continued Song of Hiawatha (1956), Wagner's The Flying Dutchman (1957), Maurice Johnstone's Dover as the orchestra's music director laureate, a position he held until his death. During his time he Beach (1958), Vaughan Williams's A Sea Symphony (1959), and Berlioz's La damnation de also served as music director of the (1972-1975) and principal conductor of (1962). the London Philharmonic Orchestra (1979-1983). He was a prolific recording artist, recording some works multiple times, Don Giovanni among them. His discography runs to more than two From 1952-1963 Alan appeared frequently with the his repertoire hundred and fifty recordings including forty-five complete operas. including Federico Barbarossa in , Melchtal in , Méphistophélès in Faust, Procida in , Sparafucile in , and a much Benno Kusche (baritone) (30 January 1916 - 14 May 2010). Benno Kusche was the son of the admired portrayal of Zaccaria in Verdi's . In 1961 Alan portrayed the title role in painter Paul Kusche. From 1935-1937 he attended the theatre academy of the Baden State Handel's for London's Handel Society repeating the role at the and Theatre in Karlsruhe. He made his debuts at Coblenz and Heidelberg in 1938, moving on to the Handel Festival, Halle. One of his final opera appearances was as Farasmane in Handel's the next year. Kusche was wounded and dismissed from active service during the War, in 1962 for the Handel Society. Music critic Elizabeth Forbes wrote that his voice was and when it ended he worked first at the Kurhaus in Göggingen then at Augsburg before joining ‘dark toned, resonant’, and ‘especially effective’ as Zaccaria in Nabucco. the Bavarian State Opera, Munich, as a bass-baritone. He remained a member of that company for over thirty years. He became a Bavarian Kammersänger, carrier of the Alan retired from the opera stage in 1963, but continued to appear as a concert singer. He was a Bundesverdienstkreuzes 1st Class, and was awarded the Bavarian Order of Merit. notable singing teacher at the , and worked as a lay vicar at Westminster Abbey. Benno Kusche’s qualities as a singer and actor were equally recognised abroad. In the summer of 1951, he sang Beckmesser at Covent Garden conducted by Sir . His guest Léopold Simoneau (tenor) (3 May 1916 - 24 August 2006). In the 1950s the French-Canadian appearances took him to the opera houses of Vienna, Berlin, Stuttgart, La Scala Milan, Florence, lyric tenor Léopold Simoneau was one of the most admired singers of Mozart and . Zurich, Buenos Aires, Bregenz and . In 1971 he sang at the Metropolitan Opera in New Born in Saint-Flavien, , he studied first at Levis College in that city before moving to York. Although Beckmesser was his calling card he was widely admired as Wagner’s Alberich, to study with Salvator Issaurel, making his professional debut with Les Variétés Verdi’s Falstaff , Mozart’s Leporello, Papageno and Alfonso. He enjoyed roles in operetta and Lyriques in 1941. However, it was not until five years later that he made an impact at the New musical comedy, and featured on many such recordings. He appeared on film in ’s York City Centre as Lionel in Martha. That same year he married the French-Canadian soprano productions of , (1976) under and Der Rosenkavalier (1979).

10 NI 7964 NI 7964 7 Margaret Harshaw (soprano) (May 1909 - 7 November 1997). Margaret Hershaw was born in praised by , conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, as having ‘an to a musical family, and had her earliest singing experiences in church (much exceptionally beautiful, powerful, expansive voice’. In 1943 he was a winner of the Metropolitan later, as an alto, she would sing with the chorus of the under Leopold Opera ‘Auditions of the Air’, but was simultaneously called for active war service as an aviation Stokowski). She began formal vocal training in 1932, winning a series of vocal competitions that cadet. He served three years as a pilot in the American Air Force. led to performances in Philadelphia and Washington D.C. In April 1934 she made her professional opera debut with the Philadelphia Operatic Society as Azucena in In 1945 he made a number of professional singing appearances at Festivals and in a series of following up with other minor mezzo roles. In 1935 Harshaw won the National Federation of operas at the Centre Theatre where he continued until 1953. Having come to the Music Clubs singing competition, which gave her a $1,000 cash prize and led to her New York notice of several distinguished conductors he began singing at major venues, included Balstrode City concert debut. The following year she entered the graduate program at the in the American premiere of , conducted by . He later sang in the where she studied voice with Anna Schoen-René who in turn had been taught by the legendary US premiere of , as Mr Gedge, the vicar, and was notably contracted by Decca to , daughter of the Spanish singer and teacher Manuel García. She attributed her repeat the role of Balstrode in their recording under the composer’s direction. lack of vocal fear in any role she sang as a mezzo and later soprano to her teacher. Much of Pease’s career was based in Europe and the UK, singing a wide variety of roles including In 1942 Harshaw won the Metropolitan Opera's ‘Auditions of the Air’ making her début at the Leporello as well as the eponymous title role in Don Giovanni, Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte, the Met as the Second Norn in Götterdämmerung on 25 November, 1942, Music Master in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos, Colline in La bohème, and a particularly successful conducting. In the next nine seasons at the Met she sang mezzo-soprano roles primarily in operas Escamillo in Carmen. His repertoire included several Wagner roles including Hans Sachs in Die by Wagner and Verdi. By 1954 she had abandoned the mezzo repertoire, (with the exception of Meistersinger and King Mark in Tristan und Isolde, which he sang with . Pease Ortrud), and had effectively succeeded leading dramatic-soprano in the Wagnerian also sang various ‘’ roles including the Pirate King and . He had heroine roles of Brünnhilde, Elisabeth, Isolde, Kundry, and Sieglinde. Her only non-Wagner role returned to America early in 1967 when he died of a sudden heart attack. th during her soprano years was as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni. Her 375 , and final, appearance Hervey Alan (bass-baritone) (22 February 1910 - 12 January 1982). Hervey Alan was born in at the Met was as Ortrud on March 10, 1964 alongside as , and Leonie Whitstable and first studied engineering before taking voice lessons in London with Percival Rysanek as Elsa, with conducting. Driver, Mabel Kelly, and the baritone . During his career Alan sang leading roles Harshaw sang in twenty-two consecutive seasons at The Met, (a record at that time) but she also with most of Great Britain's major opera institutions, including the Edinburgh Festival, the appeared at other North and South American theatres as well as major European houses including Glyndebourne Festival, the Royal Opera House, Sadler's Wells Opera, and Welsh National Opera. the Opéra National de Paris, and Covent Garden from 1953–1956. Following retirement she Perhaps his proudest achievement was creating the role of Mr. Redburn in the world premiere of became a distinguished Professor of voice at Indiana University, where she taught until 1993. In 's at the Royal Opera House, London, on 1 December 1951. 1989 Harshaw was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Music from Westminster College. Hervey Alan began his professional life as a recitalist. He made the move to opera in 1947, James Pease (bass-baritone) (9 January 1916 - 26 April 1967). A leading American bass- becoming a resident artist at the Sadler's Wells Opera where he remained until 1952. His operatic baritone James Pease starred with the for a decade and appeared with other repertoire exhibited a wide diversity that became his hallmark. Among the many roles he leading opera companies in the US and Europe. Born in Indiana he graduated in law in 1939 and undertook for Sadler's Wells were Alfio in Mascagni's , Colline in Puccini's won a scholarship at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia where he studied for two years. La bohème, the Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Don Basilio in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia, He made his professional debut with the Philadelphia Opera Company as Méphistophélès in the Grand Inquisitor in Verdi's Don Carlos, and Zuniga in Bizet's Carmen. His singing and acting Faust, and sang many other roles with the company in both Philadelphia and in Boston. He was as Méphistophélès in Gounod’s Faust in 1950 made a major impact on my fourteen year old self, 8 NI 7964 NI 7964 9 NI 7964 7964 NI NI 7964 7964 NI NI 7964 Don Giovanni

Benno Kusche, Margaret Harshaw, James Pease, Hervey Alan Léopold Simoneau, Sena Jurinac, Anny Schlemm, Thomas Hemsley DON GIO DON GIO The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The Glyndebourne Festival Chorus conducted by Georg Solti Complete performance Broadcast live from Glyndebourne 17 July 1954 VANNI VANNI DISC ONE DISC THREE Arie di Mozart - Italo Tajo, bass 23.42 1 Overture 9 Mentre ti lascio, K513 4.34 2 - 21 Act 1 Scenes 1-15 62.23 10 Un bacio di mano, K541 1.49 11 Per questa bella mano, K612 with E. Francalanci 4.08 DISC TWO 12 Cosi dunque tradisci…Aspri rimorsi atroci, K432 3.58 1 - 6 Act 1 Scenes 16-20 13 Rivolgete a lui lo sguardo, K584 4.17 7 - 23 Act 2 Scenes 1-10 67.06 14 Alcandro, lo confesso…Non sò d’onde viene, K512 4.36

PRIMA VOCE PRIMA VOCE DISC THREE 1 - 8 Act 2 Scenes 11-16 36.19 Orchestra Sinfonica di Torino della Radiotelevisione Italiana conducted by Mario Rossi Don Giovanni playing time Recorded in 1947 : Cetra BB 25186-88 / 2-71048-51 & 54-55 2 hours 46 minutes

Transfer by Norman White Made in the UK by Nimbus Records c & © 2017 Wyastone Estate Limited ADD www.wyastone.co.uk