| James King |
|
213
|
James King
|
Birth name: |
James King |
|
Born: |
May 22, 1925 |
|
Origin: |
Dodge City, Kansas |
|
Years active: |
|
|
Labels: |
|
|
Facebook: Twitter: Website: |
|
213
Phoots comi...
James King was widely regarded as the finest American Heldentenor of the post-war period.
Born in Dodge City, Kansas, King studied music at Louisiana State University and earned a master's degree in 1952 from Kansas City University. He started singing as a baritone, and noticed in 1955 that his range was more that of a tenor. He retrained himself as a tenor and won the American Opera Auditions in Cincinnati in 1961. He made his debut as Don Jose in Bizet's Carmen with the San Francisco Opera. He sang the French and Italian repertoire with the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 1962 to 1965 and worldwide at most of the major opera houses, being a particular favorite at the Vienna State Opera, where he last appeared as Florestan in "Fidelio" in 1997.
He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1966. He sang at all the major opera houses in Europe and America and recorded extensively. One of his most famous recordings, however, was not in opera, but rather that of Gustav Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde, recorded with Leonard Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. His baritone partner in that recording was the renowned German singer, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.
He was married 3 times and had five children, and was married at the time of his passing to the former Elizabeth Lively.
He taught at Indiana University from 1984 to 2003.
Born in Dodge City, Kansas, King studied music at Louisiana State University and earned a master's degree in 1952 from Kansas City University. He started singing as a baritone, and noticed in 1955 that his range was more that of a tenor. He retrained himself as a tenor and won the American Opera Auditions in Cincinnati in 1961. He made his debut as Don Jose in Bizet's Carmen with the San Francisco Opera. He sang the French and Italian repertoire with the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 1962 to 1965 and worldwide at most of the major opera houses, being a particular favorite at the Vienna State Opera, where he last appeared as Florestan in "Fidelio" in 1997.
He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1966. He sang at all the major opera houses in Europe and America and recorded extensively. One of his most famous recordings, however, was not in opera, but rather that of Gustav Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde, recorded with Leonard Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. His baritone partner in that recording was the renowned German singer, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.
He was married 3 times and had five children, and was married at the time of his passing to the former Elizabeth Lively.
He taught at Indiana University from 1984 to 2003.
| profile-videos |