Alan hero

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Alan Held (born 1959 in Washburn , Illinois ) is an American opera singer with a bass-baritone voice . He sings especially Wagner and Strauss parts.

life and work

Alan Held studied singing at Millikin University and Wichita State University . He has appeared at all major opera houses - including the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, the Opéra National de Paris , the La Scala in Milan , the Bavarian State Opera in Munich and the Vienna State Opera , as well as in Amsterdam and Barcelona , Brussels, Chicago, Madrid, Montreal, San Francisco, Tokyo, Toronto and Washington.

The singer attaches great importance to careful rehearsal of his roles and therefore does not have a very large repertoire. He is particularly valued for his Wagner interpretations, including the title role in Fliegende Holländer , Kurwenal, Amfortas, Hans Sachs and in - Ring des Nibelungen - Donner, Wotan, Wanderer and Gunther. He was seen and heard very often around the world in two Richard Strauss roles - as Jochanaan in Salome and as Orestes in Elektra . Other important roles are Don Pizarro and Wassermann, Balstrode in Peter Grimes , the four villains in Les contes d'Hoffmann , Scarpia and the title roles in Gianni Schicchi , Wozzeck and Cardillac .

Held is also a sought-after concert singer and has sung with a number of well-known orchestras - including the Berlin Philharmonic , the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra . He has made guest appearances at the BBC Proms in London, the Salzburg Festival and the Tanglewood Festival . His concert repertoire ranges from the bass solo in Beethoven's Ninth to Schönberg's A Survivor from Warsaw .

He has been giving master classes since 2002 and has been teaching singing at Wichita State University since 2014.

Roles (selection)

Beethoven :

Mountain :

Britten :

Dvořák :

Hindemith :

Humperdinck :

Janáček :

Mozart :

Offenbach :

 

Pfitzner :

Poulenc :

Puccini :

Richard Strauss :

Wagner :

Weber :

Recordings

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Hero, Alan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American opera singer with a bass-baritone voice
DATE OF BIRTH 1959
PLACE OF BIRTH Washburn , Illinois