Charles Holland (singer)

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Charles Holland (born December 27, 1909 in Norfolk , Virginia , † November 7, 1987 in Amsterdam ) was an American singer ( tenor ).

Live and act

Charles Holland, a brother of jazz trumpeter Peanuts Holland , took singing lessons at the age of 14 and began his career as a singer in the United States. In the 1930s he sang in the jazz orchestras of Benny Carter and Fletcher Henderson (1934, heard in "Harlem Madness", Victor 21699), appeared in musical theaters and toured with the Hall Johnson Choir; for 13 weeks he had his own radio show on NBC . He moved to Los Angeles, where he continued to take lessons, and in the following years had roles in Marc Connelly's drama Green Pastures and in the film Hullabaloo (1941). Eventually he shifted musically to classical music, appearing in Virgil Thomson's Four Saints in Three Acts , in Run Little Chillun ' by Hall Johnson and Marc Blitzstein's Airborne Symphony (1945). On the occasion of his recital debut in New York City's Town Hall in 1940, Ross Parmenter praised him in The New York Times (a refined and delicate artist with a light voice which was sweet and true) .

However, since Holland's opportunities to succeed as an African American in the field of classical music were limited, he moved to Europe in 1949 and - after a short stay in Sweden - settled in Paris. He made his debut in 1954 at the Palais Garnier in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte and appeared in 1955 at the Salle Favart in the role of Nadir in Georges Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perles . He also sang on French radio and television, appeared in London in Verdi's Otello and made guest appearances in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Canada in opera roles and recitals. In 1969 Holland first worked in the Netherlands. His comeback on the American music scene was made possible when he met Dennis Russell Davies in 1975 . He then toured with Davies for several years from 1977 and recorded records with his orchestra. The aria O Souverain (from El Cid) by Massenet , performed by him at a concert in California in 1977, inspired Laurie Anderson to write her song O Superman. In 1981 he had a successful concert appearance in New York City. In 1982 he made his Carnegie Hall debut ; In 1983 he recorded an album with Spirituals , My Lord What a Mornin ' , and the following year he made another guest appearance in New York.

Discographic notes

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Darryl Glenn Nettles: African American Concert Singers Before 1950 . P. 79
  2. ↑ Jean Gourret: Nouveau Dictionnaire des chanteurs de l'Opéra de Paris. you 17ème siècle à nos jours
  3. ^ The New York Times November 10, 1987
personal data
SURNAME Holland, Charles
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American singer (tenor)
DATE OF BIRTH December 27, 1909
PLACE OF BIRTH Norfolk , Virginia , United States
DATE OF DEATH November 7, 1987
Place of death Amsterdam , Netherlands