Herbert Witherspoon

Herbert Witherspoon (born July 21, 1873 in Buffalo , † May 10, 1935 in New York City ) was an American singer ( bass ), vocal teacher and theater manager.

Live and act

Witherspoon studied composition with Horatio Parker and singing with Gustav Stoeckel at Yale University . After graduating in 1895 he was a student of Edward MacDowell in Herbert, Jacques Bouhy in Paris, Henry J. Wood in London and Giovanni Battista Lamperti in Berlin. In 1898 he made his New York debut with Savage's Castle Square Opera Company as Ramfis in Aida , ten years later as Titurel in Parsifal at the Metropolitan Opera . There he was engaged as a bass player until 1916 and sang roles such as Sarastro, König Marke, Pogner and Gurnemanz.

In 1922 he founded the American Academy of Teachers of Singing , whose first president he became. From 1925 he was president of the Chicago Musical College , from 1931 of the Cincinnati Conservatotry of Music . In 1933 he returned to New York and in 1935 succeeded Giulio Gatti-Casazza as general manager of the Metropolitan Opera. However, he succumbed to a heart attack a few weeks after starting his job. Witherspoon authored two singing textbooks: Singing: A Treatise for Teachers and Students (New York, 1925) and 36 Lessons in Singing for Teacher and Student (Chicago, 1930).

literature

William Kenneth Dooley, "The Life and Work of Herbert Witherspoon (1873-1935)," Louisiana Tech University, 1974.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Witherspoon, Herbert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American singer, vocal teacher, and theater manager
DATE OF BIRTH	July 21, 1873
PLACE OF BIRTH	Buffalo
DATE OF DEATH	May 10, 1935
Place of death	New York City