Jean Cox

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Jean Cox (born January 16, 1922 in Gadsden , Alabama , † June 24, 2012 in Bayreuth ) was an American - German opera singer ( tenor ).

Life

Education and early years

Cox was born in Gadsden, a provincial town in the southern United States. His parents, Kell and Nell Clark Cox, encouraged Cox's vocal talent at an early age. During the Second World War he served as a pilot in the US Air Force . After the war he studied singing, first with William Steven at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa , where he graduated with a Bachelor of Music . Further advanced studies then followed with Marie Sundelius at the New England Conservatory in Boston . After two years of study, Cox passed his concert exam as an opera singer with a Master of Arts degree with distinction.

In 1951 he made his stage debut as an opera singer at the New England Opera in Boston as the poet Lenski in the opera Eugene Onegin . He received a Fulbright scholarship to study in Rome with Luigi Ricci , the singing teacher of Beniamino Gigli . In 1954 he sang the role of the poet Rodolfo in La Bohème at the Spoleto Festival . Cox stayed in Europe where he began his career at various opera houses. Privately, he studied in Munich with Max Lorenz .

He had his first engagement in the 1954/1955 season at the Kiel Theater . Cox was engaged there as a "lyric tenor". In the provinces he sang many lyrical and youthful-dramatic roles, including the title role in Xerxes , Cavaradossi in Tosca , Stewa in Jenůfa , Matteo in Arabella and Lyonel in Martha . Another engagement followed at the Braunschweig State Theater (1955–1959); there he sang the title roles in Lohengrin and Otello for the first time .

National Theater Mannheim

In 1959 he was engaged at the National Theater in Mannheim . There he was a permanent member of the ensemble for over 40 years. In the 1993/1994 season, Cox was still a permanent member of the ensemble; Cox was last listed among the ensemble members in the 1995/1996 season. Cox made his debut at the Nationaltheater Mannheim in 1959 as Alfredo in La traviata . In the course of his career, Cox sang almost the entire tenor subject in Mannheim, from lyrical roles to difficult tenor subjects. In Mannheim, Cox developed continuously, starting from the Italian subject, to become a hero tenor . At the Nationaltheater Mannheim he sang roles like Rodolfo, Herzog in Rigoletto , Radames in Aida , Kalaf in Turandot , Max in Der Freischütz , the title role in Othello and Florestan in Fidelio . The main focus of his repertoire, however, were the great Wagner roles. In 1977 the city of Mannheim named Cox Mannheim Chamber Singer ; he was the first Mannheim chamber singer ever. Later in his career, which lasted a long time, Cox made the change to the character subject. In 1989 he sang Captain Vere in Billy Budd at the Mannheim National Theater . In 1996, at the age of 74, he finally took leave of the stage with the role of Aegisth in Elektra at the Nationaltheater Mannheim.

Work in Bayreuth

In 1956 he appeared for the first time at the Bayreuth Festival ; he sang the helmsman in the opera The Flying Dutchman . From 1967 to 1975 he was a permanent member of the Bayreuth Festival. He sang the following roles there: Lohengrin (1967, 1968), Walther von Stolzing in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1968–1970, 1974, 1975), the title role in Parsifal (1968, 1973), Erik in Der Fliegende Holländer (1969), in particular, however, Siegfried (his brilliant role) in Der Ring des Nibelungen (every year 1970–1975). In later years Cox could be heard several times in Bayreuth as a substitute, for example in 1978 as Siegfried in Siegfried , 1983 as Siegfried in Götterdämmerung and again in 1984 as Walther von Stolzing. Often times, Cox turned out to be a last-minute savior, otherwise performances would have had to be canceled.

Guest performances

In 1961 he was a guest at the Bregenz Festival (title role in the opera Fra Diavolo and in the operetta Die Trauminsel by Robert Stolz ) and also at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos in Lisbon ; there he sang the pylade in the opera Iphigénie en Tauride .

Cox sang regularly at the Vienna State Opera between 1963 and 1977 . He made his debut there in October 1963 as Bacchus in Ariadne on Naxos . He appeared in over 70 performances, including as Bacchus, as Apollo in Daphne , as Turiddu in Cavalleria rusticana , as Stewa, as Sergej in Lady Macbeth of Mzensk and in the title role of Hoffmann's Tales ; He also took on numerous Wagner roles there: Erik, Lohengrin, Stolzing, Parsifal, Siegmund in Die Walküre , Siegfried and Tristan in Tristan and Isolde .

He also sang at the Vienna Volksoper (December 1963 as Carlo Moor in Die Räuber ; there also in operetta roles such as Sándor Barinkay in Der Zigeunerbaron ), at the Hamburg State Opera (regularly between 1958 and 1973), at the Lyric Opera in Chicago (1964, 1970 and 1973 as Bacchus, Siegfried and Erik), at the Festival in Aix-en-Provence (1966 as Bacchus), at the Bavarian State Opera (1967, title role in Rienzi ; 1969 as Siegfried), at the Grand Opéra Paris (1971 and 1972 as Siegmund), at Covent Garden Opera in London (1975; debut as Siegfried), at La Scala in Milan (1975 as Siegfried) and at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City (April 1976; inaugural role Walther von Stolzing).

Private

Cox was married to Mary Presley Cox for the first time. From this marriage there were three children. His second marriage was to the opera singer Anna Reynolds . He spent his twilight years in a small village near Bayreuth. There he worked, together with his wife Anna Reynolds, as a singing teacher. He died in Bayreuth at the age of 90.

Repertoire and voice

Cox mastered an extensive tenor repertoire that comprised a total of over 75 roles. Cox sang both the Italian subject and the hero tenor subject. His other roles included Alvaro in La forza del destino , Hermann in Queen of Spades , Herod in Salome , Prince in Rusalka and Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg in the opera Mathis der Maler .

Cox sang all Wagner roles, including Siegfried, Tristan and Tannhauser, and can therefore be described as a "real" hero tenor. His voice had a "radiant, metallic timbre, with tremendous luminosity and lyrical melting". Compared to Jess Thomas and James King , Cox had the brightest tenor voice of these three Wagner tenors.

Cox had a sympathetic, impressive, also visually appealing and thoroughly charismatic stage appearance. He impressed with his shiny appearance. He was considered a great performer with good acting skills.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Jean Cox - Bayreuth's celebrated Siegfried is dead Obituary in: DIE WELT from June 25, 2012
  2. ↑ a b c Jean Cox - Fervor in the Heart. Tamino classic form ; Posted on August 27, 2009.
  3. ^ Opera 1993. Yearbook of Opernwelt magazine . Documentation, p. 124.
  4. ^ Opera 1995. Yearbook of Opernwelt magazine . Documentation, p. 130.
  5. ↑ 1876 ​​BAYREUTH 1991 (original publication of the Bayreuth Festival; with documentation of the line-up of the Bayreuth Festival 1951–1990).
  6. ↑ List of roles by Jean Cox in: Chronik der Wiener Staatsoper 1945–2005. Löcker Verlag, Vienna 2006, ISBN 3-85409-449-3 , p. 352.
  7. ^ A b c Walter Herrmann / Adrian Hollaender: Legends and Stars of the Opera. Leykam Verlag, Graz 2007, ISBN 978-3-7011-7571-0 , p. 109 ff.
personal data
SURNAME Cox, Jean
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American-German opera singer (tenor)
DATE OF BIRTH January 16, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH Gadsden , Alabama
DATE OF DEATH June 24, 2012
Place of death Bayreuth