John Dickie (singer)

John Dickie (born September 5, 1953 in London , † January 6, 2010 in Baden near Vienna ) was a British opera and operetta singer ( tenor ) and Austrian chamber singer .

Life

John Dickie was born as the son of the singer couple Murray Dickie (born April 3, 1924 in Bishoptown , Renfrewshire , Scotland , † June 19, 1995 in Cape Town , South Africa ) and Maureen Springer-Dickie (1928-1976) in London. He grew up in Vienna and, above all, in Baden near Vienna , where he graduated from the Bundesrealgymnasium in 1972 and where he was a member of the Baden Chamber Choir.

Dickie completed a three-year vocal training course at the Vienna University of Music , then a two-year course at the Vienna Conservatory . His teachers included the well-known soprano Hilde Zadek . He made his debut at the Vienna Volksoper in 1977 in the role of First Priest in Mozart's opera Die Zauberflöte . In 1978 he was part of the premiere cast of the ballet opera Prussian fairy tale by Boris Blacher .

Dickie then began a career in Germany as a lyrical tenor with permanent engagements at the Wuppertal Opera House (1979–1982) and at the Mannheim National Theater (1982–1985). In the 1980/81 season he sang the “Schwerenöter” Georges Duménil at the Wuppertal Opera House in a new production of the operetta Der Opernball (premiere: December 1980); he made “a good figure” and “vocally shine”. In the summer of 1981 he sang the role of Ali in the comic Haydn opera L'incontro improvviso (English title: The unexpected gathering , also: Unverhofft in Cairo ) in the courtyard of the Count's Palace in Hohenems , with Adele Haas (Dardane) as a partner . In the 1981/82 season he jumped in at the Staatstheater Kassel in the B premiere of the new production of Rossini's opera The Barber of Seville ; he used "his extremely beautiful lyrical tenor with captivating virtuosity". From 1985 he was the so-called “First Lyric Tenor” ensemble member at the Hamburg State Opera . In the 1985/86 season he took over Kudrjasch in the new production of the Katja Kabanowa opera in Hamburg (premiere: November 1985, director: Peter Ustinov ); he sang this role when production was resumed in January 1987. In addition, in the 1985/86 season he sang Master Kunz Vogelgesang in various repertoire performances of Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg . In June 1986 he sang the role of Wagner in Arrigo Boito's opera Mefistofele in several concert performances in the Hamburg Music Hall .

In October 1983 Dickie made his debut at the Vienna State Opera in the role of Conte Almaviva in Gioacchino Rossini's comic opera The Barber of Seville . In the 1987/88 season Dickie became a permanent member of the Vienna State Opera. There he sang the role of buffalo tenor and play tenor, but was also regularly used as house tenor in the lyric tenor subject. His lyrical roles at the State Opera included Tamino in Die Zauberflöte (May / June 2004), Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail (in March 1992; in a recapitulation in the 1991/92 season, in his role debut as "beautiful voice, lyrical hero who was well liked ”), Ferrando in Così fan tutte (1984–1985) and Narraboth in Salome (1999–2004). He also took over Eisenstein in the operetta Die Fledermaus several times in 2004 and 2005 on New Year's Eve and New Year . In the buffo category he sang Monostatos (in 37 performances between 2000 and 2005), Valzacchi in Der Rosenkavalier (March 2004), the helmsman in Der Fliegende Holländer (2003-2004) and the four servant roles in Hoffmann's stories (2003). In May 1995 he performed at the Vienna State Opera as Don Fabrizio in the world premiere of the opera Gesualdo by Alfred Schnittke . Dickie devoted himself intensively to the interpretation of works of classical modernism. In 2000 he sang in Vienna in the oratorio Die Jakobsleiter by Arnold Schönberg , in 2001/02 he sang Red Whiskers in the new production of the opera Billy Budd by Benjamin Britten . In the 2006/07 season he took over the role of Graf Elemer in a new production of the opera Arabella at the Vienna State Opera in a production by Sven-Eric Bechtolf .

Since the 1987/88 season, Dickie was under the direction of Eberhard Waechter , who brought Dickie back to Vienna permanently, and at the same time a permanent member of the Vienna Volksoper, where he also appeared in the lyric field and was often cast as an operetta tenor . At the Volksoper, Dickie sang Fenton in Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor , Ferrando in Così fan tutte , Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni (including in the 1992/93 season), Caramello in One Night in Venice and also Eisenstein, who was among his belonged to special shiny roles. In the 1988/89 season he took over the role of Wilhelm Meister in a new production of the opera Mignon (premiere: October 1988, director: Robert Herzl ). In the 1990/91 season he was a member of the Vienna Volksoper as Count Tassilo in a new production of the Kálmán operetta Countess Mariza . In the 1991/92 season he was the “reliable” Count Stanislaus at the Vienna Volksoper, “albeit with not very easy heights” in a new production of the operetta The Bird Trader . At the Volksoper, Dickie appeared in 1998 as padre in the musical Der Mann von la Mancha . There, in 2007, Dickie expanded his role spectrum with the youthful heroic tenor role of Mathias Freudhofer in Wilhelm Kienzl's opera Der Evangelimann , and with this role also celebrated his 30th stage anniversary.

Dickie appeared in a total of 987 performances at the Vienna State Opera and Volksoper: in 86 different roles, 81 different works and 28 premieres.

In 1981 Dickie made his debut at the Bregenz Festival as Tamino in the acclaimed production by Jérôme Savary . In 1982 Arturo followed in Lucia di Lammermoor . In 1984, Dickie then sang Count Stanislaus in Carl Zeller's operetta The Bird Dealer on the floating stage in Bregenz . From Germany he was a very successful guest at the Vienna Volksoper, including in 1984 as Lyonel in the opera Martha von Friedrich von Flotow . In February 1986 Dickie was a soloist at an operetta concert with the Munich Radio Orchestra , together with his Viennese colleague Ulrike Steinsky . In the 1993/94 season he appeared at the Landestheater Linz as Hans in the opera The Bartered Bride . In the spring of 1994 he appeared at the New Israeli Opera in Tel-Aviv as Eisenstein in the operetta Die Fledermaus under the musical direction of Theodor Guschlbauer . In 1998 he sang Lieutenant Niki in the operetta Ein Walzertraum by Oscar Straus at the Lower Austrian Operetta Summer at Haindorf Castle in Langenlois .

John Dickie grave site

Dickie also appeared at the Salzburg Festival . There he sang Sebas in the opera Der König Kandaules by Alexander Zemlinsky in 2002 . In 2004 he was the steward of the Feldmarschallin in Richard Strauss ' opera Der Rosenkavalier .

In 2006 he successfully performed as Stewa in the opera Jenůfa by Leoš Janáček at the Prague State Opera .

He has also given guest appearances at the Deutsche Oper Berlin , the Covent Garden Opera in London , the Grand Opéra in Paris , the Grand Théâtre de Genève and the Deutsche Oper am Rhein .

The voice of John Dickie is documented by several sound recordings on records, CDs and radio recordings. The Naxos label released two complete recordings with John Dickie (Ferrando in Così fan tutte and Eisenstein in the operetta Die Fledermaus ).

John Dickie died in Baden near Vienna after a long and serious illness. The album Debts Paid was released posthumously in 2012 with eight songs that Dickie himself wrote and recorded with his brother David shortly before his death.

honors and awards

On June 3, 2008, John Dickie was awarded the professional title of chamber singer in recognition of his artistic merits and his more than 25 years work at the Vienna State Opera .

literature

• Karl-Josef Kutsch , Leo Riemens : Large singer lexicon . Third, expanded edition. Munich 1999. Volume 2: Davislim – Hiolski , ISBN 3-598-11419-2 , p. 894.

Web links

• Works by and about John Dickie in the catalog of the German National Library
• John Dickie in the Internet Movie Database (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Elizabeth Forbes: Obituaries: Murray Dickie . In: independent.co.uk . (English). June 29, 1995, accessed September 3, 2012
2. ↑ Habsburgerstrasse 40. Address online. Retrieved on April 29, 2016 (see: (For Murray Dickie): Deutsches Bühnen-Jahrbuch. Spielzeit 1979/80 . Volume 88.1979 / 80, ZDB -ID 1232-4 . Druck und Kommissionsverlag FA Günther & Sohn, Hamburg 1979, p. 468). 
3. ^ Bundesgymnasium and Bundesrealgymnasium, Baden, Lower Austria, Biondekgasse (ed.): Annual report on the school year 1971/72. 109th year of existence . Volume 109. 1972, ZDB ID 2192914-2 . Baden 1972.
4. ^ Alfred Willander: Baden near Vienna - City of Music . Kral, Berndorf 2007, ISBN 3-902447-23-0 , p. 80. - Table of contents (PDF) .
5. ^ Tenor John Dickie has died ( Memento from January 14, 2010 in the Internet Archive ). On: oe1.orf.at, January 7, 2010, accessed September 3, 2012.
6. ^ Herbert Prikopa : The Vienna Volksoper. The story of a necessary theater. For the hundredth birthday in December 1998 . Ibera-Verlag, Vienna 1999. ISBN 3-900436-67-3 , p. 201.
7. ↑ Günter Peter: THE OPERA BALL . Performance review. In: Orpheus . Edition March 1981. Page 212/213.
8. ↑ Geerd Heinsen: BREGENZ FESTSPIELE . Performance review. In: Orpheus . Issue 9/10. September / October 1981. p. 782
9. ↑ Michael Arndt: THE BARBER OF SEVILLE . Performance review. In: Orpheus . Edition January 1, 1982. pp. 37/38
10. ↑ Orpheus . Issue No. 5/1984, ISSN  0932-6111 . Artist news, p. 392
11. ^ Peter Dusek: Conductor problems . Performance reviews. In: Orpheus . Edition June 6, 1992, p. 58.
12. ↑ List of roles by John Dickie in: Andreas Láng: Chronik der Wiener Staatsoper 1945 to 2005. Performances, casts, list of artists . Löcker, Vienna 2006, ISBN 3-85409-449-3 , p. 367/368.
13. ↑ Marianne Zelger-Vogt: "Suffering and joy and pain and forgiveness" . (Performance review). In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung online , December 13, 2006, accessed on March 8, 2019.
14. ^ Wilhelm Sinkovicz : Remembering John Dickie. Only a house in which a tenor like him is simply “there” is a world-class house . In: diepresse.com , January 11, 2010, accessed on September 3, 2012.
15. ↑ Michael Blees: Boredom Instead of Poetry . Performance review. In: Orpheus . Issue 11, November 1988, p. 880.
16. ↑ Michael Blees: Unkind compulsory exercise . Performance review. In: Orpheus . Issue 3, March 1992, p. 45
17. ↑ Michael Blees: Shoemaker, stick to your last . Performance review. In: Orpheus . Issue 8, August 1991, p. 54
18. ↑ Christoph Wagner-Trenkwitz , Felix Brachetka (collaborator): "It is so green ...". Musical at the Vienna Volksoper . Amalthea, Vienna 2007, ISBN 978-3-85002-632-1 , p. 166.
19. ↑ Wilhelm Kienzl: Der Evangelimann ( Memento of the original from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Cast details and press reviews on Elisabeth Kulman's homepage . 
20. ↑ John Dickie died at the age of 56 . In: Der Standard , January 7, 2010, accessed on September 3, 2012.
21. ^ Vita John Dickie MOZART: Tenor Arias , text accompanying the CD at Naxos
22. ^ Horst Koegler: Opera Review - Donnizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor ( Memento of January 18, 2004 in the Internet Archive ). (Performance review, English). The Metropolitan Opera Guild, 1982, accessed September 3, 2012.
23. ↑ Orpheus . Issue No. 5/1984, ISSN  0932-6111 . Cast of the Bregenz Festival 1984, p. 378
24. ↑ Orpheus . Issue No. 6/1984, ISSN  0932-6111 . Performance review Flottes Glück , p. 459: “It is no exaggeration to describe Lyonel JOHN DICKIE as the star of the evening. With his radiant and sure-footed tenor, Dickie once again drew attention to himself as one of the great young hopes of the lyric field. "
25. ^ Circle of Friends of the Münchner Rundfunkorchester e. V. . Concert program for the 1985–1986 season
26. ↑ Peter Gradenwitz: Jump over the shadow of the Philharmonic. The "New Israeli Opera" on the way to their own house . In: Opera world . Edition September 1994. Pages 34/35.
27. ↑ Archive. (...) 1998: "A Waltz Dream" by Oscar Strauss . On: Operettensommer.at, accessed on August 2, 2013.
28. ↑ ALEXANDER ZEMLINSKY • THE KING KANDAULES
29. ↑ RICHARD STRAUSS • THE ROSENKAVALIER. Homepage of the Salzburg Festival, accessed on April 26, 2016 . 
30. ↑ CESKY VERISMO - Jenufa, State Opera, May 16, 2006 . Performance review. (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; Retrieved April 29, 2016 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  
31. ↑ John Dickie's legacy  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Niederösterreichische Nachrichten ; accessed on March 31, 2013  
32. ↑ John Dickie appointed Austrian Chamber Singer . Klassik.com from June 6, 2008.