Norman Bailey (singer)

Norman Stanley Bailey (born March 23, 1933 in Birmingham ) is a British opera singer with the bass-baritone voice .

Life

Bailey's family emigrated to South Africa and Southern Rhodesia , where he studied at Rhodes University . Originally he wanted to become a theologian, but through his participation in the church choir one discovered the potential of his voice. He began his vocal training in Grahamstown and then continued it in Vienna at the Music Academy with Adolf Vogel and Julius Patzak , as well as in Germany. He made his debut in 1959 at the Vienna Chamber Opera in the role of Tobias Mill in Rossini's La cambiale di matrimonio . From 1960 to 1963 he was under contract at the Landestheater Linz , where he mainly worked in the Italian subject. After a year in Wuppertal , Bailey had an engagement at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein until 1967. That year he performed for the first time at La Scala in Milan , where he sang Hans Sachs ( Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg ) in 1968 .

At the English National Opera in London, Bailey appeared in leading roles such as Figaro or Wotan ( Ring cycle ) from 1967 , and later also at the Covent Garden Opera . At the Bayreuth Festival in 1969 and 1970 he sang again Hans Sachs and Amfortas ( Parsifal ). This was followed by appearances in New York, Munich, Hamburg, Vienna, Glasgow and at the Bregenz Festival, among others, until the end of the 1990s . Bailey also had success as a concert and lieder singer. He moved to Bedford and married Kristine Ciesinski (* 1952 † 2018) for the second time . In 1977 he was appointed Commander of the British Empire .

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Karl-Josef Kutsch , Leo Riemens : Large singing dictionary. Volume 4, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 2004, ISBN 978-3-598-44088-5 , pp. 208f.
2. ↑ ^{a b} Laura Williams Macy: The Grove Book of Opera Singers. Oxford University Press, London 2008, ISBN 978-0-19-533765-5 , p. 24.

Web links

• Norman Bailey at Allmusic (English)
• Interview with Norman Bailey