Richard Van Allan

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Richard Van Allan , also Richard van Allan (born May 28, 1935 in Clipstone , Nottinghamshire , † December 4, 2008 in London , actually Alan Philip Jones ) was a British opera singer ( bass ) who worked for over 40 years on all the major opera stages in England .

Life

Richard Van Allan was born the son of a Middle English miner. After leaving school without a degree, he first attended a police school and completed his military service in Germany. After gaining his first artistic experience as a choir singer and through his participation in musical school performances, he finally studied at the Birmingham School of Music from 1959 to 1964.

In 1964 he became a member of the Glyndebourne Festival Choir . Glyndebourne he made his debut in 1966 as a soloist in The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as a second priest and 2nd Armored. In 1969 he became a member of the English National Opera (ENO).

In 1971 he made his debut at the Covent Garden Opera as Mandarin in Turandot by Giacomo Puccini . Here he first sang smaller roles, e.g. B. Angelotti in Tosca , Dottore Grenvil in La Traviata , and Zuniga in Carmen , later he took over his brilliant roles there Don Alfonso, Leporello and Figaro in the Mozart / Da Ponte operas.

In 1987 he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera with the role of Comte des Grieux in Manon by Jules Massenet , where he also sang Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte in 1990 . In 1994 he took on the title role in Don Quixote by Massenet at the English National Opera with great success . In 1999 he sang Micha in The Bartered Bride in Glyndebourne .

Richard Van Allan was last on stage in 2006: at the Glyndebourne Festival, he took on the comic speaking role of the bailiff Frosch in the operetta Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss (son) . His last appearance was Richard Van Allan finally in September 2006 as Hans Foltz in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg by Richard Wagner at the Edinburgh Festival .

From 1986 to 2001 he was head of the opera studio of the English National Opera. In 2001 he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

In 2006 Richard Van Allan was diagnosed with lung cancer . In December 2008 he died in London.

repertoire

Richard Van Allan became internationally known for his interpretation of roles in operas by Mozart. He mastered a wide range of repertoire, ranging from serious bass roles to comics; it included u. a. Parts like Zaccaria in Nabucco , Padre Guardiano in La forza del destino , King Philip in Don Carlos and Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier . His role as Pooh-Bah in the operetta Der Mikado , 1987 a. a. together with Eric Idle .

Richard Van Allan has taken on many minor Comprimario roles over the course of his career . He gave each of these roles a distinctive profile. Through his intense character portraits and his enormous stage presence, he repeatedly proved that there were no supporting roles on stage for him.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Orpheus , Issue No. 11 + F / 1999, performance review by Jeffrey Alexander, p. 61
  2. ^ The Mastersingers of Nuremberg Edinburgh Festival 2006
personal data
SURNAME Van Allan, Richard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES van Allan, Richard; Jones, Alan Philip (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British opera singer (bass)
DATE OF BIRTH May 28, 1935
PLACE OF BIRTH Clipstone , Nottinghamshire
DATE OF DEATH December 4, 2008
Place of death London