Carlos Alexander

Carlos Alexander (October 15, 1915 – September 4, 1991)[1][2] was a dramatic baritone[3] and stage director of opera, best known as a singing-actor in German repertoire.

Biography

Born in Utica, New York, he debuted as a singer in Scranton, Pennsylvania, as the Conte di Luna in Il trovatore, in 1940. As director, his first production was of Die Fledermaus, for the Pittsburgh Opera, in 1944.[4]

Alexander sang with companies in Latin and North America and Europe, including Bayreuth (Sixtus Beckmesser in Wieland Wagner's Die Meistersinger, 1963 and 1964). Operas in which he appeared include Lulu, Il prigioniero, Moses und Aron, Der fliegende Holländer, Lohengrin, Parsifal (as Amfortas), Der Ring des Nibelungen (as Wotan), and Tristan und Isolde.[4]

In 1947, the baritone appeared in Ariadne auf Naxos (as the Major-Domo) and Salome (as Jochanaan) at the New York City Opera.[5]

His 1950 performance, at Carnegie Hall, of Mahler's Eighth Symphony, under Leopold Stokowski, was recorded. In 1968, he portrayed Dr Schön in the Stuttgart film of Wieland's production of Lulu, opposite Anja Silja.

At the Vienna Staatsoper, Alexander appeared in Arabella (1959 and 1965), Salome (1959), Prince Igor (1960), Götterdämmerung (as Gunther, 1960), Der fliegende Holländer (1964), Lohengrin (as Friedrich von Telramund, 1967), Die Zauberflöte (as the Sprecher, 1967), Prometheus (the name part, 1969), and Penderecki's Die Teufel von Loudon (as Urbain Grandier, 1973).

As director, Alexander's productions were seen in Toronto, Stuttgart, Chicago, New Orleans (Les contes d'Hoffmann, 1947), Pittsburgh, and Santa Fe. His stagings included Fidelio, The Rape of Lucretia, Madama Butterfly, Salome, and Der fliegende Holländer.

Of the Kammersänger's Wotan, Wieland Wagner declared that, "No vocal giant has moved me so deeply in Wotan's Farewell as Alexander."[6]

gollark: Which is ironic given that it was originally designed to not do much.
gollark: The federal government does a lot, so I think there's decent consistency in *laws*.
gollark: I already said that. You are reusing my jokes. CEASE.
gollark: No, it's obviously Rankine.
gollark: I have been to America in the past, I think, when I was very young, but it seems bee in some ways so I *may* not go again.

References
  1. "CARLOS ALEXANDER". bayreuther-festspiele.de. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  2. "Mocavo and Findmypast are coming together | findmypast.com". www.mocavo.com. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  3. Inc., Nielsen Business Media (1968-05-04). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 46–. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
  4. Rich, Maria F. (1976-01-01). Who's who in Opera: An International Biographical Directory of Singers, Conductors, Directors, Designers, and Administrators, Also Including Profiles of 101 Opera Companies. Ayer Company Publishers, Incorporated. pp. 5–6. ISBN 9780405066528.
  5. Sokol, Martin L. (1981-01-01). The New York City Opera: an American adventure. Macmillan Publishing Company, Incorporated. pp. 40–44. ISBN 9780026122801.
  6. Skelton, Geoffrey (1971-07-01). Wieland Wagner: the positive sceptic. Gollancz/St Martin's Press. p. 174.
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