German Opera singer Theo Adam dead at 92

[jserraglio]

https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2019/0 ... -adam.html

German Opera Singer Theo Adam Dies at 92
By The Associated Press
Jan. 11, 2019

BERLIN — Theo Adam, a German opera singer renowned for his Wagner roles, has died. He was 92.

German news agency dpa quoted Adam's family Friday confirming that the bass-baritone died Thursday at a care home in his hometown of Dresden.

Adam made his debut at the Staatsoper Dresden in 1949 before joining East Germany's Berlin State Opera in 1952.

Adam appeared regularly at the Bayreuth Festival, where he starred in "Lohengrin," ''Parsifal," ''Die Meistersinger" and other works by Richard Wagner.

His guest appearances included Covent Garden in London, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Vienna State Opera and the Vienna State Opera.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTS_oXY2PG4

[Lance]

Fortunately, Theo Adam left a lot on discs, some of Wagner operas. One disc I particularly enjoyed was non-opera: Lieder of Carl Loewe and Franz Schubert on Berlin Classics [3044] with Rudolf Dunckel, pianist, a CD I've had since year 2000!

[Lance]

Doing some recording research on Theo Adam, whom I may present a radio tribute to, has some interesting recordings out there. For Berlin Classics [0120 043] he sings duets with tenor Peter Schreier … Smetana, Gounod, Bizet [famous Pearl Fishers duet], Verdi, Mozart, and Lortzing, all with the Staaskapelle Dresden under Otmar Suitner. For the same label he has done an all-Mozart opera excerpts CD. Is there anything specific that comes to mind from vocal fans that I should be considering, outside of Wagner and Mozart?

[Lance]

Any thoughts on this CMGers … with regard to select repertoire sung by Herr Adam?

[John F]

I'm afraid not. Adam's voice, light and dry, put me off, and while I heard him in several Wagner performances, there were no special insights in them that I could hear.

[maestrob]

Has anyone else noticed that this thread has garnered 30% more hits than Yehudi Menuhin? Yikes!

[lennygoran]

Has anyone else noticed that this thread has garnered 30% more hits than Yehudi Menuhin? Yikes!

Brian hadn't noticed that but why shouldn't it-after all it's opera! Regards, Len [fleeing and hiding at same time!]

[John F]

Has anyone else noticed that this thread has garnered 30% more hits than Yehudi Menuhin? Yikes!

I wouldn't have guessed that but I'm not surprised. Opera singers get more talk than concert artists, and Adam was active until recently while Menuhin died 19 years ago. What does surprise me is the number of hits in both threads - 850 for Menuhin and nearly 1100 for Adam in just a month. Wow!

[jserraglio]

I wouldn't have guessed that but I'm not surprised. Opera singers get more talk than concert artists, and Adam was active until recently while Menuhin died 19 years ago. What does surprise me is the number of hits in both threads - 850 for Menuhin and nearly 1100 for Adam in just a month. Wow!

Lurkers lie thick on the ground here. Active participants, not so many these days.

[John F]

There might well be more if the focus was on letting people in rather than keeping them out.

[jserraglio]

There might well be more if the focus was on letting people in rather than keeping them out.

To say nothing of the thing that now keeps Adam out.

[THEHORN]

One of Adam's best recordings is his vivid portrayal of the cantankerous Sir Morosus in "Die Schweigsame Frau by Richard Strauss , a sadly underrated opera which deserves to be performed more often , on the EMI recording conducted by Marek Janowski with the Staatskapelle, Dresden . This is the only studio recording of the opera so far as far as I know, and unlike the several live recordings , is uncut .