Description

NORMAN CORDON (WASHINGTON, D.C., 20 JANUARY, 1904 – CHAPEL HILL, 1 MARCH, 1964)

 

 

 

 

As a boy, he sang in a church choir and later worked as an entertainer for radio stations in Chicago, Cincinnati, and Nashville. He then trained his voice at the Nashville Conservatory and with Hadley Outland in Chicago. He first sang with the San Carlo Opera Company, where he made his debut as the King in Aida.

In 1933, he appeared as Scarpia in Tosca at the Chicago Opera, remaining there until 1935. He subsequently sang at the opera houses of Detroit, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Toronto, and in 1936 was engaged by the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where he made his debut as Monterone in Rigoletto.

Although he possessed one of the finest bass-baritone voices of his generation in the United States, he was cast at the Metropolitan Opera almost exclusively in medium-sized and smaller roles: the King in Aida, Colline in La Bohème, the Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Fafner in the Ring Cycle, and similar parts. Only occasionally did he take on the major roles of his voice type there. He also participated in the 1942 world premiere of Menotti’s opera The Island God at the Metropolitan Opera.

He remained a member of the Metropolitan until 1946, singing 35 roles in 335 performances at its New York venue. At other opera houses, however, he performed his major roles: Hunding in Die Walküre, the Wanderer in Siegfried, Pogner in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Mephisto in Gounod’s Faust, Lothario in Thomas’s Mignon, Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Ramfis in Aida, and Pimen in Boris Godunov.

He made guest appearances in San Francisco (1936–39) and in Cincinnati, among other cities, and also enjoyed great success as a concert and oratorio bass.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

Normon Cordon Sings Kipling Songs And Oratorio Arias

Label: RCA Camden – CAL-269

Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation, Reissue, Mono

Country: US

Genre: Classical

Style: Opera

Kipling Songs

A1 On The Road To Mandalay

A2 Danny Deever

A3 Gunga Din

A4 Fuzzy Wuzzy

A5 Boots

Oratorio Arias

B1 The Messiah: Why Do The Nations

Composed By – Georg Friedrich Händel

B2 The Creation: Now Heaven In Fullest Glory Shone

Composed By – Joseph Haydn

B3 St. Matthew Passion: Give Me Back My Lord

Composed By – Johann Sebastian Bach

B4 St Paul: O God, Have Mercy Upon Me

Composed By – Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy

B5 Elijah: Lord God Of Abraham

Composed By – Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy

B6 Elijah: it is enough

Composed By – Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy