Description

ALEXANDER SVED (BUDAPEST, MAY 29, 1906 – VIENNA, JANUARY 9, 1979)

 

 

 

 

His real name was Sándor Svéd. Initially, he studied violin at the Budapest Conservatory before switching to singing, training first with Fritz Feinhals in Berlin, then with Mario Sammarco, and finally with Riccardo Stracciari in Milan. He made his operatic debut at the Budapest National Opera in 1930 as Count di Luna in Trovatore.

In 1931, he made his first guest appearances in Vienna, performing as Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana and as Tonio in Pagliacci. In 1935, he was engaged by Felix von Weingartner to the Vienna State Opera, where he remained until 1939. During this period, he sang in the 1935 premiere of Franz Salmhofer’s opera Die Dame im Traum.

From 1936 to 1938, he made guest appearances at Covent Garden in London and at the Salzburg Festival. At Salzburg, he performed solos in Brahms’s German Requiem and Liszt’s Christus in 1936, and appeared as Lysiart in Euryanthe (1937) and as Wolfram in Tannhäuser (1938).

In 1938, he also performed at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and on Italian radio EIAR in productions of L’Arlesiana and La Favorita. That same year, he debuted at Teatro alla Scala in Milan as Guglielmo Tell in Rossini’s Guglielmo Tell. In Italy, he was known as Alessandro de Sved and was a regular guest at the Munich State Opera.

In 1940, he joined the Metropolitan Opera in New York, making his debut as Renato in Un Ballo in Maschera. Over eight seasons, he performed twelve roles in a total of 60 performances, including Scarpia in Tosca, Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana, Escamillo in Carmen, and Amonasro in Aida.

In 1955, he undertook a concert tour through North America, and in 1958, he made guest appearances at the Vienna Volksoper.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

1. Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner) Was duftet doch der Flieder BB 25205 2-71088 Cetra, Milano 1947
2. Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner) Wahn! Wahn!, pt 1 pt 2 BB 25198, BB 25198, 2-71081, 2-71082, Cetra, Torino 1947-07-03
3. Otello (Verdi) Credo in un Dio crudel BB 25192 2-71063 Cetra, Milano 1947
4. Otello (Verdi) Era la notte BB 25192 2-71060 Cetra, Milano 1947
5. Rigoletto (Verdi) Che è mai… Lassù in cielo (w. Pagliughi & Mirto) BB25202, BB25202, 2-71072BC, 2-71073BC Cetra, Torino 1947-07-01
6. Rigoletto (Verdi) Figlia! mio padre! (w. Pagliughi) (date) BB25199, 2-72072 Cetra, Torino 1947-07-01
7. Rigoletto (Verdi) Già da tre lune… Alla chiesa… Ah, veglia o donna (w. Pagliughi) 2-71077, 2-71078, Cetra, Torino 1947-07-02
8. Rigoletto (Verdi) Solo per me l’infamia… Sì, vendetta (w. Pagliughi & Gallo) BB25201, BB25201, 2-71079BC, 2-71080BC Cetra, Torino 1947-07-02
9. Tannhäuser (Wagner) O du mein holder Abendstern BB-2063 2-71089 Cetra, Torino 1947-07-06
10. Tosca (Puccini) Già mi dicon venal BB 25211 2-71087 Cetra, Torino 1947-07-06