Description

JAMES JOHNSTON (BELFAST, 11 AUGUST, 1903 – BELFAST, 17 OCTOBER, 1991)

 

 

 

 

He worked as a butcher and sang in a church choir as a boy, performing in concerts as an amateur. Despite his evident talent, his father forbade him from pursuing a singing career. For over twenty years, he worked in his parents’ butcher shop, performing in male quartets and occasionally as a soloist in oratorios. During this time, he received vocal training from John Vine, an organist in Belfast.

His unexpected operatic debut came in 1940 at the Dublin Opera, where he performed as the Duke of Mantua in Verdi’s Rigoletto. He continued singing in Dublin until 1945 while still managing the butcher shop. Following this, he performed in various English theaters, including Edinburgh, Glasgow, and London, often appearing with touring opera companies.

From 1945 to 1951, he sang a wide range of roles at the Sadler’s Wells Opera in London. His debut role was Hans in Smetana’s The Bartered Bride, and his repertoire included Rodolfo in La Bohème, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Cavaradossi in Tosca, Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana, Canio in Pagliacci, Manrico in Il Trovatore, Faust in Gounod’s Faust, Don José in Carmen, Radames in Aida, Hoffmann in The Tales of Hoffmann, and Alfredo in La Traviata. In 1950, he also sang the title role in Vaughan Williams’s Hugh the Drover. Notably, in 1948, he participated in the English premiere of Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra at Sadler’s Wells, performing as Gabriele Adorno.

From 1949 to 1958, he performed at Covent Garden Opera in London, debuting as Alfredo in La Traviata alongside Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. In 1949, he created the role of Hector in the world premiere of Arthur Bliss’s The Olympians. At the Glyndebourne Festival in 1952, he sang Macduff in Verdi’s Macbeth.

After retiring from the stage in 1958, he returned to Belfast and resumed work in his butcher shop. Known for his powerful and clear tenor voice, he excelled in roles from the Italian and French repertoires, often in the lyric-dramatic range. In addition to his operatic career, he was also an accomplished concert singer, performing regularly before and during his time on stage.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

1. Faust (Gounod) All hail, thou dwelling lowly DX 1455 CAX 9881 Columbia
2. Aida (Verdi) Celeste Aida CAX 11040 Columbia
3. Bohème (Puccini) Your tiny hand is frozen DX 1455 CAX 9882 Columbia
4. Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni) You here, Santuzza? DX 1548 CAX10255 Columbia
5. Pagliacci (Leoncavallo) On with the Motley DX 1548 CAX 10256 Columbia
6. Trovatore (Verdi) Ah! yes, thou’rt mine DX 1539 CAX 10254 Columbia
7. Carmen (Bizet) See here, thy flow’ret treasur’d well DX 1539 CAX 10289 Columbia
8. Simon Boccanegra (Verdi) Oh Horror!… In pity hear me now DX 1506 CAX 10290 Columbia
9. Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner) Morning was glowing DX 1506 CAX 10291 Columbia
10. Madama Butterfly (Puccini) Ah, love me a little (w. Gartside) CAX 9883, CAX 9884 Columbia
11. Ireland, Mother Ireland (O’Reilly-Loughborough) DB 2627 CA 21287 Columbia
12. Star of the county down (arr. Hughes-Words, MacGarvey) DB 2627 CA 21290 Columbia
13. Hugh the drover (Williams) Song of the road DX 1648 CAX 10847 Columbia
14. Merrie England (German) English rose DX1668 Columbia