Description

RAMÓN VINAY (CHILLÁN, CHILE, AUGUST 31, 1911 – MEXICO, JANUARY 4, 1996)

 

 

 

 

His father was French and his mother Italian. He received his early education in France at the Lycée Gassendi in Digne and then rejoined his family, who had meanwhile settled in Mexico. He studied in Mexico City under José Pierson, though he remained largely self-taught as a singer.

In 1938, he made his baritone debut with a touring opera company in Mexico City as Count Luna in Il Trovatore. He later appeared as Amonasro in Aida, Alfonso in La Favorita, Rigoletto, and the Sacristan in Tosca. For six years he worked in Mexico as a baritone, but after further study with René Maison in New York, he made his tenor debut in 1943 singing Don José in Carmen, first in Mexico City and then at the New York City Centre Opera.

From 1945 to 1946, and again in 1948, he was engaged at this opera house, where he sang Samson in Saint-Saëns’s Samson et Dalila and again Don José; he was also heard as Cavaradossi in Puccini’s Tosca and Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut. In 1944, he sang his first Otello at the Mexico City Opera. This became his great signature role, which he performed more than 250 times during his career, including a 1947 NBC broadcast and a recording under Arturo Toscanini.

In 1947, he made his first European appearance in Turin. His Otello brought him sensational success at La Scala in Milan in the 1947–48 season. In 1948, he performed the same role at the Verona Arena Festival. In 1951, he was acclaimed as Otello at the Salzburg Festival under Wilhelm Furtwängler.

From 1946 to 1961, he was a member of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, making his debut as Don José in Carmen. Over 16 seasons he appeared in 121 performances and sang 14 roles. His greatest successes there included Otello, Radamès in Aida, Canio in Pagliacci, Samson, Herod in Strauss’s Salome, and roles from Tristan und Isolde. In 1966, he returned to the baritone repertory at the Met for a single performance as Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia.

He also appeared as a guest artist at the Vienna State Opera; the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (in 1950 with the La Scala ensemble as Otello, and from 1953 to 1960 in Wagnerian roles); the Paris Opera (in 1958 as Otello and Herod); the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires; and in Chicago and San Francisco. In 1950, he sang his first Wagner role—Tristan—at the San Francisco Opera.

From 1952 to 1953 he was acclaimed as Tristan at the Bayreuth Festival; in 1954 he sang Tannhäuser; in 1953 and from 1955 to 1957 he sang Parsifal; and in 1953 and from 1955 to 1957 he appeared as Siegmund. In 1962, he sang the baritone role of Telramund in Lohengrin at Bayreuth. Alongside his heldentenor repertory, he retained part of his earlier baritone roles and gradually returned entirely to the baritone range toward the end of his career. His major roles then included Iago in Otello, the title role in Falstaff, and Scarpia in Tosca.

In 1969, he took his final bow at the Santiago Opera in Chile as Iago in Otello. Until 1972, he worked as an opera director, including a brief tenure as director of the Santiago Opera.

He was married to the soprano Mobley Lushanya, a Chickasaw Indian princess from Oklahoma. She received her training in the United States and in Italy with the renowned coloratura Luisa Tetrazzini. She made her debut in Trieste in 1938 as Butterfly and subsequently appeared in Turin and Florence. She later returned to the United States, where she sang with various opera companies and, among other roles, performed Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana at the City Centre Opera in New York in 1944. Also in 1944, she sang Tosca in Mexico City, where she met the celebrated tenor who would become her husband.

He possessed a large, dark-toned baritone voice that, after retraining, developed into an expressive heldentenor instrument of great range, suited to the Italian, French, and Wagnerian repertoires. He was also highly esteemed on stage as an actor of exceptional power.

Recordings include Otello under Toscanini (RCA) and releases on Columbia. On Melodram, a recording of a 1954 Bayreuth Tannhäuser performance appeared. On Cetra, he is heard in Bayreuth recordings of Parsifal (1956), Die Walküre (1957), and Tristan und Isolde (1952), as well as as Herod in Strauss’s Salome. On Foyer, he sang Siegmund in Die Walküre (Bayreuth, 1953), and on Eklipse, Don José in Carmen (1945). On Philips, he recorded the baritone role of Telramund in the 1962 Bayreuth Lohengrin.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

Carmen (Bizet): Séguedille et duo (w. Swarthout) 11-9318 D6-RC-5896-2 RCA-Victor, New York 1946-05-22

Carmen (Bizet): La fleur 11-9320 D6-RC-5900-2 RCA-Victor, New York 1946-05-22

Carmen (Bizet): La fleur 11-9320 D6-RC-5900-2 RCA-Victor, New York 1946-05-22

Carmen (Bizet): C’est toi? C’est moi! (w. Swarthout) 11-9322 D6-RC-5904-2

Carmen (Bizet): Mais moi, Carmen, je t’aime encore! (w. Swarthout & chorus) 11-9322 D6-RC-5905-1 RCA-Victor, New York 1946-05-22

Tosca (Puccini): Perchè chiuso? (w. Quartararo) 12-0531, DB6857 D7-RC-8088-1 RCA-Victor, New York 1947-12-09

Tosca (Puccini): La vedi? Ti ama? (w. Quartararo) 12-0531, DB6857 D7-RC-8089-1 RCA-Victor, New York 1947-12-09

Carmen (Bizet): Parle-moi de ma mère, pt 1 (w. Quartararo) 12-0687, DB21062 D7-RC-8090-1 RCA-Victor, New York 1947-12-09

Otello (Verdi): Tu? Indietro! Fuggi! (w. Guarrera) (73009-D) xCo46534-1 Columbia, New York 1951-06-18

Otello (Verdi): Sì, pel ciel (w. Guarrera) (73009-D) xCo46535-1 Columbia, New York 1951-06-18

Otello (Verdi): Dio! Mi potevi scagliar (73150-D) xCo46536-1 Columbia, New York 1951-06-18

Otello (Verdi): Niun mi tema (73150-D) xCo46537-1 Columbia, New York 1951-06-18