Jess Thomas
This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2022) |
Jess Thomas | |
---|---|
Born | Jess Floyd Thomas August 4, 1927 Hot Springs, South Dakota, United States |
Died | October 11, 1993 Tiburon, California, United States | (aged 66)
Occupation | Opera singer |
Known for | Wagnerian opera |
Jess Thomas (August 4, 1927 – October 11, 1993) was an American operatic tenor, best known for singing Wagner compositions.
Biography
This section needs additional citations for verification. (February 2022) |
Jess Floyd Thomas was born in
Thomas died in Tiburon, California in 1993, aged 66.[citation needed]
Operatic career
Thomas made his operatic debut in 1957 for the San Francisco Opera, performing in Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier as the Haushofmeister. In 1958, he debuted in the title role of Richard Wagner's Lohengrin for the Karlsruhe Staatstheater at the commencement of a career in Germany.
It was at Bayreuth that he established his reputation as a Wagnerian tenor, performing in the following roles and operas:
- Parsifal 1961–63, 1965
- Lohengrin 1962, 1967
- Siegmund in Die Walküre (Bayreuth Festival on Tour in Osaka) 1967
- Walther in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg 1963, 1969
- Tannhäuser 1966–67
- Siegfried 1969, 1976
In 1963, Thomas joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera and went on to sing 109 performances of fifteen roles with the company, including all the major tenor roles of Wagner's work.
In 1970, at the 12th Annual Grammy Awards, Thomas won a Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording for his performance of Wagner's Siegfried, with the Berlin Philharmonic.[5]
On December 9, 1981, San Francisco Opera general director Kurt Herbert Adler called Thomas an hour before a performance of Die Walküre. Heldentenor James King had lost his voice, and Adler asked Thomas if he would like to sing the role in an hour. "But I haven't even shaved yet", Thomas said. Though he hadn't looked at the score in years, Thomas performed the role at the age of 54, relying on a memory of the role, with some prompting. The next day, headlines proclaimed Thomas's eleventh-hour rescue for Die Walküre.[6][7] Thomas's farewell performance took place in the title role of Parsifal with the Metropolitan Opera in 1982, while it was on tour in Washington, D.C.[citation needed]
In 1997, on request of Thomas's widow, Violeta Thomas, the Austrian sculptor Hortensia Fussy made a portrait of Jess Thomas, showing him as Siegfried with his sword. The sculpture was donated to the Austrian Theatre Museum in 2002.[8]
References
- ISBN 978-0-8225-4070-0.
- ^ Forbes, Elizabeth (October 16, 1993). "Orbituary: Jess Thomas". The Independent (UK).
- ^ "Classical Music Dance and Guide". New York Times. October 11, 2002. Retrieved June 9, 2009.
- ^ "When did the new Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center open?". The Metropolitan Opera FAQ. Retrieved August 3, 2006.
- ^ "Grammy Awards 1970". awardsandshows.com. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
- ^ "No Time to Shave". LA Times. Retrieved June 9, 2009.
- ^ "My First Walkure". The Berkeley Daily Planet. Retrieved June 9, 2009.
- ^ "Report about the exhibition "My father promised me no sword - heroic tenor Jess Thomas in Vienna". Wiener Zeitung. Retrieved May 24, 2002.