Mallory Walker
Mallory Elton Walker (May 22, 1935 — December 7, 2014) was an American
Life and career
Born in New Orleans, Walker earned a Bachelor of Music degree from
In 1960 Walker entered the Metropolitan Opera Studio, the
In 1963-1964 Walker was a resident artist at the
In 1978 Walker made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1978, as Captain Vere in Billy Budd.[1] He returned to the SFO in 1979 for performances in Death in Venice, La fanciulla del West, and Gianni Schicchi.[4] In the early 1980s his career hit a slump as he began to experience vocal difficulties. He took work anywhere he could get, including singing in opera choruses and as a church soloist.[1] He attracted attention again at the Mostly Mozart Festival in 1984 when he replaced an ailing Jerry Hadley in the title role of Mozart's Idomeneo. Walker had been a member of the opera chorus and stepped in with less than a day's notice to very positive reviews in The New York Times.[3] In 1985 he portrayed Kabuki in the world premiere of Minoru Miki's Joruri at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. After this his performances with major companies were infrequent, although he remained active as a concert soloist, chorus singer and church singer until his death in Anaheim, California, in 2014 at the age of 79.[1]
Some of the other roles Walker performed on stage during his career included Alfredo in La traviata, Alwa in Lulu, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Fenton in Verdi's Falstaff, Nadir in Les pêcheurs de perles, Rodolfo in La bohème, and the title role in Albert Herring.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Obituary: Mallory Elton Walker". Opera News. 79 (10). April 2015.
- ^ a b "Mallory Walker". Operissimo (in German). Retrieved June 30, 2015.
- ^ a b Will Crutchfield (August 23, 1984). "Spotlight Is Familiar to Idomeneo Rescuer". The New York Times.
- ^ "Mallory Walker". San Francisco Opera Performance Archives. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
