Richard Van Allan
Richard Van Allan ( born May 28, 1935 in Clipstone, Nottinghamshire; † December 4, 2008 in London, actually Alan Philip Jones ) was a British opera singer (bass ), who worked in all the major opera houses of England more than 40 years.
Life and artistic work
Richard Van Allan was born the son of a Middle English miner. After leaving school with no qualifications, he first attended a police academy and completed his military service in Germany. After gaining first artistic experiences as a chorister and through his involvement in musical student performances, he eventually studied from 1959-1964 at the Birmingham School of Music.
In 1964 he became a member of the Festival Choir of Glyndebourne. In Glyndebourne he made his debut in 1966 as soloist in The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as a 2nd priest and 2nd Armoured. In 1969, he was first a member of the English National Opera (ENO ).
In 1971, he made his debut at Covent Garden as the Mandarin in Turandot by Giacomo Puccini. Here he sang first minor roles, such as Angelotti in Tosca, Dottore Grenvil in La Traviata, and Zuniga in Carmen, later, he became his best roles of Don Alfonso, Leporello and Figaro in the Mozart / Da Ponte operas.
In 1987, his debut at the Metropolitan Opera with the role of the Comte des Grieux in Manon by Jules Massenet, where he sang Don Alfonso in 1990, the Così fan tutte. In 1994 he took over at the English National Opera with great success in the title role in Don Quichotte by Massenet. In 1999, he sang at Glyndebourne Micha in The Bartered Bride.
In 2006, Richard Van Allan was last on stage at the festival at Glyndebourne he took over the comic voice of the usher frog in the operetta Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss ( son). His last appearance was Richard Van Allan finally in September 2006 when Hans Foltz in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg by Richard Wagner at the Edinburgh Festival.
From 1986 to 2001 he was Director of the Opera Studio at the English National Opera. In 2001 he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire ( CBE).
In 2006, Richard Van Allan, a lung disease had been found. In December 2008, he died in London his suffering.
Repertoire
Richard Van Allan was known especially for his interpretation of roles in operas by Mozart internationally. He mastered a broad repertoire that ranged from serious bass rolls down to the comic trade; it comprised, inter alia, Zaccaria in Nabucco roles such as, Padre Guardiano forza del destino La, King Philip in Don Carlos and Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier. Moreover, The Mikado, 1987 is known is his role as Pooh- Bah in the operetta, inter alia, together with Eric Idle.
Richard Van Allan took over many smaller Comprimario roles throughout his career. Each of these roles, he gave a distinctive profile. Through its intensive character portraits and his enormous stage presence, he proved again and again that there was no supporting roles on the stage for him.