Theo Adam (born 1 August 1926) is a distinguished German classical bass-baritone who had an active international career in operas, concerts, and recitals from the 1940s through the 1990s. He particularly excelled in portraying roles from the operas of Richard Wagner. On the concert stage, he was a much admired Bach singer and also drew acclaim for his interpretation of the title character of Felix Mendelssohn's Elijah.
Biography
Born in
Dresden, Adam sang with the
Dresden Kreuzchor as a boy. He studied singing with Rudolf Dietrich between 1946 and 1949. He made his professional opera debut in his native ctiy as the Hermit in
Der Freischütz at the
Semperoper in 1949. In 1952 he joined the roster of singers at the
Berlin State Opera. That same year he made his first appearance at the
Bayreuth Festival in a small role. He returned annually to Bayreuth for many years, taking on the role of Heinrich der Vogler in
Lohengrin in 1954, Titurel (and one of the Gralsritter) in
Parsifal in the same year, Fasolt in
Das Rheingold in 1958, and Wotan in
Der Ring des Nibelungen in 1963. He eventually added Amfortas in
Parsifal, Hans Sachs and Veit Pogner in
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and the title role in
The Flying Dutchman to his Bayreuth performance credits.
Adam made his début at the Royal Opera, London as Wotan in 1967. He made his first appearance at the Salzburg Festival as Ochs in Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier in 1969, returning there three years later to sing the title role in Alban Berg's Wozzeck. At the Theater an der Wien he portrayed Pizarro in Ludwig van Beethoven's Fidelio in a 1970 production celebrating the composer's 200th birthday. He also portrayed the title role in a new production of Don Giovanni at the Vienna State Opera in 1972.
At the Metropolitan Opera, the bass-baritone debuted as Hans Sachs on 7 February 1969 with Pilar Lorengar as Eva, John Alexander as Walther von Stolzing, and Joseph Rosenstock conducting. That same year he sang in performances of Der Ring des Nibelungen (as Wotan), opposite Birgit Nilsson, Régine Crespin, Lili Chookasian, and Jon Vickers, conducted and directed by Herbert von Karajan. He returned to the Met in 1972 to sing Hans Sachs and Wotan again with a similar cast that now also included Gwyneth Jones. After a sixteen year absence, Adam returned to the Met for the last time in March 1988 to portray Wotan in Die Walküre with Peter Hofmann as Siegmund, Sabine Hass as Sieglinde, and conductor James Levine.
Adam appeared in a number of world premieres during his career. He notably created the title roles in Paul Dessau's Einstein (1974, Berlin) and Friedrich Cerha's Baal (1981, Salzburg) and the role of Prospero in Luciano Berio's Un re in ascolto (1984, Salzburg). In 1979, the artist was named a Kammersänger.
Adam's discography includes Così fan tutte (1969), Fidelio (1969 and 1979), Der fliegende Holländer (with Anja Silja, conducted by Otto Klemperer, 1968), Der Freischütz (1973 and 1985), Hänsel und Gretel (1970), Leonore (with Edda Moser and Richard Cassilly, 1976), Die Meistersinger (conducted by von Karajan, 1970), Parsifal (as Amfortas, opposite René Kollo, 1975), Der Ring des Nibelungen (conducted by Karl Böhm, 1966–67; and by Marek Janowski, 1980–1983), Tannhäuser (1968–69), Wozzeck (1974), and Die Zauberflöte (as Sarastro, 1968; elsewhere as the Sprecher). Also notable is the recording of the premiere of Berio's Un re in ascolto (with Karan Armstrong, led by Lorin Maazel, 1984). His non-operatic recordings include the Angel Raphel in Haydn's Die Schöpfung, Bach's Christmas Oratorio, and the Mozart/Süssmayr Requiem.
On DVD is found Adam's 1968 Hamburg film of Fidelio, with Richard Cassilly, Anja Silja, and Lucia Popp.
Adam has written two books about his life, career, and perspective on opera, Seht, hier ist Tinte, Feder, Papier …: Aus der Werkstatt eines Sängers (Berlin, 1980) and Die hundertste Rolle, oder, Ich mache einen neuen Adam (Munich, 1987).
References
Hamilton, David. (1987). The Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia: A Comprehensive Guide to the World of Opera. New York, London, Toronto, Sydney, Tokyo: Simon and Schuster. p. 12. ISBN 0-671-61732-X.
Rosenthal, Harold and John Warrack. (1979, 2nd ed.). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera. London, New York and Melbourne: Oxford University Press. p. 2. ISBN 0-19-311318-X.
Sadie, Stanley and Christina Bashford. (1992). The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd. Vol. 1, p. 16. ISBN 0-935859-92-6.
Sadie, Stanley and John Tyrrell. (2001). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd. Vol. 1, p. 134. ISBN 0-333-60800-3.
Warrack, John and Ewan West. (1996 3rd ed.). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 2. ISBN 0-19-280028-0.
External links
Biography (Bach Cantatas)
Biography (Universal Music Classics Group (on-line music store))
Discography (Capon's Lists of Opera Recordings)
MetOpera database
Theo Adam at the Bayreuth Festival
Category:1926 births
Category:Operatic bass-baritones
Category:German male singers
Category:German opera singers
Category:Living people
Category:People from Dresden