Episode 342. Norman Bailey Revisited
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The British bass-baritone Norman Bailey (23 March 1933 – 15 September 2021) was one of the premier Wagner singers of his generation, appearing in his signature roles (Hans Sachs, the Dutchman, and Wotan, among others) at the most prestigious festival and with the most distinguished opera companies around the world. He was also celebrated for his Verdi and Strauss portrayals and was an skillful, intuitive, and communicative recitalist. In this refurbished bonus episode, he is heard in operatic scenes by all three of those composers, and additionally as a big-voiced miniaturist in songs by Peter Warlock, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Hugo Wolf. “Guest stars” in the operatic excerpts (from Walküre, Macbeth, Holländer, Salome, Falstaff, Die Liebe der Danae, and The Mastersingers of Nuremberg) include Galina Vishnevskaya, Margaret Curphey, Carol Neblett, Arlene Saunders, and Montserrat Caballé, conducted by Otto Klemperer, Julius Rudel, Alexander Gibson, Anton Guadagno, Reginald Goodall, and Charles Mackerras.
RECORDINGS HEARD IN THIS EPISODE
Peter Warlock, Robert Louis Stevenson: To the Memory of a Great Singer. Norman Bailey, Geoffrey Parsons [1977]
Peter Warlock, Thomas Ford: There is a lady sweet and kind. Norman Bailey, Geoffrey Parsons [1977]
Peter Warlock, Hilaire Belloc: My Own Country. Norman Bailey, Geoffrey Parsons [1977]
Ralph Vaughan Williams, William Barnes: Linden Lea. Norman Bailey, Geoffrey Parsons [1977]
Hugo Wolf, Eduard Mörike: Gebet. Norman Bailey, John Constable [1979]
Sigmund Romberg, Dorothy Donnelly: Golden Days (The Student Prince). Norman Bailey, John Owen Edwards, Philharmonia Orchestra [1989]
Giuseppe Verdi, Arrigo Boito [English version by Eric Crozier and Joan Cross]: Am I dreaming; can this be true [È sogno? O realtà?] (Falstaff). Norman Bailey, Geraint Evans, James Lockhart, English Chamber Orchestra [1972 film]
Giuseppe Verdi, Francesco Maria Piave, Andrea Maffei [after William Shakespeare]: Sappia la sposa mia… Mi si affaccia un pugnal!… Fatal mia donna!… Il pugnal là riportate… Vieni altrove! (Macbeth). Norman Bailey, Galina Vishnevskaya, Alexander Gibson, Scottish Opera Orchestra [live Edinburgh 14.IX.76]
Giuseppe Verdi, Francesco Maria Piave, Andrea Maffeo: Perfidi!… Pietà, rispetta, amore… Mal per me (Macbeth). Norman Bailey, Neil Shicoff, Robin Leggate, Robin Stapleton, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ambrosian Singers [1977 television film]
Richard Strauss, Hedwig Lachmann [after Oscar Wilde]: Wo ist er, dessen Sündenbecher jetzt voll ist? [Salome – Jokanaan Scene] (Salome). Norman Bailey, Montserrat Caballé, Wiesław Ochman, Julius Rudel, Barcelona Symphony Orchestra [live Madrid 17 May 1979]
Richard Strauss, Josef Gregor [after Hugo von Hofmannsthal]: Es segne dir’s der größte der Götter (Die Liebe der Danae). Norman Bailey, Arlene Saunders, Charles Mackerras, BBC Symphony Orchestra [live 20.IV.80]
Richard Wagner [English version by Frederick Jameson, revised by Norman Feasey and Gordon Kember]: Good evening, Master [Gut’n Abend, Meister] (The Mastersingers of Nuremberg). Norman Bailey, Margaret Curphey, Ann Robson, Reginald Goodall, Orchestra of the Sadler’s Wells Opera [live London 18.IX.68]
Richard Wagner: Wirst du des Vaters Wahl nicht schelten (Der fliegende Holländer). Norman Bailey, Carol Neblett, William Wildermann, Anton Guadagno, Orchestra of the Connecticut Opera [live Hartford, 12.03.76]
Richard Wagner: Loge, her! (Die Walküre). Norman Bailey, Otto Klemperer, New Philharmonia Orchestra [1973]
