Donald Grobe
Encyclopedia
Donald Roth Grobe was an American lyric tenor
who sang at the Deutsche Oper Berlin
during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s.
He made his début in Chicago, in 1952, as Borsa in Rigoletto
. He sang at his first Salzburg Festival
in 1962. He joined the Deutsche Oper in 1960, and sang there until his death, as well as in other important opera houses, mostly in Europe but also at the Metropolitan Opera
where he sang Froh in four performances of Das Rheingold
during the 1968/69 season.
He created the role of Wilhelm in Der junge Lord
in the opera's world premiere as well as singing Aschenbach in the German premiere of Death in Venice
and Luzio in the US premiere of Wagner's early opera, Das Liebesverbot
.
He is on record as Froh in Herbert von Karajan
's studio recording of Das Rheingold
and on video as Don Ottavio in Ferenc Fricsay
's German-translation performance of Don Giovanni
from 1961.
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
who sang at the Deutsche Oper Berlin
Deutsche Oper Berlin
The Deutsche Oper Berlin is an opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin, Germany. The resident building is also home to the Berlin State Ballet.-History:...
during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s.
He made his début in Chicago, in 1952, as Borsa in Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
. He sang at his first Salzburg Festival
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer within the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...
in 1962. He joined the Deutsche Oper in 1960, and sang there until his death, as well as in other important opera houses, mostly in Europe but also at the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
where he sang Froh in four performances of Das Rheingold
Das Rheingold
is the first of the four operas that constitute Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen . It was originally written as an introduction to the tripartite Ring, but the cycle is now generally regarded as consisting of four individual operas.Das Rheingold received its premiere at the National Theatre...
during the 1968/69 season.
He created the role of Wilhelm in Der junge Lord
Der junge Lord
Der junge Lord is an opera in two acts by Hans Werner Henze to a German libretto by Ingeborg Bachmann, after Wilhelm Hauff's Der Affe als Mensch from Der Scheik von Alexandria und seine Sklaven .The style and plot owe much to Italian opera buffa, with the influence of Vincenzo Bellini and...
in the opera's world premiere as well as singing Aschenbach in the German premiere of Death in Venice
Death in Venice (opera)
Death in Venice is an opera in two acts by Benjamin Britten, his last. The opera is based on the novella Death in Venice by Thomas Mann. Myfanwy Piper wrote the English libretto. It was first performed at Snape Maltings near Aldeburgh, England on 16 June 1973.The astringent score is marked by some...
and Luzio in the US premiere of Wagner's early opera, Das Liebesverbot
Das Liebesverbot
Das Liebesverbot is an early opera in two acts by Richard Wagner, with the libretto written by the composer after Shakespeare's Measure for Measure. Described as a grosse komische Oper, it was composed in 1834, and Wagner conducted the premiere in 1836 at Magdeburg...
.
He is on record as Froh in Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
's studio recording of Das Rheingold
Das Rheingold
is the first of the four operas that constitute Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen . It was originally written as an introduction to the tripartite Ring, but the cycle is now generally regarded as consisting of four individual operas.Das Rheingold received its premiere at the National Theatre...
and on video as Don Ottavio in Ferenc Fricsay
Ferenc Fricsay
Ferenc Fricsay was a Hungarian conductor. From 1960 until his death, he was an Austrian citizen.Fricsay was born in Budapest in 1914 and studied music under Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály, Ernst von Dohnányi, and Leo Weiner. Fricsay had a meteoric rise to fame, making his first appearance as a...
's German-translation performance of Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
from 1961.
Sources
- Holland, Bernard, "Early Wagner Effort Has U.S. Premiere in New Jersey", New York Times, 11 July 1983
- Kennedy, Michael and Bourne, Joyce (eds.), "Donald Grobe", The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music, Oxford University Press, 2007 (republished on Answers.com)
- Metropolitan Opera, Grobe, Donald (Tenor), performance record on the MetOpera Database
- Sadie, Stanley (ed), "Grobe, Donald Roth", The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Volume 2, p. 550, Macmillan Press, 1992. ISBN 0333485521