Loren Driscoll
Encyclopedia
Loren Driscoll was an American tenor
who had an active international career from the 1950s through the mid 1980s. Driscoll was particularly noted for his performances in contemporary operas and sang in many world premieres.
, Wyoming
and after studies at Syracuse University
and Boston University
made his professional operatic debut in 1954 as Dr. Cajus in Verdi's Falstaff
with Opera of Boston. During the late 1950s and early 1960s Driscoll sang several roles with Santa Fé Opera
. He made his company debut there in 1957 as Tom Rakewell in Stravinsky
's The Rake's Progress
and went on to sing Edgar Linton in the world premiere of Carlisle Floyd
's Wuthering Heights
(1958) and Hermann in the United States premiere of Paul Hindemith
's Neues vom Tage
(1961). In 1962 Driscoll became a principal singer with the Deutsche Oper Berlin
and remained based with company for the next 25 years, while also singing at the Salzburg Festival
, Glyndebourne
, and several other European and North American opera houses. His great performance at the Deutsche Oper Berlin as Lord Barrat in the opera Der junge Lord
by Hans Werner Henze (1965) awarded him the honorary title of "Kammersänger".
He made his Metropolitan Opera
debut in 1966 as David in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
, a role he sang 23 times with the company between 1966 and 1972. He also appeared at the Met as Alfred in their 1967 production of Die Fledermaus
.
In the 1950s Driscoll also sang in several Broadway musicals: as the Imam of the Mosque/The Bangle Man in Kismet
, Freddy Eynsford-Hill in My Fair Lady
, and Jerry Devine in the premiere of Marc Blitzstein
's Juno
(1959). Also for Blitzstein, Driscoll performed the role of Leo Hubbard in the composer's Regina
with the New York City Opera in 1958, and appears on the recording of that production. Also on record, he can be heard singing in English language performances of Stravinsky's Renard the Fox
and The Wedding
(the recording of which features Samuel Barber
, Aaron Copland
, Lukas Foss
, and Roger Sessions
playing the four pianos). Both recordings were conducted by Stravinsky himself.
Driscoll died in Berlin, on April 8, 2008.
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 had an active international career from the 1950s through the mid 1980s. Driscoll was particularly noted for his performances in contemporary operas and sang in many world premieres.
Biography
Driscoll was born in MidwestMidwest, Wyoming
Midwest is a town in Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. It is part of the Casper, Wyoming Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 408 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Midwest is located at ....
, Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
and after studies at Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
and Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
made his professional operatic debut in 1954 as Dr. Cajus in Verdi's Falstaff
Falstaff (opera)
Falstaff is an operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV. It was Verdi's last opera, written in the composer's ninth decade, and only the second of his 26 operas to be a comedy...
with Opera of Boston. During the late 1950s and early 1960s Driscoll sang several roles with Santa Fé Opera
Santa Fe Opera
The Santa Fe Opera is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe in the U.S. state of New Mexico, headquartered on a former guest ranch of .-General history:...
. He made his company debut there in 1957 as Tom Rakewell in Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
's The Rake's Progress
The Rake's Progress
The Rake's Progress is an opera in three acts and an epilogue by Igor Stravinsky. The libretto, written by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, is based loosely on the eight paintings and engravings A Rake's Progress of William Hogarth, which Stravinsky had seen on May 2, 1947, in a Chicago...
and went on to sing Edgar Linton in the world premiere of Carlisle Floyd
Carlisle Floyd
Carlisle Floyd is an American opera composer. The son of a Methodist minister, he based many of his works on themes from the South...
's Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights (opera)
Wuthering Heights is an opera in a prologue and three acts with music and a libretto by Carlisle Floyd. The work is adapted from Emily Brontë's novel of the same name. The opera premiered at the Santa Fe Opera on July 16, 1958 in a production directed by Irving Guttman...
(1958) and Hermann in the United States premiere of Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor.- Biography :Born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hindemith was taught the violin as a child...
's Neues vom Tage
Neues vom Tage
Neues vom Tage is an opera in three parts by Paul Hindemith, with a German libretto by Marcellus Schiffer....
(1961). In 1962 Driscoll became a principal singer with 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:...
and remained based with company for the next 25 years, while also singing at the 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...
, Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an English opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.-History:...
, and several other European and North American opera houses. His great performance at the Deutsche Oper Berlin as Lord Barrat in the opera 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...
by Hans Werner Henze (1965) awarded him the honorary title of "Kammersänger".
He made his 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...
debut in 1966 as David in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is an opera in three acts, written and composed by Richard Wagner. It is among the longest operas still commonly performed today, usually taking around four and a half hours. It was first performed at the Königliches Hof- und National-Theater in Munich, on June 21,...
, a role he sang 23 times with the company between 1966 and 1972. He also appeared at the Met as Alfred in their 1967 production of Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...
.
In the 1950s Driscoll also sang in several Broadway musicals: as the Imam of the Mosque/The Bangle Man in Kismet
Kismet (musical)
Kismet is a musical with lyrics and musical adaptation by Robert Wright and George Forrest, adapted from the music of Alexander Borodin, and a book by Charles Lederer and Luther Davis, based on Kismet, the 1911 play by Edward Knoblock...
, Freddy Eynsford-Hill in My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
, and Jerry Devine in the premiere of Marc Blitzstein
Marc Blitzstein
Marcus Samuel Blitzstein, better known as Marc Blitzstein , was an American composer. He won national attention in 1937 when his pro-union musical The Cradle Will Rock, directed by Orson Welles, was shut down by the Works Progress Administration...
's Juno
Juno (musical)
Juno is a Broadway musical with music and lyrics by Marc Blitzstein and book by Joseph Stein, based closely on the 1924 play Juno and the Paycock by Sean O'Casey. The original Broadway production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre, New York, on March 9, 1959.Despite light moments, the musical,...
(1959). Also for Blitzstein, Driscoll performed the role of Leo Hubbard in the composer's Regina
Regina (opera)
Regina is an opera by Marc Blitzstein, to his own libretto based on the play The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman. It was completed in 1948 and premiered the next year. Blitzstein chose this source in order to make a strong statement against capitalism...
with the New York City Opera in 1958, and appears on the recording of that production. Also on record, he can be heard singing in English language performances of Stravinsky's Renard the Fox
Renard (Stravinsky)
Renard, Histoire burlesque chantée et jouée is a one-act chamber opera-ballet by Igor Stravinsky, written in 1916. The Russian text by the composer was based on Russian folk tales from the collection by Alexander Afanasyev.The full Russian name of the piece is: Ба́йка про лису́, петуха́, кота́, да...
and The Wedding
Les Noces
Les noces by Igor Stravinsky, is a dance cantata, or ballet with vocalists.-History:The ballet was premiered on June 13, 1923 at the Théâtre de la Gaîté, by the Ballets Russes with choreography by Bronislava Nijinska...
(the recording of which features Samuel Barber
Samuel Barber
Samuel Osborne Barber II was an American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. His Adagio for Strings is his most popular composition and widely considered a masterpiece of modern classical music...
, Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
, Lukas Foss
Lukas Foss
Lukas Foss was a German-born American composer, conductor, and pianist.-Music career:He was born Lukas Fuchs in Berlin, Germany in 1922. His father was the philosopher and scholar Martin Fuchs...
, and Roger Sessions
Roger Sessions
Roger Huntington Sessions was an American composer, critic, and teacher of music.-Life:Sessions was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a family that could trace its roots back to the American revolution. His mother, Ruth Huntington Sessions, was a direct descendent of Samuel Huntington, a signer of...
playing the four pianos). Both recordings were conducted by Stravinsky himself.
Driscoll died in Berlin, on April 8, 2008.
Opera roles created
Roles created by Loren Driscoll include:- Shridaman in Peggy Glanville-HicksPeggy Glanville-HicksPeggy Glanville-Hicks was an Australian composer.- Biography :Peggy Glanville-Hicks was born Melbourne in 1912. At age 15 she began studying composition with Fritz Hart in Melbourne...
' Transposed Heads (Phoenix Theatre, New York City, 1958) - Edgar Linton in Carlisle FloydCarlisle FloydCarlisle Floyd is an American opera composer. The son of a Methodist minister, he based many of his works on themes from the South...
's Wuthering HeightsWuthering Heights (opera)Wuthering Heights is an opera in a prologue and three acts with music and a libretto by Carlisle Floyd. The work is adapted from Emily Brontë's novel of the same name. The opera premiered at the Santa Fe Opera on July 16, 1958 in a production directed by Irving Guttman...
(Santa Fe OperaSanta Fe OperaThe Santa Fe Opera is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe in the U.S. state of New Mexico, headquartered on a former guest ranch of .-General history:...
, 1958) - Pedro de Alvarado in Roger SessionsRoger SessionsRoger Huntington Sessions was an American composer, critic, and teacher of music.-Life:Sessions was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a family that could trace its roots back to the American revolution. His mother, Ruth Huntington Sessions, was a direct descendent of Samuel Huntington, a signer of...
' MontezumaMontezuma (opera)Montezuma is an opera in three acts by the American composer Roger Sessions, with an English libretto by Giuseppe Antonio Borgese that incorporates bits of the Aztec language, Nahuatl, as well as Spanish, Latin, and French.-Performance history:...
(Deutsche Oper BerlinDeutsche Oper BerlinThe 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:...
, 1964) - Lord Barrett in Hans Werner HenzeHans Werner HenzeHans Werner Henze is a German composer of prodigious output best known for "his consistent cultivation of music for the theatre throughout his life"...
's Der junge LordDer junge LordDer 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...
(Deutsche Oper Berlin, 1965) - Dionysos in Henze's The BassaridsThe BassaridsThe Bassarids is an opera in one act and an intermezzo, with music Hans Werner Henze to an English libretto by W. H...
(Salzburg FestivalSalzburg FestivalThe 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...
, 1966). - Eumaeus in Luigi DallapiccolaLuigi DallapiccolaLuigi Dallapiccola was an Italian composer known for his lyrical twelve-tone compositions.-Biography:Dallapiccola was born at Pisino d'Istria , to Italian parents....
's Ulisse (Deutsche Oper Berlin, 1968) - The Architect in Aribert ReimannAribert ReimannAribert Reimann is a German opera composer, pianist and accompanist, known especially for his literary operas. His version of King Lear was written at the suggestion of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau who sang the title role....
's Melusine (Schwetzingen FestivalSchwetzingen FestivalThe Schwetzingen Festival is an early summer festival of opera and other classical music presented each year from May to early June in Schwetzingen, Germany....
, 1971) - First Officer in Wilhelm Dieter Siebert's Der Untergang der Titanic (The Sinking of the Titantic) (Deutsche Oper Berlin 1979).
Sources
- Boosey & HawkesBoosey & HawkesBoosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and wind musical instruments....
, Siebert, Wilhelm Dieter: Untergang der Titanic (1979) - Cummings, David (ED.), "Driscoll, Loren", International Who's Who in Classical Music, Routledge, 2003, p. 206. ISBN 185743174X
- Metropolitan Opera, http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/gisrch2k.r?Term=Driscoll,%20Loren%20%5BTenor%5D&limit=5000&vsrchtype=no&xBranch=ALL&xmtype=&Start=&End=&theterm=D%72iscoll,%20Lo%72%65n%20%5B%54%65no%72%5D&srt=&x=0&xHome=http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/bibpro.htm&xHomePath=http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/Performance record: Driscoll, Loren (Tenor)], MetOpera Database
- Time Magazine, "The Theater: New Musical on Broadway", 23 March 1959