Murray Dickie
Encyclopedia
Murray Dickie was a Scottish
tenor
opera singer and director, who established his career in England, Austria and Italy during the 1950s. In addition to his extensive stage work he was a prolific recording artist.
. He studied in Vienna
with S. Polmann, and afterwards he studied in London with Dino Borgioli
, and in Milan with Guido Farinelli. He at first worked for the BBC
as "effects boy" and went on to become a production assistant.
His debut was at the Cambridge Theatre
in London in January 1947 as part of the New London Opera Company, as Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia, a role he afterwards repeated for them on several occasions. He joined the new resident company at Covent Garden
when it was first formed after the War, from 1948 to 1952. His debut there was as Tamino. An early triumph was as David in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
, a role with which he became identified. In 1952 he was invited to undertake this role at La Scala
by Wilhelm Furtwängler
, and won approval. He also sang the role in Berlin, Munich
, Vienna and elsewhere. He made debuts in 1950 in Barcelona
and in 1951 in Rome, and at the Vienna State Opera
, where he was immediately engaged as a permanent member of the company. In 1949 he created the role of Curé in the Arthur Bliss
opera The Olympians
at Covent Garden.
In the Glyndebourne Festival of 1950, Murray Dickie appeared as Don Basilio, Pedrillo and as Brighella in Ariadne auf Naxos
, and went to the Edinburgh Festival
with the company later in the same year. Thereafter he sang regularly with the Glyndebourne company and at Edinburgh. In October 1951 he appeared as Florestein in Sir Thomas Beecham
's revival of The Bohemian Girl
: he sang David at Covent Garden under Beecham (parts of which were recorded live) and that year also appeared in Der Rosenkavalier
and again as Don Basilio. As his career in Vienna got under way in 1952 he repeated the roles of David and Pedrillo, and also performed Jacquino
, with great success. He took part in the 1952 Paris Festival of Twentieth Century Music, and sang as a guest at Munich (1952 and 1953) with the Bayerische Staatsoper.
He performed David again for the Covent Garden Coronation
Season of 1953, and sang at Glyndebourne in their Coronation Festival. He then took part in the British premiere of Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress
, at Edinburgh. Also in that year he sang at Berlin, and took part in the French premiere of Die Liebe der Danae
at the Paris Opéra
. In 1954 he appeared at Glyndebourne as Leandro in Ferruccio Busoni
's Arlecchino
. He had by this time also become an experienced broadcaster.
at the London Coliseum.
, a singer who studied with Pollman, Titta Ruffo
, Giuseppe de Luca
and Gino Bechi
. William sang in Glasgow during the 1930s and in London and Italy after 1946. Murray Dickie was married to the singer Maureen Springer, also a member of the Vienna company and who often joined her husband in concert. Togther they had four sons. Their eldest son John Dickie too was a member of the Vienna company.
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
tenor
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...
opera singer and director, who established his career in England, Austria and Italy during the 1950s. In addition to his extensive stage work he was a prolific recording artist.
Early career 1947-1955
Dickie had his first vocal training in GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. He studied in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
with S. Polmann, and afterwards he studied in London with Dino Borgioli
Dino Borgioli
Dino Borgioli was an Italian lyric tenor. Praised by critics for his musicianship, he was particularly associated with roles in operas composed by Mozart, Rossini, and Donizetti....
, and in Milan with Guido Farinelli. He at first worked for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
as "effects boy" and went on to become a production assistant.
His debut was at the Cambridge Theatre
Cambridge Theatre
The Cambridge Theatre is a West End theatre, on a corner site in Earlham Street facing Seven Dials, in the London Borough of Camden, built in 1929-30. It was designed by Wimperis, Simpson and Guthrie; interior partly by Serge Chermayeff, with interior bronze friezes by sculptor Anthony Gibbons...
in London in January 1947 as part of the New London Opera Company, as Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia, a role he afterwards repeated for them on several occasions. He joined the new resident company at Covent Garden
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
when it was first formed after the War, from 1948 to 1952. His debut there was as Tamino. An early triumph was 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 with which he became identified. In 1952 he was invited to undertake this role at La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
by Wilhelm Furtwängler
Wilhelm Furtwängler
Wilhelm Furtwängler was a German conductor and composer. He is widely considered to have been one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. By the 1930s he had built a reputation as one of the leading conductors in Europe, and he was the leading conductor who remained...
, and won approval. He also sang the role in Berlin, Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Vienna and elsewhere. He made debuts in 1950 in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
and in 1951 in Rome, and at the Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
, where he was immediately engaged as a permanent member of the company. In 1949 he created the role of Curé in the Arthur Bliss
Arthur Bliss
Sir Arthur Edward Drummond Bliss, CH, KCVO was an English composer and conductor.Bliss's musical training was cut short by the First World War, in which he served with distinction in the army...
opera The Olympians
The Olympians
The Olympians is an opera in three acts by Arthur Bliss to a libretto by J. B. Priestley, first performed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on 29 September 1949, conducted by Karl Rankl in a production by Peter Brook....
at Covent Garden.
In the Glyndebourne Festival of 1950, Murray Dickie appeared as Don Basilio, Pedrillo and as Brighella in Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos is an opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Bringing together slapstick comedy and consuming beautiful music, the opera's theme is the competition between high and low art for the public's attention.- First version :The opera was originally...
, and went to the Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
with the company later in the same year. Thereafter he sang regularly with the Glyndebourne company and at Edinburgh. In October 1951 he appeared as Florestein in Sir Thomas Beecham
Thomas Beecham
Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet CH was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic orchestras. He was also closely associated with the Liverpool Philharmonic and Hallé orchestras...
's revival of The Bohemian Girl
The Bohemian Girl
The Bohemian Girl is an opera composed by Michael William Balfe with a libretto by Alfred Bunn. The plot is loosely based on a Cervantes tale, La Gitanilla.The opera was first produced in London at the Drury Lane Theatre on November 27, 1843...
: he sang David at Covent Garden under Beecham (parts of which were recorded live) and that year also appeared in Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac...
and again as Don Basilio. As his career in Vienna got under way in 1952 he repeated the roles of David and Pedrillo, and also performed Jacquino
Fidelio
Fidelio is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora...
, with great success. He took part in the 1952 Paris Festival of Twentieth Century Music, and sang as a guest at Munich (1952 and 1953) with the Bayerische Staatsoper.
He performed David again for the Covent Garden Coronation
Coronation of the British monarch
The coronation of the British monarch is a ceremony in which the monarch of the United Kingdom is formally crowned and invested with regalia...
Season of 1953, and sang at Glyndebourne in their Coronation Festival. He then took part in the British premiere of Stravinsky'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...
, at Edinburgh. Also in that year he sang at Berlin, and took part in the French premiere of Die Liebe der Danae
Die Liebe der Danae
Die Liebe der Danae is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to a February 1937 German libretto by Joseph Gregor, based on an outline written in 1920, "Danae, or The Marriage of Convenience", by Hugo Hofmannsthal...
at the Paris Opéra
Palais Garnier
The Palais Garnier, , is an elegant 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. It was originally called the Salle des Capucines because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, but soon became known as the Palais Garnier...
. In 1954 he appeared at Glyndebourne as Leandro in Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni was an Italian composer, pianist, editor, writer, piano and composition teacher, and conductor.-Biography:...
's Arlecchino
Arlecchino (opera)
Arlecchino, oder Die Fenster is a one-act opera with spoken dialog by Ferruccio Busoni, with a libretto in German written by the composer in 1913. He completed the music for the opera while living in Zurich in 1916...
. He had by this time also become an experienced broadcaster.
Continuing career
In 1976, he translated and directed A Night in Venice for English National OperaEnglish National Opera
English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...
at the London Coliseum.
Other details
Murray Dickie was the younger brother of William DickieWilliam Dickie
William James Dickie was a Liberal Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand. And opposition Whip.He won the Selwyn electorate in 1911, and again in December 1914 the seat was abolished for the 1919 election, and was defeated in 1919 for Ashburton....
, a singer who studied with Pollman, Titta Ruffo
Titta Ruffo
Titta Ruffo , born as Ruffo Titta Cafiero, was an Italian opera star who had a major international singing career. Known as the "Voce del leone" , he was greatly admired, even by rival baritones, such as Giuseppe De Luca, who said of Ruffo: "His was not a voice, it was a miracle" Titta Ruffo (9...
, Giuseppe de Luca
Giuseppe de Luca
Giuseppe De Luca , was a famous Italian baritone who achieved his greatest triumphs at the New York Metropolitan Opera...
and Gino Bechi
Gino Bechi
Gino Bechi was an Italian operatic baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, especially in Verdi roles.-Life and career:...
. William sang in Glasgow during the 1930s and in London and Italy after 1946. Murray Dickie was married to the singer Maureen Springer, also a member of the Vienna company and who often joined her husband in concert. Togther they had four sons. Their eldest son John Dickie too was a member of the Vienna company.
Selected recordings
There are many recordings featuring Murray Dickie in his characteristic roles in opera, and in works of the concert hall. A selection follows:- Beethoven: Ninth Symphony, with Gottlob FrickGottlob FrickGottlob Frick was a German bass who sang in opera. He was known for his wide repertory including Wagner and Mozart roles, as well as those of Nicolai and Lortzing.-Career:...
, Elizabeth Höngen and Wilma LippWilma LippWilma Lipp is an Austrian operatic soprano, particularly associated with Mozart roles, especially Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail and the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute....
, cond. Carl SchurichtCarl SchurichtCarl Adolph Schuricht was a German conductor.Schuricht was born in Danzig , German Empire; his father's family had been respected organ-builders. His mother, Amanda Wusinowska, a widow soon after her marriage , brought up her son alone...
, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du ConservatoireOrchestre de la Société des Concerts du ConservatoireThe Orchestre de la Société des concerts du Conservatoire was a symphony orchestra established in Paris in 1828. It gave its first concert on 9 March 1828 with music by Beethoven, Rossini, Meifreid, Rode and Cherubini....
de Paris. (EMI Angel CD) - Beethoven: FidelioFidelioFidelio is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora...
, cond Eugen JochumEugen JochumEugen Jochum was an eminent German conductor.Born in Babenhausen, near Augsburg, Germany, Jochum studied the piano and organ in Augsburg until 1922. He then studied conducting in Munich...
, Rai Symphony Orchestra of Rome (Melodram CD) - Berg: WozzeckWozzeckWozzeck is the first opera by the Austrian composer Alban Berg. It was composed between 1914 and 1922 and first performed in 1925. The opera is based on the drama Woyzeck left incomplete by the German playwright Georg Büchner at his death. Berg attended the first production in Vienna of Büchner's...
(in the role of Andrès), cond Karl BöhmKarl BöhmKarl August Leopold Böhm was an Austrian conductor. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century.- Education :...
(1955). (Andante CD) - Bizet: CarmenCarmenCarmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
, cond. Lorin MaazelLorin MaazelLorin Varencove Maazel is an American conductor, violinist and composer.- Early life :Maazel was born to Jewish-American parents in Neuilly-sur-Seine in France and brought up in the United States, primarily at his parents' home in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood. His father, Lincoln Maazel , was...
, Vienna State OperaVienna State OperaThe Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
(live recording). (Orfeo D'Or CD) - Mahler: Das Lied von der ErdeDas Lied von der ErdeDas Lied von der Erde is a large-scale work for two vocal soloists and orchestra by the Austrian composer Gustav Mahler...
, with Dietrich Fischer-DieskauDietrich Fischer-DieskauDietrich Fischer-Dieskau is a retired German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music, one of the most famous lieder performers of the post-war period and "one of the supreme vocal artists of the 20th century"...
, cond Paul KletzkiPaul KletzkiPaul Kletzki was a Polish conductor and composer.Born Paweł Klecki in Łódź, Poland, he later adopted the German spelling Paul Kletzki. He joined its Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of fifteen. After serving in the First World War, he studied philosophy at the University of Warsaw before moving...
, Philharmonia OrchestraPhilharmonia OrchestraThe Philharmonia Orchestra is one of the leading orchestras in Great Britain, based in London. Since 1995, it has been based in the Royal Festival Hall. In Britain it is also the resident orchestra at De Montfort Hall, Leicester and the Corn Exchange, Bedford, as well as The Anvil, Basingstoke...
. (EMI Classics CD) - Richard Strauss: Die Frau ohne SchattenDie Frau ohne SchattenDie Frau ohne Schatten is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with a libretto by his long-time collaborator, the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It was written between 1911 and either 1915 or 1917...
(as Barak's brother), cond Karl Böhm, Vienna Philharmonic OrchestraVienna Philharmonic OrchestraThe Vienna Philharmonic is an orchestra in Austria, regularly considered one of the finest in the world....
. (Opera D'Oro CD) - Richard Strauss: Der RosenkavalierDer RosenkavalierDer Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac...
cond. Georg SoltiGeorg SoltiSir Georg Solti, KBE, was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor. He was a major classical recording artist, holding the record for having received the most Grammy Awards, having personally won 31 as a conductor, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition to his...
, Vienna Philharmonic (1968). (London/Decca CD) - Richard Strauss: SalomeSalome (opera)Salome is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by the composer, based on Hedwig Lachmann’s German translation of the French play Salomé by Oscar Wilde. Strauss dedicated the opera to his friend Sir Edgar Speyer....
, cond Karl Böhm, Vienna State Opera (1972). (Opera D'Oro CD) - Mozart: Requiem in D minor with Elizabeth Höngen, Wilma Lipp, Ludwig WeberLudwig WeberLudwig Weber was an Austrian bass.Ludwig Weber was born in Vienna in 1899. He initially planned to pursue a career as a teacher and artist when he discovered his vocal promise and decided to pursue an opera career...
, cond Jascha HorensteinJascha HorensteinJascha Horenstein was an American conductor.Horenstein was born in Kiev, Russian Empire , into a well-to-do Jewish family; his mother came from an Austrian rabbinical family and his father was Russian....
, Wiener Musikverein (1956). (Vox Classic CD) - Mozart: Great Mass, with Walter Berry, Wilma Lipp, Christa LudwigChrista LudwigChrista Ludwig is a retired German mezzo-soprano, distinguished for her performances of opera, Lieder, oratorio and other major religious works like masses and passions, and solos contained in symphonic literature...
, cond Ferdinand GrossmannFerdinand GrossmannFerdinand Grossmann was an Austrian choral conductor, vocal teacher and composer .-Biography:He studied music in Linz. Some years later in Vienna he attended a class of conducting given by Felix Weingartner....
. (Preiser CD) - Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem SerailDie Entführung aus dem SerailDie Entführung aus dem Serail is an opera Singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner with adaptations by Gottlieb Stephanie...
(as Pedrillo), cond George SzellGeorge SzellGeorge Szell , originally György Széll, György Endre Szél, or Georg Szell, was a Hungarian-born American conductor and composer...
, Vienna Philharmonic (live at 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...
1956). (Melodram CD) - Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro, (as Basilio), cond Erich KleiberErich KleiberErich Kleiber was an Austrian conductor.- Biography :Born in Vienna, Kleiber studied in Prague...
, Vienna Philharmonic (1956). (London/Decca CD) - Offenbach: The tales of Hoffmann, cond Thomas BeechamThomas BeechamSir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet CH was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic orchestras. He was also closely associated with the Liverpool Philharmonic and Hallé orchestras...
, Sadler's Wells. (Pearl CD) - Poulenc: Dialogues des Carmélites, cond Berislav Klobucar, Vienna State Opera (1961). (Ponto CD)
- Monteverdi: Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patriaIl ritorno d'Ulisse in patriaIl ritorno d'Ulisse in patria is an opera in a prologue and five acts , set by Claudio Monteverdi to a libretto by Giacomo Badoaro. The opera was first performed at the Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice during the 1639–1640 carnival season...
(as Iro), cond Nikolaus HarnoncourtNikolaus HarnoncourtNikolaus Harnoncourt is an Austrian conductor, particularly known for his historically informed performances of music from the Classical era and earlier. Starting out as a classical cellist, he founded his own period instrument ensemble in the 1950s, and became a pioneer of the Early Music movement...
, Vienna Concentus Musikus (1971). (Teldec Das Alte Werk) - Wagner: Die Meistersinger von NürnbergDie Meistersinger von NürnbergDie 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,...
(as David), cond Fritz ReinerFritz ReinerFrederick Martin “Fritz” Reiner was a prominent conductor of opera and symphonic music in the twentieth century.-Biography:...
, Vienna State Opera (1955). (Orfeo D'Or) - Wagner: Die Meistersinger von NürnbergDie Meistersinger von NürnbergDie 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,...
, Acts I and II, (as David), cond Thomas Beecham, Covent Garden 1951. (Gebhardt CD) - Wagner: TannhäuserTannhäuser (opera)Tannhäuser is an opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner, based on the two German legends of Tannhäuser and the song contest at Wartburg...
, cond Artur RodzińskiArtur RodzinskiArtur Rodziński was a Polish conductor of opera and symphonic music. He is especially noted for his tenures as music director of the Cleveland Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic in the 1930s and 1940s.-Biography:...
, Rome (1957). (IDI CD) - FOLK AND TRADITIONAL SONGS - from England, The Hebrides, Ireland and Scotland w John Pritchard piano (Philips mono 10" LP)