Richard Fredricks
Encyclopedia
Richard Fredricks is an American opera singer, and was one of the leading dramatic baritone
s of both the New York City Opera
and the Metropolitan Opera
.
and Norman Treigle
in the cast. He went on to perform there the leading baritone roles in The Consul (with Patricia Neway
, Le Nozze di Figaro (as Count Almaviva), The Ballad of Baby Doe (as Horace Tabor), Lizzie Borden (as Captain Jason MacFarlane, in the world premiere of Beeson's opera), Carmen (as Escamillo), Tosca (as Baron Scarpia) (with Plácido Domingo
), Cavalleria Rusticana (as Alfio), Manon (as Lescaut, with Beverly Sills
, conducted by Julius Rudel, Gianni Schicchi (title role), La Traviata (as Germont), Lucia di Lammermoor (as Enrico), L'heure espagnole (Mulateer)Roberto Devereux (Nottingham), La Cenerentola (Dandini), Il barbiere di Siviglia (Figaro), Un ballo in maschera, (Renato)MariaStuarda (Talbot, Rigoletto (title role), Don Giovanni (title role), directed by Frank Corsaro
), I Puritani (Sir Richard Forth), Manon Lescaut (Lescaut), Pagliacci ( Tonio), Lucrezia Borgia (Alfonzo D'Este), Andrea Chénier (Gerard),Falstaff (Ford), and Attila (Ezio).
Fredricks has appeared at most of the major theatres in the Americas, as well as in Hamburg, Frankfurt, Venice, Israel, Brussels, Mexico and numerous performances in Canada, He sang the Count de Luna in ‘Il Trovatore” (Montreal), “Rigoletto” in Toronto and Quebec City, Scarpia in “Tosca” in Winnipeg and the North American premier as Demetrius in “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” by Britten in Vancouver. In 1971, he was played himself in the famous segment of ABC’s primetime comedy, "The Odd Couple." Starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman. His recordings include six operettas in “The Treasury of Operetta’s” by RCA Victor, as Top in The Tender Land (abridged, with Joy Clements, Richard Cassilly and Treigle), conducted by the composer, Copland, 1965), Lizzie Borden (conducted by Anton Coppola, 1966), and “The Duruflé Requiem.”. He has stage directed La Boheme with both the Michigan Opera and the Duluth Opera as well as singing Lescaut and directing the whole production of Manon, with the Honolulu Opera.
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
s of both the New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
and 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...
.
New York City Opera
He made his debut with the City Opera on October 1, 1960, as Schaunard in La Bohème, with Chester LudginChester Ludgin
-Biography:Chester Ludgin was a native of Brooklyn, New York. He made his professional debut in 1956 with The Experimental Opera Theatre of America , as Baron Scarpia in Giacomo Puccini's Tosca, conducted by Renato Cellini and directed by Armando Agnini...
and Norman Treigle
Norman Treigle
Norman Treigle was an American operatic bass-baritone, who was acclaimed for his great abilities as a singing-actor, and specialized in roles that evoked villainy and terror....
in the cast. He went on to perform there the leading baritone roles in The Consul (with Patricia Neway
Patricia Neway
Patricia Neway is an American operatic soprano and musical theatre actress who had an active international career during the mid-1940s through the 1970s. She is particularly remembered for creating roles in the world premieres of several contemporary American operas, most notably Magda Sorel in...
, Le Nozze di Figaro (as Count Almaviva), The Ballad of Baby Doe (as Horace Tabor), Lizzie Borden (as Captain Jason MacFarlane, in the world premiere of Beeson's opera), Carmen (as Escamillo), Tosca (as Baron Scarpia) (with Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
), Cavalleria Rusticana (as Alfio), Manon (as Lescaut, with Beverly Sills
Beverly Sills
Beverly Sills was an American operatic soprano whose peak career was between the 1950s and 1970s. In her prime she was the only real rival to Joan Sutherland as the leading bel canto stylist...
, conducted by Julius Rudel, Gianni Schicchi (title role), La Traviata (as Germont), Lucia di Lammermoor (as Enrico), L'heure espagnole (Mulateer)Roberto Devereux (Nottingham), La Cenerentola (Dandini), Il barbiere di Siviglia (Figaro), Un ballo in maschera, (Renato)MariaStuarda (Talbot, Rigoletto (title role), Don Giovanni (title role), directed by Frank Corsaro
Frank Corsaro
Frank Corsaro is one of America's foremost stage directors of opera and theatre. His Broadway productions include The Night of the Iguana ....
), I Puritani (Sir Richard Forth), Manon Lescaut (Lescaut), Pagliacci ( Tonio), Lucrezia Borgia (Alfonzo D'Este), Andrea Chénier (Gerard),Falstaff (Ford), and Attila (Ezio).
Metropolitan Opera
Richard Fredricks made his first appearance with the Met in 1976, when they toured to Wolf Trap Farm Park, as Don Carlo, in La forza del destino, in John Dexter's production. The following year, the baritone was seen at the House in La Traviata, with Rita Shane. His in-house debut was as Athanael in Thaïs (with Sills), followed by Don Giovanni in Don Giovanni, Barnaba in “La Gioconda,” the Four Villains in Les Contes d'Hoffmann, “Escamillio in “Carmen, ” Sharpless in Madama Butterfly and Ostasio in Francesca with Renata Scotto,Fredricks has appeared at most of the major theatres in the Americas, as well as in Hamburg, Frankfurt, Venice, Israel, Brussels, Mexico and numerous performances in Canada, He sang the Count de Luna in ‘Il Trovatore” (Montreal), “Rigoletto” in Toronto and Quebec City, Scarpia in “Tosca” in Winnipeg and the North American premier as Demetrius in “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” by Britten in Vancouver. In 1971, he was played himself in the famous segment of ABC’s primetime comedy, "The Odd Couple." Starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman. His recordings include six operettas in “The Treasury of Operetta’s” by RCA Victor, as Top in The Tender Land (abridged, with Joy Clements, Richard Cassilly and Treigle), conducted by the composer, Copland, 1965), Lizzie Borden (conducted by Anton Coppola, 1966), and “The Duruflé Requiem.”. He has stage directed La Boheme with both the Michigan Opera and the Duluth Opera as well as singing Lescaut and directing the whole production of Manon, with the Honolulu Opera.
Videography
- Donizetti: Roberto Devereux (Sills, Marsee, J.Alexander; Rudel, Capobianco, 1975) [live] VAI
- Verdi: La traviata (Sills, H.Price; Rudel, Capobianco, 1976) [live] VAI
- Massenet: Manon (Sills, H.Price, Ramey; Rudel, Capobianco, 1977) [live] Paramount PicturesParamount PicturesParamount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
- Zandonai: Francesca da Rimini (Scotto, Rom, Domingo, MacNeil; Levine, Faggioni, 1984) [live] Deutsche GrammophonDeutsche GrammophonDeutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
External links
- Official web-site
- Richard Fredricks in an excerpt from Roberto Devereux, with Susanne MarseeSusanne MarseeSusanne Marsee is an American mezzo-soprano of note. She was one of the New York City Opera's leading mezzo-sopranos from 1970, when she debuted opposite Beverly Sills, Plácido Domingo and Louis Quilico, in Donizetti's Roberto Devereux, with Julius Rudel conducting Tito Capobianco's...
(1975).