Sanford Sylvan
Encyclopedia
Sanford Sylvan is an American baritone
, born in New York City
in 1953. A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music
, he made his Glyndebourne
Festival debut in 1994 as Leporello in Don Giovanni
by Mozart.
He has performed with many leading conductors, opera companies and orchestras including Houston Grand Opera, San Francisco Opera, New York City Opera, the New York Philharmonic
, Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra
, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouworkest, Melbourne Symphony and the NHK Symphony. He has performed at the Edinburgh
, Marlboro, Tanglewood
, Vienna, Holland, Oregon Bach and Carmel Bach festivals.
Sylvan received Grammy and Emmy awards for the role of Chou En-Lai in Nixon in China
by John Adams and received five additional Grammy nominations: Fussell's Wilde (2009); Adam's The Wound-Dresser
(1990), which was written for Sylvan; Fauré
's L'horizon chimérique
(1999); Beloved That Pilgrimage (1992); and the soundtrack for the Penny Woolcock Film of Adams' opera, The Death of Klinghoffer
(2003). He has premiered a number of works by Adams, Philip Glass
, Peter Maxwell-Davies, John Harbison
and Christopher Rouse.
A frequent collaborator with the director Peter Sellars
, he appeared in Sellars' re-imaginings of Mozart's Cosi fan tutte
and Le nozze di Figaro, aforementioned operas of John Adams and, in 2009, Adams' A Flowering Tree
presented at Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival. Along with his performing schedule, he is also a professor of voice at the McGill University
Schulich School of Music
in Montréal
, Canada.
In 1998, Sylvan was profiled by journalist Allan Ulrich in The Advocate
about his commitment to contemporary music and his 1996 wedding to his same-sex partner, shortly before coming out publicly in The New York Times
.
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...
, born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1953. A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
, he made his Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne is a country house, thought to be about six hundred years old, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England. It is also the site of an opera house which, with the exception of its closing during the Second World War, for a few immediate post-war years, and in 1993 during the...
Festival debut in 1994 as Leporello in 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...
by Mozart.
He has performed with many leading conductors, opera companies and orchestras including Houston Grand Opera, San Francisco Opera, New York City Opera, the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra
Cleveland Orchestra
The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1918, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Severance Hall...
, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouworkest, Melbourne Symphony and the NHK Symphony. He has performed at the Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Marlboro, Tanglewood
Tanglewood
Tanglewood is an estate and music venue in Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It is the home of the annual summer Tanglewood Music Festival and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, and has been the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home since 1937. It was the venue of the Berkshire Festival.- History...
, Vienna, Holland, Oregon Bach and Carmel Bach festivals.
Sylvan received Grammy and Emmy awards for the role of Chou En-Lai in Nixon in China
Nixon in China
Nixon in China may refer to:*1972 Nixon visit to China, U.S. President Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to the People's Republic of China**"Nixon in China" , a reference to the above used as a metaphor for an unexpected or uncharacteristic action by a politician*Nixon in China, an opera by composer John...
by John Adams and received five additional Grammy nominations: Fussell's Wilde (2009); Adam's The Wound-Dresser
The Wound-Dresser
The Wound-Dresser is a nineteen minute-long piece by U.S. composer John Adams for orchestra and baritone singer. The piece is an elegiac setting of excerpts from American poet Walt Whitman's The Wound-Dresser about his experience as a nurse during the American Civil War. It was written in 1989...
(1990), which was written for Sylvan; Fauré
Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Urbain Fauré was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th century composers...
's L'horizon chimérique
L'horizon chimérique
L'horizon chimérique, Op. 118, is a song cycle by Gabriel Fauré, of four mélodies for voice and piano. Composed in 1921, the cycle is based on four of the poems from the collection of the same name by Jean de La Ville de Mirmont.-Composition:...
(1999); Beloved That Pilgrimage (1992); and the soundtrack for the Penny Woolcock Film of Adams' opera, The Death of Klinghoffer
The Death of Klinghoffer
The Death of Klinghoffer is an American opera, with music by John Adams to an English-language libretto by Alice Goodman. First produced in Brussels and New York in 1991, the opera is based on the hijacking of the passenger liner Achille Lauro by the Palestine Liberation Front in 1985, and the...
(2003). He has premiered a number of works by Adams, Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
, Peter Maxwell-Davies, John Harbison
John Harbison
John Harris Harbison is an American composer, best known for his operas and large choral works.-Life:...
and Christopher Rouse.
A frequent collaborator with the director Peter Sellars
Peter Sellars
Peter Sellars is an American theatre director, noted for his unique contemporary stagings of classical and contemporary operas and plays...
, he appeared in Sellars' re-imaginings of Mozart's Cosi fan tutte
Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
and Le nozze di Figaro, aforementioned operas of John Adams and, in 2009, Adams' A Flowering Tree
A Flowering Tree
A Flowering Tree is an opera in two acts composed by John Adams with libretto by Adams and Peter Sellars, and commissioned by the New Crowned Hope Festival in Vienna, the San Francisco Symphony, the Barbican Centre in London, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, and the...
presented at Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival. Along with his performing schedule, he is also a professor of voice at the McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
Schulich School of Music
Schulich School of Music
The Schulich School of Music is one of the constituent faculties of McGill University in Montréal, Canada. The faculty was named after benefactor Seymour Schulich.-History:Music at McGill – The Beginning...
in Montréal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada.
In 1998, Sylvan was profiled by journalist Allan Ulrich in The Advocate
The Advocate
The Advocate is an American LGBT-interest magazine, printed monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a web site. Both magazine and web site have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to LGBT people...
about his commitment to contemporary music and his 1996 wedding to his same-sex partner, shortly before coming out publicly in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
.