Graeme Danby
Encyclopedia
Graeme Danby is an operatic bass
who has performed at several of the world's leading opera houses, notably the Royal Opera House
, Covent Garden and the English National Opera
. He was educated at the Royal Academy of Music
in London. He is known for his strong, dramatic portrayals of characters in the basso profondo repertoire.
He is currently an active tutor in the performing arts department at the University of Sunderland.
. This appearance was one amongst many in major roles for English National Opera
, which include Don Basilio in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia; Dulcamara in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore
; Somnus in Handel's Semele; Quince in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream
; Collatinus in Britten's, Poo-Bah in Gilbert & Sullivan's The Mikado
; Sarastro in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte; Bartolo (Le nozze di Figaro); Sacristan in Puccini's Tosca
; Pistol in Verdi's Falstaff
and Ribbing in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera
.
, Covent Garden. In Spring 2005, he sang the major role of Charrington in Loren Maazel's Covent Garden commission of 1984, a part written especially for him. In 2006, he sang the role of Sacristano in Covent Garden's production of Tosca, alongside Angela Gheorghiu, Marcello Alvarez and Bryn Terfel. In 2007, he took the role of Gonzalo in Thomas Adès' The Tempest. Further roles include the Marquis d'Obigny (La traviata
), Billy Jackrabbit (La fanciulla del West
) and Second Armed Man (Die Zauberflöte).
and Garsington Opera
; Collatinus in Britten's Rape of Lucretia at Buxton Festival; and Sacristan (Tosca
), Bosun (Billy Budd
), Benedict (La Vie Parisienne
) and Masetto (Don Giovanni
) for Scottish Opera.
In the 2002-2003 season, Danby made his Glyndebourne debut as Antonio (Le nozze di Figaro), subsequently recording the role for Chandos Records.
at the Gran Teatro del Liceu Barcelona; Somnos (Semele) and Bartolo (Le nozze di Figaro) with De Vlaamse Opera; and Xuthus in Pam Vir's Ion
for the Opéra national du Rhin
in Strasbourg. He sang at La Scala
Milan as Snug in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream
.
Bass (voice type)
A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
who has performed at several of the world's leading opera houses, notably the Royal Opera House
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...
, Covent Garden and the English National Opera
English 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...
. He was educated at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
in London. He is known for his strong, dramatic portrayals of characters in the basso profondo repertoire.
He is currently an active tutor in the performing arts department at the University of Sunderland.
English National Opera
In 2003, he sang the role of Lorenzo (I Capuletti ed I Montecchi) conducted by Sir Richard BonyngeRichard Bonynge
Richard Alan Bonynge, AO, CBE is an Australian conductor and pianist.Bonynge was born in Sydney and educated at Sydney Boys High School before studying piano at the Royal College of Music in London. He gave up his music scholarship, continuing his private piano studies, and became a coach for...
. This appearance was one amongst many in major roles for English National Opera
English 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...
, which include Don Basilio in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia; Dulcamara in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore
L'elisir d'amore
L'elisir d'amore is an opera by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. It is a melodramma giocoso in two acts...
; Somnus in Handel's Semele; Quince in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream (opera)
A Midsummer Night's Dream is an opera with music by Benjamin Britten and set to a libretto adapted by the composer and Peter Pears from William Shakespeare's play, A Midsummer Night's Dream...
; Collatinus in Britten's, Poo-Bah in Gilbert & Sullivan's The Mikado
The Mikado
The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations...
; Sarastro in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte; Bartolo (Le nozze di Figaro); Sacristan in Puccini's Tosca
Tosca
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...
; Pistol 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...
and Ribbing in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera
Un ballo in maschera
Un ballo in maschera , is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi with text by Antonio Somma. The libretto is loosely based on an 1833 play, Gustave III, by French playwright Eugène Scribe who wrote about the historical assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden...
.
Royal Opera House Covent Garden
Graeme Danby performs regularly at the Royal Opera HouseRoyal 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...
, Covent Garden. In Spring 2005, he sang the major role of Charrington in Loren Maazel's Covent Garden commission of 1984, a part written especially for him. In 2006, he sang the role of Sacristano in Covent Garden's production of Tosca, alongside Angela Gheorghiu, Marcello Alvarez and Bryn Terfel. In 2007, he took the role of Gonzalo in Thomas Adès' The Tempest. Further roles include the Marquis d'Obigny (La traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
), Billy Jackrabbit (La fanciulla del West
La fanciulla del West
La fanciulla del West is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Guelfo Civinini and Carlo Zangarini, based on the play The Girl of the Golden West by the American author David Belasco. Its highly-publicised premiere occurred in New York City in 1910...
) and Second Armed Man (Die Zauberflöte).
Career in Britain
British engagements also include Bartolo in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro for Opera NorthOpera North
Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and the Theatre Royal, Newcastle...
and Garsington Opera
Garsington Opera
Garsington Opera is an annual open air summer opera festival founded in 1989 by Leonard Ingrams. For twenty one years it was held in the gardens of Leonard Ingrams' home at Garsington Manor in Oxfordshire. Since 2011 the festival is now held in Wormsley Park, the home of the Getty family near High...
; Collatinus in Britten's Rape of Lucretia at Buxton Festival; and Sacristan (Tosca
Tosca
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...
), Bosun (Billy Budd
Billy Budd (opera)
Billy Budd is an opera by Benjamin Britten, from a libretto by E. M. Forster and Eric Crozier, was first performed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 1 December 1951. It is based on the short novel Billy Budd by Herman Melville....
), Benedict (La Vie Parisienne
La Vie Parisienne
La Vie Parisienne was a magazine in France founded in 1863 and popular at the turn-of-the-twentieth century. It was originally intended as a guide to upper class and artistic life in Paris , but it soon evolved into a mildly risqué erotic publication...
) and Masetto (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...
) for Scottish Opera.
In the 2002-2003 season, Danby made his Glyndebourne debut as Antonio (Le nozze di Figaro), subsequently recording the role for Chandos Records.
Career in Europe
European engagements include Brag in Purcell's The Fairy-QueenThe Fairy-Queen
The Fairy-Queen is a masque or semi-opera by Henry Purcell; a "Restoration spectacular". The libretto is an anonymous adaptation of William Shakespeare's wedding comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream. First performed in 1692, The Fairy-Queen was composed three years before Purcell's death at the age...
at the Gran Teatro del Liceu Barcelona; Somnos (Semele) and Bartolo (Le nozze di Figaro) with De Vlaamse Opera; and Xuthus in Pam Vir's Ion
Ion
An ion is an atom or molecule in which the total number of electrons is not equal to the total number of protons, giving it a net positive or negative electrical charge. The name was given by physicist Michael Faraday for the substances that allow a current to pass between electrodes in a...
for the Opéra national du Rhin
Opéra national du Rhin
LOpéra national du Rhin is an opera company which performs in Alsace, eastern France, and which includes the Opéra in Strasbourg, the company's ballet in Mulhouse , and the "Opéra Studio" , a training centre for young singers, in Colmar...
in Strasbourg. He sang 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...
Milan as Snug in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream (opera)
A Midsummer Night's Dream is an opera with music by Benjamin Britten and set to a libretto adapted by the composer and Peter Pears from William Shakespeare's play, A Midsummer Night's Dream...
.
Notable roles
- Bartolo - Le nozze di Figaro
- Somnos - Semele
- Callatinus - The Rape of Lucretia