James Billings
Encyclopedia
James Billings is an American
opera
tic baritone
, librettist, and opera director. He began his career in the late 1950s in Boston
and later became a member of the New York City Opera
where he performed regularly from the early 1970s through the 1990s. A specialist in the comprimario
repertoire, he has portrayed more than 175 opera roles on stage during his long career. Billings has also written librettos for numerous operas for children and since the mid 1990s has directed several opera productions.
and then pursued graduate music studies at Boston University
. While at BU he also studied at the Berkshire Music Center
in the summers and notably conducted the world premiere of Mark Bucci
's opera Tale for a Deaf Ear
at the Tanglewood Music Festival
in August 1957 with a cast that included Jean Kraft
and Edward Purrington
.
Billings began his professional career singing under Sarah Caldwell
at the Opera Company of Boston
during the company's first season in 1958, singing there regularly through 1970 in such roles as Sellem in The Rake's Progress
, Napoleon in the American premiere of War and Peace
, and Harlequin in Ariadne auf Naxos
. In 1962 he sang the role of Polonius in the world premiere of Sergius Kagen
's opera Hamlet, after the play by Shakespeare, in Baltimore
at the Peabody Art Theater with Laszlo Halasz
conducting members of the Baltimore Symphony. In 1964 he made his debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago
as Benoit in La bohème
. In 1969 he shared the stage with Beverly Sills
in a production of Ariadne auf Naxos with the Boston Symphony Orchestra
. Billings later performed with Sills frequently at the New York City Opera during the 1970s, and he notably served as the majordomo for Sill's final performance, Beverly! Her Farewell Performance, in 1981.
In 1970 Billings sang in the company of the first national tour of Camelot
and returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago to portray Maestro Spinelloccio in Gianni Schicchi
. He appeared on Broadway in 1971 in the revival of Kurt Weill
's Johnny Johnson
after which he sang the title role in Don Pasquale
with the New York Lyric Opera in Summer of 1972. The following autumn, he joined the roster at the New York City Opera, making his first appearance in October as Spalanzani in The Tales of Hoffman, opposite Sills and Norman Treigle
. He continued singing there for roughly the next three decades in well over a hundred roles, including Alcindoro in La boheme
, Sacristan in Tosca
, Goro in Madama Butterfly
, Ko-Ko in The Mikado
, Frank in Die Fledermaus
, Baron Puck in La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein
, Henrik Ibsen in Song of Norway
, General Novikovich in The Merry Widow
, Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola
, Badger in Janacek's The Cunning Little Vixen
, Beckmesser in Richard Wagner
's Die Meistersinger, and Alberich in Wagner's Das Rheingold
to name just a few. In 1980 he notably sang the role of Agent in the world premiere of Stanley Silverman's Madame Adare. He has sung on a number of recordings with the New York City Opera, including the 1986 recording of Leonard Bernstein
's Candide
which won a Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording
in 1987. In 1989 he portrayed the role of Monsieur Beaunoir in The New Moon
which was filmed live for PBS's Great Performances
and subsequently released on DVD
.
Billings has also occasionally sung with other opera houses and ensembles as a guest artist. In 1980 he performed Frank in Die Fledermaus with the Philadelphia Orchestra
. In 1982 he performed the role of the Judge in Trial By Jury
with Washington National Opera
. That same year he sang the role of Salieri in the world premiere of P.D.Q. Bach's opera A Little Nightmare Music
at Carnegie Hall. In 1983 he returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago to perform the role of Ko-Ko, and sang there again in 1994 for the company's first production of Candide.
Billings is also the author of several libretto
s for children's operas. He wrote three librettos for composer Dennis Arlan (The Ballad of the Bremen Band, The Daughter of the Double Duke of Dingle, and Meanwhile, Back at Cinderella's) and one libretto for composer Ted Kicilek (Hansel and Gretel) to name just a few of his works. For his work as a lyricist and librettist he has won several awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Billings has also directed a number of operas with the New York City Opera and other companies beginning with the NYC Opera's September 1996 production of H.M.S. Pinafore
in which he also portrayed the role of Sir Joseph Porter. In 2005, Springfield Regional Opera presented the premiere of his opera Babes in the Woods.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic baritone
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...
, librettist, and opera director. He began his career in the late 1950s in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and later became a member of 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...
where he performed regularly from the early 1970s through the 1990s. A specialist in the comprimario
Comprimario
A Comprimario is a supporting role in an opera. Derived from the Italian "con primario", or "with the primary", the term refers to a performer who sings small role pieces....
repertoire, he has portrayed more than 175 opera roles on stage during his long career. Billings has also written librettos for numerous operas for children and since the mid 1990s has directed several opera productions.
Career
Billings graduated with a bachelors degree in vocal performance from Wichita State UniversityWichita State University
Wichita State University is a NCAA Division I public university in Wichita, Kansas with selective admissions. WSU is one of six state universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The current president is Dr. Donald Beggs....
and then pursued graduate music studies at 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...
. While at BU he also studied at the Berkshire Music Center
Tanglewood Music Center
The Tanglewood Music Center is an annual summer music academy in Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, in which emerging professional musicians participate in performances, master classes and workshops designed to provide an intense training and networking experience...
in the summers and notably conducted the world premiere of Mark Bucci
Mark Bucci
Mark Bucci was an American composer, lyricist, and dramatist. Influenced by Giacomo Puccini, his work is composed in a contemporary yet lyrical style which frequently employs marked rhythms and memorable harmonies and melodies.-Career:Bucci studied music composition with Tibor Serly in New York...
's opera Tale for a Deaf Ear
Tale for a Deaf Ear
Tale for a Deaf Ear is an opera in one act with music and lyrics by Mark Bucci, sung in three languages and based on a story by Elizabeth Enright that appeared in the April 1951 edition of Harper's Magazine. The work was commissioned by Samuel Wechsler for performance at the 1957 Tanglewood Music...
at the Tanglewood Music Festival
Tanglewood Music Festival
The Tanglewood Music Festival is a music festival held every summer on the Tanglewood estate in Lenox, Massachusetts in the Berkshire Hills in western Massachusetts....
in August 1957 with a cast that included Jean Kraft
Jean Kraft
Jean Kraft is an American operatic mezzo-soprano. She began her career singing with the New York City Opera during the early 1960s, after which she embarked on a long and fruitful partnership with the Santa Fe Opera that lasted from 1965 through 1987. In 1970 she joined the roster of singers at...
and Edward Purrington
Edward Purrington
Edward Purrington is an American opera director and artistic administrator. He began his career at the Santa Fe Opera in 1959 working in various positions through 1971, including stage manager, stage director, instructor in the Apprentice Program, business manager, and director of development and...
.
Billings began his professional career singing under Sarah Caldwell
Sarah Caldwell
Sarah Caldwell was a notable American opera conductor, impresario, and stage director of opera.- Life :Caldwell was born in Maryville, Missouri, and grew up in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She was a child prodigy and gave public performances on the violin by the time she was ten years old...
at the Opera Company of Boston
Opera Company of Boston
The Opera Company of Boston was an American opera company located in Boston, Massachusetts that was active during the late 1950s through the early 1990s. The company was founded by American conductor Sarah Caldwell in 1958 under the name Boston Opera Group. At one time, the touring arm of the...
during the company's first season in 1958, singing there regularly through 1970 in such roles as Sellem in 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...
, Napoleon in the American premiere of War and Peace
War and Peace (Prokofiev)
War and Peace is an opera in two parts , sometimes arranged as five acts, by Sergei Prokofiev to a Russian libretto by the composer and Mira Mendelson, based on the novel War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy...
, and Harlequin 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...
. In 1962 he sang the role of Polonius in the world premiere of Sergius Kagen
Sergius Kagen
Sergius Kagen was an American pianist and composer and voice teacher.-Life and musical career:...
's opera Hamlet, after the play by Shakespeare, in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
at the Peabody Art Theater with Laszlo Halasz
Laszlo Halasz
Laszlo Halasz was an American opera director, conductor, and pianist of Hungarian birth. In 1943 he was appointed the first director of the New York City Opera; a position he held through 1951...
conducting members of the Baltimore Symphony. In 1964 he made his debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1952, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicolà Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma...
as Benoit in La bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
. In 1969 he shared the stage 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...
in a production of Ariadne auf Naxos with the Boston Symphony Orchestra
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...
. Billings later performed with Sills frequently at the New York City Opera during the 1970s, and he notably served as the majordomo for Sill's final performance, Beverly! Her Farewell Performance, in 1981.
In 1970 Billings sang in the company of the first national tour of Camelot
Camelot (musical)
Camelot is a musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe . It is based on the King Arthur legend as adapted from the T. H. White tetralogy novel The Once and Future King....
and returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago to portray Maestro Spinelloccio in Gianni Schicchi
Gianni Schicchi
Gianni Schicchi is a comic opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, composed in 1917–18. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's Divine Comedy. The work is the third and final part of Puccini's Il trittico —three one-act operas with...
. He appeared on Broadway in 1971 in the revival of Kurt Weill
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
's Johnny Johnson
Johnny Johnson (musical)
Johnny Johnson is a musical with a book and lyrics by Paul Green and music by Kurt Weill.Based on Jaroslav Hašek's satiric novel The Good Soldier Švejk, it focuses on a naive and idealistic young man who, despite his pacifist views, leaves his sweetheart Minny Belle Tompkins to fight in Europe in...
after which he sang the title role in Don Pasquale
Don Pasquale
Don Pasquale is an opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The librettist Giovanni Ruffini wrote the Italian language libretto after Angelo Anelli's libretto for Stefano Pavesi's Ser Marcantonio ....
with the New York Lyric Opera in Summer of 1972. The following autumn, he joined the roster at the New York City Opera, making his first appearance in October as Spalanzani in The Tales of Hoffman, opposite Sills 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....
. He continued singing there for roughly the next three decades in well over a hundred roles, including Alcindoro in La boheme
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
, Sacristan in 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...
, Goro in Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
, Ko-Ko in 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...
, Frank in 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 :...
, Baron Puck in La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein
La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein
La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein is an opéra bouffe , in three acts and four tableaux by Jacques Offenbach to an original French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy...
, Henrik Ibsen in Song of Norway
Song of Norway
Song of Norway is an operetta written in 1944 by Robert Wright and George Forrest, adapted from the music of Edvard Grieg and the book by Milton Lazarus and Homer Curran...
, General Novikovich in The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow is an operetta by the Austro–Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt to keep her money in the principality by finding her the right husband – on an 1861 comedy play,...
, Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola
La Cenerentola
La Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the fairy tale Cinderella...
, Badger in Janacek's The Cunning Little Vixen
The Cunning Little Vixen
The Cunning Little Vixen is an opera by Leoš Janáček, with a libretto adapted by the composer from a serialized novella by Rudolf Těsnohlídek and Stanislav Lolek, which was first published in the newspaper Lidové noviny.-Composition history:When Janáček discovered Těsnohlídek's...
, Beckmesser in Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
's Die Meistersinger, and Alberich in Wagner's Das Rheingold
Das Rheingold
is the first of the four operas that constitute Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen . It was originally written as an introduction to the tripartite Ring, but the cycle is now generally regarded as consisting of four individual operas.Das Rheingold received its premiere at the National Theatre...
to name just a few. In 1980 he notably sang the role of Agent in the world premiere of Stanley Silverman's Madame Adare. He has sung on a number of recordings with the New York City Opera, including the 1986 recording of Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
's Candide
Candide (operetta)
Candide is an operetta with music composed by Leonard Bernstein, based on the novella of the same name by Voltaire. The operetta was first performed in 1956 with a libretto by Lillian Hellman; but since 1974 it has been generally performed with a book by Hugh Wheeler which is more faithful to...
which won a Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording
Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording
The Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording has been awarded since 1961. The award was originally titled Best Classical Opera Production. The current title has been used since 1962....
in 1987. In 1989 he portrayed the role of Monsieur Beaunoir in The New Moon
The New Moon
The New Moon is the name of an operetta with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Frank Mandel, and Laurence Schwab. The show was the third and last in a string of Broadway hits for Romberg written in the style of Viennese operetta...
which was filmed live for PBS's Great Performances
Great Performances
Great Performances, a television series devoted to the performing arts, has been telecast on Public Broadcasting Service public television since 1972...
and subsequently released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
.
Billings has also occasionally sung with other opera houses and ensembles as a guest artist. In 1980 he performed Frank in Die Fledermaus with the Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
. In 1982 he performed the role of the Judge in Trial By Jury
Trial by Jury
Trial by Jury is a comic opera in one act, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was first produced on 25 March 1875, at London's Royalty Theatre, where it initially ran for 131 performances and was considered a hit, receiving critical praise and outrunning its...
with Washington National Opera
Washington National Opera
The Washington National Opera is an opera company in Washington, D.C., USA. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Performances are now given in the Opera House of the John F...
. That same year he sang the role of Salieri in the world premiere of P.D.Q. Bach's opera A Little Nightmare Music
A Little Nightmare Music
A Little Nightmare Music is an opera in "one irrevocable act" by Peter Schickele under the pseudonym he uses for parodies and comical works P. D. Q. Bach. The title of the work refers to the English translation of Mozart's famous Eine kleine Nachtmusik...
at Carnegie Hall. In 1983 he returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago to perform the role of Ko-Ko, and sang there again in 1994 for the company's first production of Candide.
Billings is also the author of several libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
s for children's operas. He wrote three librettos for composer Dennis Arlan (The Ballad of the Bremen Band, The Daughter of the Double Duke of Dingle, and Meanwhile, Back at Cinderella's) and one libretto for composer Ted Kicilek (Hansel and Gretel) to name just a few of his works. For his work as a lyricist and librettist he has won several awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Billings has also directed a number of operas with the New York City Opera and other companies beginning with the NYC Opera's September 1996 production of H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, England, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical...
in which he also portrayed the role of Sir Joseph Porter. In 2005, Springfield Regional Opera presented the premiere of his opera Babes in the Woods.
External links
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoJrvpDbjTY&feature=youtu.be James Billings in La Cenerentola, 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...
, Rockwell BlakeRockwell BlakeRockwell Blake is an American operatic tenor, particularly known for his roles in Rossini operas. He was the first winner of the Richard Tucker Award.-Biography:...
, Alan TitusAlan TitusAlan Titus is an internationally-celebrated baritone. He studied under Aksel Schiøtz at the Colorado School of Music, and Hans Heinz at The Juilliard School. His official debut was as Marcello in La bohème, in Washington, DC, in 1969. He came to prominence, however, in Leonard Bernstein's...
, Gianna RolandiGianna RolandiGianna Rolandi is an American soprano. Following a highly successful 20-year national and international operatic career, Rolandi retired from performing in 1994, and is currently director of and principal instructor at the Lyric Opera of Chicago's Patrick G. and Shirley W...
, etc. (1980).