John Alexander (tenor)
Encyclopedia
John Alexander was an American opera
tic tenor
who had a substantial career during the 1950s through the 1980s. He had a long standing relationship with the Metropolitan Opera
in New York City, singing with that company every year between 1961 and 1987 for a total of 379 performances. He also periodically performed at the New York City Opera
during his career and was a frequent presence at the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company
during the late 1950s and 1960s. Although he spent most of his career in New York City, Alexander occasionally traveled to perform as a guest artist with many of the world's leading opera house
s, both in the United States and Europe. He was also an active concert singer throughout his career.
While most of Alexander's career was spent in lyric roles from the Italian and French repertory, Alexander had enough heft in his voice to successfully tackle some of the lighter Heldentenor roles of Richard Wagner
and Richard Strauss
. Aside from a handful of these roles, however, his repertoire at the Metropolitan did not include heavier parts. Rather, he was known there for an expansive lyric repertoire that encompassed the works of Mozart, Puccini, Verdi, and Donizetti among others. His signature roles included Alfredo in La traviata
, Arbace in Idomeneo
, Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail
, the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto
, Edgardo from Lucia di Lammermoor
, Ferrando in Così fan tutte
, Hoffman in Les contes d'Hoffmann
, Lieutenant B. F. Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly
, Rodolfo in La bohème
, and the title roles in Don Carlos
and Faust
.
. He attended the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
, earning a Bachelors of Music in Vocal Performance. Many years later, while still working regularly for the Metropolitan Opera, he returned to the conservatory as a member of the voice faculty.
In 1951 Alexander moved to New York City to begin studying voice further under Robert Weede
and with the intent of pursuing a performance career. That same year he auditioned for and was accepted as a member of the Charles Wagner Opera Company, a touring company which traveled throughout North America. He traveled widely with the company during the Fall of 1951, notably portraying Alfredo in Giuseppe Verdi
's La traviata
opposite a young Beverly Sills
as Violetta. In the spring of 1952 he made his first appearance with at an actual opera house as the title hero in Charles Gounod
's Faust
with Cincinnati Opera
. The following Fall he once again traveled with the Charles Wagner Opera Company, this time singing Don José in Bizet's Carmen
opposite Sill's Micaëla. Over the next five years he appeared in several houses throughout the United States including the Baltimore Opera Company
and the Houston Grand Opera
.
In 1957 Alexander made his debut with the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company
as Lieutenant Pinkerton in Puccini's Madama Butterfly
opposite Dorothy Kirsten
as Cio-Cio San. That same year he made his first appearance with the New York City Opera
singing the role of Alfredo. The following year he returned to the New York City Opera to portray the role of Henry Morosus for the United States premiere of Richard Strauss
's Die schweigsame Frau
. He continued to perform periodically at the New York City Opera up through the 1970s, notably excelling as Walther in Wagner's Die Meistersinger and as Bacchus in Richard Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos
.
On February 10, 1958, Alexander portrayed the role of Rodolfo opposite Elaine Malbin
's Mimì in Giacomo Puccini
's La bohème
for the very first opera performance given by the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company
. He returned several more times for performances with that company, including portrayals of Vicomte Camille de Jolidon in Die lustige Witwe (1958), Lieutenant Pinkerton (1959, 1962, 1963), Sir Edgardo di Ravenswood in Lucia di Lammermoor
(1960, 1961), Ferrando in Così fan tutte
(1960), Alfredo (1961, 1963, 1972), Faust (1967), Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia
(1969), and Roberto, conte di Leicester in Maria Stuarda
(1974).
as Fiordiligi, Rosalind Elias
as Dorabella, Theodor Uppman
as Guglielmo, Roberta Peters
as Despina, and Frank Guarrera
as Don Alfonso. His other roles at the Met included Alfredo, Anatol in Barber
's Vanessa
, Arbace, Belmonte, Don Carlos, Cassio in Otello
, Cavaradossi in Tosca
, Des Grieux in Manon
, Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut
, the Duke of Mantua, Edgardo, Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus
, Elvino in La Sonnambula
, Faust, Goffredo in Rinaldo
, Grigory in Boris Godunov
, Fernando in La favorita, Hoffmann, the Italian Singer in Der Rosenkavalier
, Kodanda in Menotti
's The Last Savage
, Lensky in Eugene Onegin
, Lionel in Martha
, the title role in Lohengrin
, Maurizio in Adriana Lecouvreur
, Narraboth in Strauss's Salome
, Pinkerton, Pollione in Norma
, Riccardo in Un ballo in maschera
, Rodolfo in La bohème, Rodolfo in Luisa Miller
, Roland in Esclarmonde
, Tamino in The Magic Flute
, Tito in La clemenza di Tito
, Tonio in La Fille du Régiment
, and Walther von Stolzing in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
among others.
During his long and distinguished career at the Met, Alexander sang opposite many famous artists, including the Met debuts of Renata Scotto
(Pinkerton to her Butterfly), Montserrat Caballé
(Faust to her Marguerite) and, in the same night as Caballé, Sherrill Milnes
' (who portrayed Valentin). His last performance at the Met was on October 5, 1987 portraying Bacchus opposite Jessye Norman
's Ariadne in Ariadne auf Naxos
.
Although Alexander worked mostly out of New York City he did occasionally travel to perform in other opera houses. In 1967 he made his debut with the San Francisco Opera
as Julien in Gustave Charpentier
's Louise
. He returned to that company a few more times during his career, singing Rodolfo (1969), Pollione (1972), and Hoffmann (1987). Also in 1967, Alexander sang the role of Paul in Korngold
's Die tote Stadt
for his first performance with the Vienna Volksoper
. The following year he sang the role of Rodolfo in La bohème at the Vienna State Opera
. In 1970 he made his Royal Opera House
at Covent Garden
debut as Pollione and in 1973 he sang for the first time with the Opera Company of Boston
as the title role in Verdi's Don Carlos
. In 1975 he made his first appearance with the Opera Company of Philadelphia
as Calaf in Turandot
opposite Elinor Ross
in the title role. He also performed in a few roles with the Berlin State Opera
, the Bavarian State Opera
, and the Cincinnati Opera
.
Alexander's relatively few performances outside of New York City was a conscience choice on his part. He chose to not travel in favor of having a stable life with his wife Sue and their daughter, Cindy. The family made their home on Long Island
during the late 1950s through the early 1970s. At this point, Alexander joined the voice faculty at his alma mater in Cincinnati, Ohio
. The family then relocated to Cincinnati while maintaining an apartment on the West Side
of Manhattan
for Alexander to use when he was in town for rehearsals and performances at the Met.
In 1990 Alexander died suddenly of a heart attack at the Temple Theater in Meridian, Mississippi, the city where he was born. He was 67 years of age, and still actively performing and teaching at the time of his death.
, in Jean-Pierre Ponnelle
's production, 1982) and Donizetti's Roberto Devereux (with Beverly Sills
and Susanne Marsee
, in Tito Capobianco
's production, 1975). His discography includes recordings of Bellini's Norma (with Dame Joan Sutherland
and Marilyn Horne
, 1964) and Donizetti's Anna Bolena (opposite Elena Souliotis
, 1968–69). Additionally, VAI has released his 1967 performance, in New Orleans, of Massenet's Manon, with Caballé and Louis Quilico
.
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 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...
who had a substantial career during the 1950s through the 1980s. He had a long standing relationship with 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...
in New York City, singing with that company every year between 1961 and 1987 for a total of 379 performances. He also periodically performed at 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...
during his career and was a frequent presence at the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company
Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company
The Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company was an American opera company located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was active between 1958 and 1974. The company was led by a number of Artistic Directors during its history, beginning with Aurelio Fabiani. Other notable Artistic Directors include Julius...
during the late 1950s and 1960s. Although he spent most of his career in New York City, Alexander occasionally traveled to perform as a guest artist with many of the world's leading opera house
Opera house
An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...
s, both in the United States and Europe. He was also an active concert singer throughout his career.
While most of Alexander's career was spent in lyric roles from the Italian and French repertory, Alexander had enough heft in his voice to successfully tackle some of the lighter Heldentenor roles of 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...
and Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
. Aside from a handful of these roles, however, his repertoire at the Metropolitan did not include heavier parts. Rather, he was known there for an expansive lyric repertoire that encompassed the works of Mozart, Puccini, Verdi, and Donizetti among others. His signature roles included Alfredo in 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...
, Arbace in Idomeneo
Idomeneo
Idomeneo, re di Creta ossia Ilia e Idamante is an Italian language opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was adapted by Giambattista Varesco from a French text by Antoine Danchet, which had been set to music by André Campra as Idoménée in 1712...
, Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die 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...
, the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
, Edgardo from Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
, Ferrando in Così 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....
, Hoffman in Les contes d'Hoffmann
Les contes d'Hoffmann
Les contes d'Hoffmann is an opéra by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on short stories by E. T. A...
, Lieutenant B. F. Pinkerton 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...
, Rodolfo 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...
, and the title roles in Don Carlos
Don Carlos
Don Carlos is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French language libretto by Camille du Locle and Joseph Méry, based on the dramatic play Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien by Friedrich Schiller...
and Faust
Faust (opera)
Faust is a drame lyrique in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part 1...
.
Early life and career
Alexander was born and raised in Meridian, MississippiMeridian, Mississippi
Meridian is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi. It is the sixth largest city in the state and the principal city of the Meridian, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area...
. He attended the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
The University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music is the performing arts college of the University of Cincinnati and is one of the nation's leading music conservatories. In its most recent rankings, U.S. News & World Report ranked Cincinnati sixth nationally among university programs...
, earning a Bachelors of Music in Vocal Performance. Many years later, while still working regularly for the Metropolitan Opera, he returned to the conservatory as a member of the voice faculty.
In 1951 Alexander moved to New York City to begin studying voice further under Robert Weede
Robert Weede
-Biography:Born Robert Wiedefeld in Baltimore, Maryland, Weede studied voice at the Eastman School of Music and in Milan. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1937, as Tonio in Pagliacci...
and with the intent of pursuing a performance career. That same year he auditioned for and was accepted as a member of the Charles Wagner Opera Company, a touring company which traveled throughout North America. He traveled widely with the company during the Fall of 1951, notably portraying Alfredo in Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
's 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...
opposite a young 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...
as Violetta. In the spring of 1952 he made his first appearance with at an actual opera house as the title hero in Charles Gounod
Charles Gounod
Charles-François Gounod was a French composer, known for his Ave Maria as well as his operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette.-Biography:...
's Faust
Faust (opera)
Faust is a drame lyrique in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part 1...
with Cincinnati Opera
Cincinnati Opera
Cincinnati Opera is an American opera company based in Cincinnati, Ohio and the second oldest opera company in the United States .-History:...
. The following Fall he once again traveled with the Charles Wagner Opera Company, this time singing Don José in Bizet's Carmen
Carmen
Carmen 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...
opposite Sill's Micaëla. Over the next five years he appeared in several houses throughout the United States including the Baltimore Opera Company
Baltimore Opera Company
The Baltimore Opera Company was an opera company in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A., based at the Baltimore Lyric Opera House. On March 12, 2009, the 58-year-old opera company announced plans to pursue Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation....
and the Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera was founded in 1955 through the joint efforts of Maestro Walter Herbert and cultural leaders Mrs. Louis G. Lobit, Edward Bing and Charles Cockrell...
.
In 1957 Alexander made his debut with the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company
Philadelphia Grand Opera Company
The Philadelphia Grand Opera Company was the name of four different American opera companies active at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the twentieth century. The last and most well known of the four was founded in November 1954 with the merger of the Philadelphia Civic...
as Lieutenant Pinkerton in Puccini's 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...
opposite Dorothy Kirsten
Dorothy Kirsten
Dorothy Kirsten was an American operatic soprano.-Biography:...
as Cio-Cio San. That same year he made his first appearance with 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...
singing the role of Alfredo. The following year he returned to the New York City Opera to portray the role of Henry Morosus for the United States premiere of Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
's Die schweigsame Frau
Die schweigsame Frau
Die schweigsame Frau is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with libretto by Stefan Zweig after Ben Jonson's Epicoene, or the Silent Woman.-Performance history:...
. He continued to perform periodically at the New York City Opera up through the 1970s, notably excelling as Walther in Wagner's Die Meistersinger and as Bacchus in Richard Strauss's 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...
.
On February 10, 1958, Alexander portrayed the role of Rodolfo opposite Elaine Malbin
Elaine Malbin
Elaine Malbin is an American soprano who had a prolific international career singing in operas, musicals, and concerts from 1949 through 1967. She appeared in a number of Broadway productions in the 1940s and 1950s...
's Mimì in Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
's 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...
for the very first opera performance given by the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company
Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company
The Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company was an American opera company located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was active between 1958 and 1974. The company was led by a number of Artistic Directors during its history, beginning with Aurelio Fabiani. Other notable Artistic Directors include Julius...
. He returned several more times for performances with that company, including portrayals of Vicomte Camille de Jolidon in Die lustige Witwe (1958), Lieutenant Pinkerton (1959, 1962, 1963), Sir Edgardo di Ravenswood in Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
(1960, 1961), Ferrando in Così 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....
(1960), Alfredo (1961, 1963, 1972), Faust (1967), Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia
Lucrezia Borgia
Lucrezia Borgia [luˈkrɛtsia ˈbɔrʤa] was the illegitimate daughter of Rodrigo Borgia, the powerful Renaissance Valencian who later became Pope Alexander VI, and Vannozza dei Cattanei. Her brothers included Cesare Borgia, Giovanni Borgia, and Gioffre Borgia...
(1969), and Roberto, conte di Leicester in Maria Stuarda
Maria Stuarda
Maria Stuarda is a tragic opera, , in two acts, by Gaetano Donizetti, to a libretto by Giuseppe Bardari, based on Friedrich Schiller's 1800 play Maria Stuart....
(1974).
Later life and career
In 1961 Alexander joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera where he sang regularly for the next 26 years. He made his first appearance on the Met stage as Ferrando in Così fan tutte on December 19, 1961 with Teresa Stich-RandallTeresa Stich-Randall
Teresa Stich-Randall was a European-based American soprano opera singer.-Biography:Teresa Stich-Randall was born in New Hartford, Connecticut in 1927 and studied at The Hartt School in West Hartford....
as Fiordiligi, Rosalind Elias
Rosalind Elias
Rosalind Elias is an American mezzo-soprano, a rich-voiced singer of fine musicianship who enjoyed a long and distinguished career at the Metropolitan Opera.-Life and career:...
as Dorabella, Theodor Uppman
Theodor Uppman
Theodor Uppman was an American operatic baritone. He is best known for his creation of the title role in Benjamin Britten's opera Billy Budd....
as Guglielmo, Roberta Peters
Roberta Peters
Roberta Peters is an American coloratura soprano.One of the most prominent American singers to achieve lasting fame and success in opera, Peters is noted for her 35-year association with the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York...
as Despina, and Frank Guarrera
Frank Guarrera
Frank Guarrera was an Italian-American lyric baritone who enjoyed a long and distinguished career at the Metropolitan Opera, singing with the company for a total of 680 performances. He performed 35 different roles at the Met, mostly from the Italian and French repertories, from 1948 through 1976...
as Don Alfonso. His other roles at the Met included Alfredo, Anatol in Barber
Samuel Barber
Samuel Osborne Barber II was an American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. His Adagio for Strings is his most popular composition and widely considered a masterpiece of modern classical music...
's Vanessa
Vanessa (opera)
Vanessa is an opera in three acts by Samuel Barber with an original English libretto by Gian-Carlo Menotti. It was composed in 1956–1957 and was first performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City on January 15, 1958 under the baton of Dimitri Mitropoulos in a production designed by...
, Arbace, Belmonte, Don Carlos, Cassio in Otello
Otello
Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play Othello. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on February 5, 1887....
, Cavaradossi 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...
, Des Grieux in Manon
Manon
Manon is an opéra comique in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by the Abbé Prévost...
, Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut
Manon Lescaut
Manon Lescaut is a short novel by French author Abbé Prévost. Published in 1731, it is the seventh and final volume of Mémoires et aventures d'un homme de qualité . It was controversial in its time and was banned in France upon publication...
, the Duke of Mantua, Edgardo, Eisenstein 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 :...
, Elvino in La Sonnambula
La sonnambula
La sonnambula is an opera semiseria in two acts, with music in the bel canto tradition by Vincenzo Bellini to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, based on a scenario for a ballet-pantomime by Eugène Scribe and Jean-Pierre Aumer called La somnambule, ou L'arrivée d'un nouveau seigneur.The first...
, Faust, Goffredo in Rinaldo
Rinaldo
Rinaldo may refer to:*Rinaldo , an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel*Rinaldo , a cantata by Johannes Brahms*Rinaldo , a character in Torquato Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered...
, Grigory in Boris Godunov
Boris Godunov (opera)
Boris Godunov is an opera by Modest Mussorgsky . The work was composed between 1868 and 1873 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is Mussorgsky's only completed opera and is considered his masterpiece. Its subjects are the Russian ruler Boris Godunov, who reigned as Tsar during the Time of Troubles,...
, Fernando in La favorita, Hoffmann, the Italian Singer 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...
, Kodanda in Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti was an Italian-American composer and librettist. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept his Italian citizenship. He wrote the classic Christmas opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors, among about two dozen other operas intended to appeal to popular...
's The Last Savage
The Last Savage
The Last Savage is an opera in three acts by composer Gian Carlo Menotti. Menotti wrote his own libretto, originally in the Italian language . The opera was translated into French by Jean-Pierre Marty for the work's world premiere performance at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 21 October 1963...
, Lensky in Eugene Onegin
Eugene Onegin (opera)
Eugene Onegin, Op. 24, is an opera in 3 acts , by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by Konstantin Shilovsky and the composer and his brother Modest, and is based on the novel in verse by Alexander Pushkin....
, Lionel in Martha
Martha (opera)
Martha, oder Der Markt zu Richmond is a 'romantic comic' opera in four acts by Friedrich von Flotow, set to a German libretto by Friedrich Wilhelm Riese and based on a story by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges....
, the title role in Lohengrin
Lohengrin (opera)
Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself...
, Maurizio in Adriana Lecouvreur
Adriana Lecouvreur
Adriana Lecouvreur is an opera in four acts by Francesco Cilea to an Italian libretto by Arturo Colautti, based on the play by Eugène Scribe and Ernest Legouvé...
, Narraboth in Strauss's Salome
Salome (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....
, Pinkerton, Pollione in Norma
Norma (opera)
Norma is a tragedia lirica or opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with libretto by Felice Romani after Norma, ossia L'infanticidio by Alexandre Soumet. First produced at La Scala on December 26, 1831, it is generally regarded as an example of the supreme height of the bel canto tradition...
, Riccardo in 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...
, Rodolfo in La bohème, Rodolfo in Luisa Miller
Luisa Miller
Luisa Miller is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play Kabale und Liebe by Friedrich von Schiller. The first performance was given at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples on December 8, 1849...
, Roland in Esclarmonde
Esclarmonde
Esclarmonde is an opéra in four acts and eight tableaux, with prologue and epilogue, by Jules Massenet, to a French libretto by Alfred Blau and Louis Ferdinand de Gramont....
, Tamino in The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
, Tito in La clemenza di Tito
La clemenza di Tito
La clemenza di Tito , K. 621, is an opera seria in two acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Caterino Mazzolà, after Metastasio...
, Tonio in La Fille du Régiment
La fille du régiment
La fille du régiment is an opéra comique in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. It was written while the composer was living in Paris, with a French libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-François Bayard.La figlia del reggimento, a slightly different Italian-language version , was...
, and Walther von Stolzing 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,...
among others.
During his long and distinguished career at the Met, Alexander sang opposite many famous artists, including the Met debuts of Renata Scotto
Renata Scotto
Renata Scotto is an Italian soprano and opera director.Recognized for her sense of style, musicality and as a remarkable singer-actress, Scotto is considered one of the preeminent singers of her generation, specializing in the bel canto repertoire with excursions into the verismo and Verdi...
(Pinkerton to her Butterfly), Montserrat Caballé
Montserrat Caballé
Montserrat Caballé is a Spanish operatic soprano. Although she sang a wide variety of roles, she is best known as an exponent of the bel canto repertoire, notably the works of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi....
(Faust to her Marguerite) and, in the same night as Caballé, Sherrill Milnes
Sherrill Milnes
Sherrill Milnes is an American operatic baritone most famous for his Verdi roles. From 1965 until 1997 he was associated with the Metropolitan Opera....
' (who portrayed Valentin). His last performance at the Met was on October 5, 1987 portraying Bacchus opposite Jessye Norman
Jessye Norman
Jessye Norman is an American opera singer. Norman is a well-known contemporary opera singer and recitalist, and is one of the highest paid performers in classical music...
's Ariadne 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...
.
Although Alexander worked mostly out of New York City he did occasionally travel to perform in other opera houses. In 1967 he made his debut with the San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
as Julien in Gustave Charpentier
Gustave Charpentier
Gustave Charpentier, , born in Dieuze, Moselle on 25 June 1860, died Paris, 18 February 1956) was a French composer, best known for his opera Louise.-Life and career:...
's Louise
Louise (opera)
Louise is an opera in four acts by Gustave Charpentier to an original French libretto by the composer, with some contributions by Saint-Pol-Roux, a symbolist poet and inspiration of the surrealists....
. He returned to that company a few more times during his career, singing Rodolfo (1969), Pollione (1972), and Hoffmann (1987). Also in 1967, Alexander sang the role of Paul in Korngold
Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Erich Wolfgang Korngold was an Austro-Hungarian film and romantic music composer. While his compositional style was considered well out of vogue at the time he died, his music has more recently undergone a reevaluation and a gradual reawakening of interest...
's Die tote Stadt
Die tote Stadt
Die tote Stadt is an opera in three acts by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. The libretto is by the composer and Paul Schott , and is based on Bruges-la-Morte, a short novel by Georges Rodenbach.-Performance history:When Die tote Stadt had its premiere on December 4, 1920, Korngold was just 23...
for his first performance with the Vienna Volksoper
Vienna Volksoper
The Vienna Volksoper is a major opera house in Vienna, Austria. It gives about three hundred performances of twenty-five productions during an annual season running from September through June....
. The following year he sang the role of Rodolfo in La bohème 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...
. In 1970 he made his 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...
at Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
debut as Pollione and in 1973 he sang for the first time with 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...
as the title role in Verdi's Don Carlos
Don Carlos
Don Carlos is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French language libretto by Camille du Locle and Joseph Méry, based on the dramatic play Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien by Friedrich Schiller...
. In 1975 he made his first appearance with the Opera Company of Philadelphia
Opera Company of Philadelphia
The Opera Company of Philadelphia is an American opera company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is the city's only company producing grand opera. The organization produces four fully staged opera productions annually, encompassing works from the seventeenth through the 21st century...
as Calaf in Turandot
Turandot
Turandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text Turandot...
opposite Elinor Ross
Elinor Ross
Elinor Ross is an American opera singer, a dramatic soprano particularly associated with the Italian repertory.Born in Tampa, Florida, she studied at the Syracuse University, and later came to New York to study with William Herman, Stanley Sontag and Leo Resnick...
in the title role. He also performed in a few roles with the Berlin State Opera
Berlin State Opera
The Staatsoper Unter den Linden is a German opera company. Its permanent home is the opera house on the Unter den Linden boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, which also hosts the Staatskapelle Berlin orchestra.-Early years:...
, the Bavarian State Opera
Bavarian State Opera
The Bavarian State Opera is an opera company based in Munich, Germany.Its orchestra is the Bavarian State Orchestra.- History:The opera company which was founded under Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy has been in existence since 1653...
, and the Cincinnati Opera
Cincinnati Opera
Cincinnati Opera is an American opera company based in Cincinnati, Ohio and the second oldest opera company in the United States .-History:...
.
Alexander's relatively few performances outside of New York City was a conscience choice on his part. He chose to not travel in favor of having a stable life with his wife Sue and their daughter, Cindy. The family made their home on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
during the late 1950s through the early 1970s. At this point, Alexander joined the voice faculty at his alma mater in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
. The family then relocated to Cincinnati while maintaining an apartment on the West Side
West Side (Manhattan)
The West Side of Manhattan refers to the side of Manhattan Island which abuts the Hudson River and faces New Jersey. Fifth Avenue, Central Park, and lower Broadway separate it from the East Side. The major neighborhoods on the West Side are West Harlem, Morningside Heights, Manhattan Valley, Upper...
of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
for Alexander to use when he was in town for rehearsals and performances at the Met.
In 1990 Alexander died suddenly of a heart attack at the Temple Theater in Meridian, Mississippi, the city where he was born. He was 67 years of age, and still actively performing and teaching at the time of his death.
Recordings
Alexander may be seen on such videos as Mozart's Idomeneo (also starring Luciano PavarottiLuciano Pavarotti
right|thumb|Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in [[Strelna]], 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of [[St...
, in Jean-Pierre Ponnelle
Jean-Pierre Ponnelle
Jean-Pierre Ponnelle was a noted French opera director.-Biography:Ponnelle was born in Paris. He studied philosophy, art, and history there and, in 1952, began his career in Germany as a theatre designer for Hans Werner Henze's opera Boulevard Solitude...
's production, 1982) and Donizetti's Roberto Devereux (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...
and Susanne Marsee
Susanne Marsee
Susanne 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...
, in Tito Capobianco
Tito Capobianco
Tito Capobianco is a noted stage director of opera.He made his official debut with Aïda, at the Teatro Argentino, La Plata, in 1953, then worked at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires...
's production, 1975). His discography includes recordings of Bellini's Norma (with Dame Joan Sutherland
Joan Sutherland
Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, OM, AC, DBE was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano noted for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s....
and Marilyn Horne
Marilyn Horne
Marilyn Horne is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She specialized in roles requiring a large sound, beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and the ability to execute difficult coloratura passages....
, 1964) and Donizetti's Anna Bolena (opposite Elena Souliotis
Elena Souliotis
Elena Souliotis was an operatic soprano."-Biography:Elena Souliotis was born in Athens, Greece of Greek and Russian parents but moved with her family to Argentina at an early age...
, 1968–69). Additionally, VAI has released his 1967 performance, in New Orleans, of Massenet's Manon, with Caballé and Louis Quilico
Louis Quilico
Louis Quilico, CC was a Canadian opera singer. One of the leading dramatic baritones of his day, he was an ideal interpreter of the great Italian and French composers, especially Giuseppe Verdi. He was often referred to as "Mr Rigoletto" in reference to the Verdi opera...
.