Kenneth Neate
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Neate (28 July 1914 – 27 June 1997) was a renowned Australian operatic and concert tenor, opera producer and singing teacher. He was a regular artist in Wagner
ian opera at Bayreuth
, and he was noted as a dramatic tenor in German, French, and Italian repertoire in opera houses in England, France, Italy, Austria, Germany, and Australia. His operatic career lasted 38 years, followed by ten years as Lecturer in Voice and Opera Studies at the Richard Strauss Conservatorium in Munich
.
on 28 July 1914. He studied piano and voice in Newcastle
and had further study in Sydney
with Lute Drummond and Lionello Cecil. Neate joined the New South Wales Police Force, serving in inner-city stations in Sydney. He became a soloist in the NSW Police Choir and soon became known as "The Singing Policeman". He also studied at the University of Melbourne
.
He sang his first operatic roles as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly
and the title role in a concert performance of Lohengrin
with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
.
After hearing Neate sing in 1939, John Brownlee
introduced him to the Metropolitan Opera
, New York
, and recommended he study with his own teacher, Emilio de Gogorza
, and with Elisabeth Schumann
. In 1941 he toured New Zealand with Oscar Natzka
. That year, he studied roles such as Don José (Carmen
) with Brownlee, and Lohengrin with Lotte Lehmann
. He auditioned for Bruno Walter
, which led to his becoming understudy to Charles Kullman
for The Magic Flute
at the Met. In 1941 he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force
, becoming a pilot officer. He had already appeared in opera and concert under the direction of Sir Thomas Beecham
in Montreal
.
After the war, he appeared as Don José in Carmen at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
in 1947 in the very first performance by the Covent Garden Opera Company (later to become the Royal Opera
); that season, he also appeared as Tamino in The Magic Flute, and as the Italian Singer in Der Rosenkavalier
. That year he sang the title role in Gounod
's Faust
for the first time (he was to sing the role over 80 times until 1965, in Europe, the UK and Australia). In 1948 he sang Alfredo in La traviata
opposite Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
.
In 1950 and 1951, Ken Neate sang the roles of Rodolfo (La bohème
), Cavaradossi (Tosca
), and Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly) in productions televised by the BBC
.
He often appeared with his fellow Australian Rosina Raisbeck
at Covent Garden.
He made the first of five tours to Australia in 1952. He returned in 1955 (when he appeared with an Italian touring company alongside singers such as Gabriella Tucci
and the up-and-coming Donald Smith), 1960, 1968 and 1970 (that year as Florestan in Fidelio
).
In May 1956 at Bordeaux
, Neate created the title role in Henri Tomasi
's Sampiero Corso, which was repeated at the Holland Festival
in June. That year, Neate sang in the first television recordings for Italian Radio and Television of La fanciulla del West
, Turandot
and Alfredo Catalani
's Loreley
.
Neate's lyric tenor had developed into a heldentenor by the end of the 1950s. He sang Tannhäuser
over 160 times, in German, Italian and English. In Germany he met and married the German mezzo-soprano Gertrud Vollath. He also sang Stolzing in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
(Vienna State Opera and Zurich Opera), Eric, Lohengrin and Siegmund (Die Walküre
). At the Bayreuth Festival
of 1963 he sang the role of Loge in Das Rheingold
, at the invitation of Wolfgang Wagner
and Rudolf Kempe
, becoming the first Australian to sing a major role at Bayreuth. He studied heldentenor roles with Max Lorenz.
In Italy in the mid-1950s, he had a major career in the houses of San Carlo
(Naples), La Fenice
(Venice), Parma
and Bologna
, in roles such as Faust, Calaf (Turandot) and Don Carlo
, and appearing with such major names as Tullio Serafin
, Carlo Tagliabue
, Cesare Siepi
, Ettore Bastianini
, Gigliola Frazzoni
, Antonietta Stella
and Ebe Stignani
.
In 1956 he released his first solo LP Una Serata Dell'Opera with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Paris under Napoleone Annovazzi (now available on CD).
The 1959 Franco Zeffirelli
production of Lucia di Lammermoor
at Covent Garden is famous for Joan Sutherland
's breakthrough performance in the title role. The tenor role of Edgardo in that production was sung by Ken Neate, who replaced the scheduled tenor at short notice.
On 26 October 1961, Neate created the role of Danforth in the world premiere of Robert Ward's The Crucible
at the New York City Opera
. That year he also sang there as Radames in Aida
, Don José, and Stravinsky
's Oedipus rex
.
In 1962 he became principal tenor at the Paris Opera. In Paris and other centres in France, he sang Arnold (Guillaume Tell
), Roméo (Roméo et Juliette
) and Hoffmann (Les Contes d'Hoffmann). In Paris, he studied with Lucien Muratore
, who presented Ken with several of his own costumes including that of Don José and his swords and daggers.
In 1966 and 1967 he appeared opposite Birgit Nilsson
in a new production of Tristan und Isolde
at the Royal Opera in Stockholm
, and at Expo 67
in Montreal. The role of Brangaene was sung by Kerstin Meyer
.
Ken Neate also sang the Richard Strauss
roles of Aegisth, Bacchus and Apollo.
However, his repertoire was not confined to opera. He sang in such works as Beethoven
's 9th Symphony
, Mahler
's Symphony of a Thousand
and Das Lied von der Erde
, Schoenberg
's Gurre-Lieder
, Handel
oratorios, Dvořák
's Stabat Mater
, and the Requiem
s of Mozart
, Verdi
and Berlioz
(Grande Messe des morts), under such conductors as Sir Thomas Beecham
, Antal Doráti
, Eduard van Beinum
, Jascha Horenstein
, Josef Krips
, Rudolf Kempe
, Wolfgang Sawallisch
and Carlo Maria Giulini
.
On his return to Australia to sing Tannhäuser in 1968, his voice was showing signs of degeneration. His last performance in opera was in the title role of Verdi
's Otello
, at the Landes Theater in Innsbruck
in 1975. Although he was then aged 61, his interpretation of Otello was highly praised, both vocally and dramatically.
Neate also produced operas in Ireland and Austria, such as Il trovatore
, Don Carlo, Tosca, Samson and Delilah
, Tannhäuser and Fidelio
. He also wrote some songs (Homeward calling; I am off to Kambalda).
Ken Neate died in Munich
, Germany on 27 June 1997. His book Great singing: Common Sense in Singing was left uncompleted at his death, and has since been published by his widow.
His maternal cousin was the tenor Jon Weaving
.
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
ian opera at Bayreuth
Bayreuth Festspielhaus
The or Bayreuth Festival Theatre is an opera house north of Bayreuth, Germany, dedicated solely to the performance of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner...
, and he was noted as a dramatic tenor in German, French, and Italian repertoire in opera houses in England, France, Italy, Austria, Germany, and Australia. His operatic career lasted 38 years, followed by ten years as Lecturer in Voice and Opera Studies at the Richard Strauss Conservatorium in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
.
Biography
Ken Neate was born in Cessnock, New South WalesCessnock, New South Wales
Cessnock is a city in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, about by road west of Newcastle. It is the administrative centre of the Cessnock City Council LGA and was named after an 1826 grant of land called Cessnock Estate, which was owned by John Campbell...
on 28 July 1914. He studied piano and voice in Newcastle
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
and had further study in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
with Lute Drummond and Lionello Cecil. Neate joined the New South Wales Police Force, serving in inner-city stations in Sydney. He became a soloist in the NSW Police Choir and soon became known as "The Singing Policeman". He also studied at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
.
He sang his first operatic roles as 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...
and the title role in a concert performance of 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...
with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Melbourne, Australia. It has 100 permanent musicians. Melbourne has the longest continuous history of orchestral music of any Australian city and the MSO is the oldest professional orchestra in Australia...
.
After hearing Neate sing in 1939, John Brownlee
John Brownlee (baritone)
John Donald Mackenzie Brownlee was an Australian operatic baritone.-Biography:John Brownlee was born in Geelong, Victoria. As a boy, he became a junior naval cadet in the Royal Australian Navy, serving during World War I. Following service, he studied accounting...
introduced him to 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
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and recommended he study with his own teacher, Emilio de Gogorza
Emilio de Gogorza
Emilio Eduardo de Gogorza was an American baritone of Spanish parentage.He was born in Brooklyn, New York, but brought up and trained musically in Spain. He returned to the USA in his early 20s. He sang in many languages, including French, Italian and English, as well as Spanish...
, and with Elisabeth Schumann
Elisabeth Schumann
Elisabeth Schumann was a German lyric soprano who sang in opera, operetta, oratorio, and lieder. She left a substantial legacy of recordings.-Career:...
. In 1941 he toured New Zealand with Oscar Natzka
Oscar Natzka
-Early life:Born as Franz Oscar Natzke at Wharepuhunga, North Island, New Zealand, he was the son of August Natzke , who had emigrated to New Zealand and settled in Otorohanga, and Emma Carter Natzke, of Christchurch, New Zealand, who was a singer.As a boy, the young Natzke worked...
. That year, he studied roles such as Don José (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...
) with Brownlee, and Lohengrin with Lotte Lehmann
Lotte Lehmann
Charlotte "Lotte" Lehmann was a German soprano who was especially associated with German repertory. She gave memorable performances in the operas of Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Ludwig van Beethoven, Puccini, Mozart and Massenet. The Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier was considered her greatest...
. He auditioned for Bruno Walter
Bruno Walter
Bruno Walter was a German-born conductor. He is considered one of the best known conductors of the 20th century. Walter was born in Berlin, but is known to have lived in several countries between 1933 and 1939, before finally settling in the United States in 1939...
, which led to his becoming understudy to Charles Kullman
Charles Kullman
Charles Kullman , originally Charles Kullmann, was an American tenor who enjoyed a wide-ranging career, both in Europe and America.- Life and career :...
for 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....
at the Met. In 1941 he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
, becoming a pilot officer. He had already appeared in opera and concert under the direction of Sir Thomas Beecham
Thomas Beecham
Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet CH was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic orchestras. He was also closely associated with the Liverpool Philharmonic and Hallé orchestras...
in Montreal
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...
.
After the war, he appeared as Don José in Carmen at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
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...
in 1947 in the very first performance by the Covent Garden Opera Company (later to become the Royal Opera
Royal Opera, London
The Royal Opera is an opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Along with the English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Covent Garden Opera Company, it was known by that title until 1968...
); that season, he also appeared as Tamino in The Magic Flute, and as 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...
. That year he sang the title role in 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...
for the first time (he was to sing the role over 80 times until 1965, in Europe, the UK and Australia). In 1948 he sang 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...
opposite Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, DBE was a German-born Austrian/British soprano opera singer and recitalist. She was among the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century, much admired for her performances of Mozart, Schubert, Strauss, and Wolf.-Early life:Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike...
.
In 1950 and 1951, Ken Neate sang the roles of Rodolfo (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...
), Cavaradossi (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...
), and Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly) in productions televised by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
.
He often appeared with his fellow Australian Rosina Raisbeck
Rosina Raisbeck
Phyllis Rosina Raisbeck MBE was an Australian opera and concert mezzo-soprano singer. Her fine voice was basically a dramatic mezzo, with a warm middle register supporting strong top notes....
at Covent Garden.
He made the first of five tours to Australia in 1952. He returned in 1955 (when he appeared with an Italian touring company alongside singers such as Gabriella Tucci
Gabriella Tucci
Gabriella Tucci is an Italian operatic soprano, particularly associated with the Italian repertory.Born in Rome, Italy, Tucci trained at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia with Leonardo Filoni, whom she later married. She made her debut at Spoleto, as Leonora in La forza del destino, opposite...
and the up-and-coming Donald Smith), 1960, 1968 and 1970 (that year as Florestan in Fidelio
Fidelio
Fidelio is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora...
).
In May 1956 at Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
, Neate created the title role in Henri Tomasi
Henri Tomasi
Henri Tomasi was a French classical composer and conductor.- The early years :Henri Tomasi was born in Marseille, France, in the working class neighborhood on August 17, 1901. His father Xavier Tomasi and mother Josephine Vincensi were originally from La Casinca, Corsica...
's Sampiero Corso, which was repeated at the Holland Festival
Holland Festival
The Holland Festival is The Netherlands' oldest and largest performing arts festival, and takes place every June in Amsterdam. It comprises theater, music, opera and modern dance. In recent years, multimedia, visual arts, film and architecture were added to the festival roster...
in June. That year, Neate sang in the first television recordings for Italian Radio and Television of 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...
, 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...
and Alfredo Catalani
Alfredo Catalani
Alfredo Catalani was an Italian operatic composer. He is best remembered for his operas Loreley and La Wally...
's Loreley
Loreley (opera)
Loreley is a three-act azione romantica opera by Alfredo Catalani, composed to a libretto by Angelo Zanardini, Giuseppe Depanis, Carlo D'Ormeville and others....
.
Neate's lyric tenor had developed into a heldentenor by the end of the 1950s. He sang Tannhäuser
Tannhäuser (opera)
Tannhäuser is an opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner, based on the two German legends of Tannhäuser and the song contest at Wartburg...
over 160 times, in German, Italian and English. In Germany he met and married the German mezzo-soprano Gertrud Vollath. He also sang 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,...
(Vienna State Opera and Zurich Opera), Eric, Lohengrin and Siegmund (Die Walküre
Die Walküre
Die Walküre , WWV 86B, is the second of the four operas that form the cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner...
). At the Bayreuth Festival
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
of 1963 he sang the role of Loge in 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...
, at the invitation of Wolfgang Wagner
Wolfgang Wagner
Wolfgang Wagner was a German opera director. He is best known as the director of the Bayreuth Festival, a position he initially assumed alongside his brother Wieland in 1951 until the latter's death in 1966...
and Rudolf Kempe
Rudolf Kempe
Rudolf Kempe was a German conductor.- Biography :Kempe was born in Dresden, where from the age of fourteen he studied at the Dresden State Opera School. He played oboe in the opera orchestra of Dortmund and then in the Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestra, from 1929...
, becoming the first Australian to sing a major role at Bayreuth. He studied heldentenor roles with Max Lorenz.
In Italy in the mid-1950s, he had a major career in the houses of San Carlo
Teatro di San Carlo
The Real Teatro di San Carlo is an opera house in Naples, Italy. It is the oldest continuously active such venue in Europe.Founded by the Bourbon Charles VII of Naples of the Spanish branch of the dynasty, the theatre was inaugurated on 4 November 1737 — the king's name day — with a performance...
(Naples), La Fenice
La Fenice
Teatro La Fenice is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of the most famous theatres in Europe, the site of many famous operatic premieres. Its name reflects its role in permitting an opera company to "rise from the ashes" despite losing the use of two theatres...
(Venice), Parma
Teatro Regio di Parma
Teatro Regio di Parma is a famous 19th century opera house and opera company in Parma, Italy. The theatre was originally known as the Teatro Ducale....
and Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, in roles such as Faust, Calaf (Turandot) and Don Carlo
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 appearing with such major names as Tullio Serafin
Tullio Serafin
-Biography:Tullio Serafin was a leading Italian opera conductor with a long career and a very broad repertoire who revived many 19th century bel canto operas by Bellini, Rossini and Donizetti to become staples of 20th century repertoire...
, Carlo Tagliabue
Carlo Tagliabue
Carlo Tagliabue was an Italian baritone.After studies with Leopoldo Gennai and Annibale Guidotti he made his debut in Lodi, Lombardy, in Loreley and Aida. His debuts in Genoa , Torino, La Scala , Rome , and Naples were all in Tristan und Isolde...
, Cesare Siepi
Cesare Siepi
Cesare Siepi was an Italian opera singer, generally considered to have been one of the finest basses of the post-war period. His voice was characterised by a deep, warm timbre, and a ringing, vibrant upper register. On stage, his tall, striking presence and elegance of phrasing made him a natural...
, Ettore Bastianini
Ettore Bastianini
Ettore Bastianini was an Italian opera singer who was particularly associated with the operas of Verdi. He had a prolific international career between 1945 and 1965 which was cut short by throat cancer. He began his professional career as a bass working in opera houses throughout Italy and in...
, Gigliola Frazzoni
Gigliola Frazzoni
Gigliola Frazzoni , is an Italian operatic soprano.She was born in Bologna, where she studied with Marchesi and Secchiaroli, and made her debut at the Teatro Comunale Bologna, as Mimi in La bohème....
, Antonietta Stella
Antonietta Stella
Antonietta Stella is an Italian operatic soprano, one of the finest Italian spinto sopranos of the 1950s and 1960s, possessing a beautiful and ample voice, and particularly associated with Verdi and Puccini roles.Stella studied at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, and made her...
and Ebe Stignani
Ebe Stignani
Ebe Stignani was an Italian opera singer, who was pre-eminent in the dramatic mezzo-soprano roles of the Italian repertoire during a stage career of more than thirty years.-Career:...
.
In 1956 he released his first solo LP Una Serata Dell'Opera with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Paris under Napoleone Annovazzi (now available on CD).
The 1959 Franco Zeffirelli
Franco Zeffirelli
Franco Zeffirelli KBE is an Italian director and producer of films and television. He is also a director and designer of operas and a former senator for the Italian center-right Forza Italia party....
production of 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....
at Covent Garden is famous for 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....
's breakthrough performance in the title role. The tenor role of Edgardo in that production was sung by Ken Neate, who replaced the scheduled tenor at short notice.
On 26 October 1961, Neate created the role of Danforth in the world premiere of Robert Ward's The Crucible
The Crucible (opera)
The Crucible is an English language opera written by Robert Ward based on the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller. It won both the 1962 Pulitzer Prize for Music and the New York Music Critics Circle Citation. The libretto was lightly adapted from Miller's text by Bernard Stambler.Ward received a...
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...
. That year he also sang there as Radames in Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
, Don José, and Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
's Oedipus rex
Oedipus rex (opera)
Oedipus rex is an "Opera-oratorio after Sophocles" by Igor Stravinsky, scored for orchestra, speaker, soloists, and male chorus. The libretto, based on Sophocles's tragedy, was written by Jean Cocteau in French and then translated by Abbé Jean Daniélou into Latin...
.
In 1962 he became principal tenor at the Paris Opera. In Paris and other centres in France, he sang Arnold (Guillaume Tell
William Tell (opera)
Guillaume Tell is an opera in four acts by Gioachino Rossini to a French libretto by Etienne de Jouy and Hippolyte Bis, based on Friedrich Schiller's play Wilhelm Tell. Based on the legend of William Tell, this opera was Rossini's last, even though the composer lived for nearly forty more years...
), Roméo (Roméo et Juliette
Roméo et Juliette
Roméo et Juliette is an opéra in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. It was first performed at the Théâtre Lyrique , Paris on 27 April 1867...
) and Hoffmann (Les Contes d'Hoffmann). In Paris, he studied with Lucien Muratore
Lucien Muratore
Lucien Muratore was a French actor and operatic tenor, particularly associated with the French repertory.- Life and career :...
, who presented Ken with several of his own costumes including that of Don José and his swords and daggers.
In 1966 and 1967 he appeared opposite Birgit Nilsson
Birgit Nilsson
right|thumb|Nilsson in 1948.Birgit Nilsson was a celebrated Swedish dramatic soprano who specialized in operatic and symphonic works...
in a new production of Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde is an opera, or music drama, in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the romance by Gottfried von Straßburg. It was composed between 1857 and 1859 and premiered in Munich on 10 June 1865 with Hans von Bülow conducting...
at the Royal Opera in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, and at Expo 67
Expo 67
The 1967 International and Universal Exposition or Expo 67, as it was commonly known, was the general exhibition, Category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It is considered to be the most successful World's Fair of the 20th century, with the...
in Montreal. The role of Brangaene was sung by Kerstin Meyer
Kerstin Meyer
Kerstin Margareta Meyer is a mezzo-soprano from Stockholm, Sweden.Meyer studied singing in Stockholm with Adelaide von Skilondz, at the Salzburg Mozarteum, and in Siena, Rome, and Vienna. Her debut was at the Royal Swedish Opera in 1952 as Azucena in Verdi's Il trovatore...
.
Ken Neate also sang the 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...
roles of Aegisth, Bacchus and Apollo.
However, his repertoire was not confined to opera. He sang in such works as Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
's 9th Symphony
Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)
The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, is the final complete symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven. Completed in 1824, the symphony is one of the best known works of the Western classical repertoire, and has been adapted for use as the European Anthem...
, Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
's Symphony of a Thousand
Symphony No. 8 (Mahler)
The Symphony No. 8 in E-flat major by Gustav Mahler is one of the largest-scale choral works in the classical concert repertoire. Because it requires huge instrumental and vocal forces it is frequently called the "Symphony of a Thousand", although the work is often performed with fewer than a...
and Das Lied von der Erde
Das Lied von der Erde
Das Lied von der Erde is a large-scale work for two vocal soloists and orchestra by the Austrian composer Gustav Mahler...
, Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
's Gurre-Lieder
Gurre-Lieder
Gurre-Lieder is a massive cantata for five vocal soloists, narrator, chorus and large orchestra, composed by Arnold Schoenberg, on poems by the Danish novelist Jens Peter Jacobsen...
, Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
oratorios, Dvořák
Antonín Dvorák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
's Stabat Mater
Stabat Mater (Dvorák)
Stabat Mater for soli, choir and orchestra is a religious cantata by the Czech composer Antonín Dvořák. The work was sketched in 1876 and completed in 1877.- Background :...
, and the Requiem
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...
s of Mozart
Requiem (Mozart)
The Requiem Mass in D minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was composed in Vienna in 1791 and left unfinished at the composer's death. A completion by Franz Xaver Süssmayr was delivered to Count Franz von Walsegg, who had anonymously commissioned the piece for a requiem Mass to commemorate the...
, Verdi
Requiem (Verdi)
The Messa da Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi is a musical setting of the Roman Catholic funeral mass for four soloists, double choir and orchestra. It was composed in memory of Alessandro Manzoni, an Italian poet and novelist much admired by Verdi. The first performance in San Marco in Milan on 22 May...
and Berlioz
Requiem (Berlioz)
The Grande Messe des morts, Op. 5 by Hector Berlioz was composed in 1837. The Grande Messe des Morts is one of Berlioz's best-known works, with a tremendous orchestration of woodwind and brass instruments, including four antiphonal offstage brass ensembles placed at the corners of the concert stage...
(Grande Messe des morts), under such conductors as Sir Thomas Beecham
Thomas Beecham
Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet CH was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic orchestras. He was also closely associated with the Liverpool Philharmonic and Hallé orchestras...
, Antal Doráti
Antal Doráti
Antal Doráti, KBE was a Hungarian-born conductor and composer who became a naturalized American citizen in 1947.-Biography:...
, Eduard van Beinum
Eduard van Beinum
Eduard van Beinum was a Dutch conductor.-Biography:Beinum was born in Arnhem, Netherlands, where he received his first violin and piano lessons at an early age. He joined the Arnhem Orchestra as a violinist in 1918. His grandfather was conductor of a military band...
, Jascha Horenstein
Jascha Horenstein
Jascha Horenstein was an American conductor.Horenstein was born in Kiev, Russian Empire , into a well-to-do Jewish family; his mother came from an Austrian rabbinical family and his father was Russian....
, Josef Krips
Josef Krips
Josef Alois Krips was an Austrian conductor and violinist.-Biography:Krips was born in Vienna and went on to become a pupil of Eusebius Mandyczewski and Felix Weingartner. From 1921 to 1924, he served as Weingartner's assistant at the Vienna Volksoper and as répétiteur and chorus master...
, Rudolf Kempe
Rudolf Kempe
Rudolf Kempe was a German conductor.- Biography :Kempe was born in Dresden, where from the age of fourteen he studied at the Dresden State Opera School. He played oboe in the opera orchestra of Dortmund and then in the Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestra, from 1929...
, Wolfgang Sawallisch
Wolfgang Sawallisch
Wolfgang Sawallisch is a retired German conductor and pianist.-Biography:Sawallisch was born in Munich, and studied composition and pianoforte there privately: at the conclusion of the war, in 1946 he continued his studies at the Munich High School for Music and passed his final examination for...
and Carlo Maria Giulini
Carlo Maria Giulini
Carlo Maria Giulini was an Italian conductor.-Biography:Giulini was born in Barletta, Italy, to a father born in Lombardy and a mother born in Naples; but he was raised in Bolzano, which at the time of his birth was part of Austria...
.
On his return to Australia to sing Tannhäuser in 1968, his voice was showing signs of degeneration. His last performance in opera was in the title role of 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 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....
, at the Landes Theater in Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
in 1975. Although he was then aged 61, his interpretation of Otello was highly praised, both vocally and dramatically.
Neate also produced operas in Ireland and Austria, such as Il trovatore
Il trovatore
Il trovatore is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play El Trovador by Antonio García Gutiérrez. Cammarano died in mid-1852 before completing the libretto...
, Don Carlo, Tosca, Samson and Delilah
Samson and Delilah (opera)
Samson and Delilah , Op. 47, is a grand opera in three acts and four scenes by Camille Saint-Saëns to a French libretto by Ferdinand Lemaire...
, Tannhäuser and Fidelio
Fidelio
Fidelio is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora...
. He also wrote some songs (Homeward calling; I am off to Kambalda).
Ken Neate died in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Germany on 27 June 1997. His book Great singing: Common Sense in Singing was left uncompleted at his death, and has since been published by his widow.
His maternal cousin was the tenor Jon Weaving
Jon Weaving
Jon Weaving was an Australian opera singer.- Early life and career :He was born on 23 February 1931 in the Melbourne suburb of Kew. His maternal cousin was the tenor Ken Neate...
.