Michael Langdon
Encyclopedia
Michael Langdon was a British
bass
opera singer.
Langdon was born in Wolverhampton
. He had six half brothers and sisters, the youngest, Maud being 19 years his senior. His father, Harry was sixty when his youngest son was born (birth name Frank Birtles) and by all accounts a very strong personality. He was blind and after he retired from business, his young son spent much time with him, reading to him, sharing walks and conversation and learning to play the piano. Harry died when Frank was ten. Frank promptly failed the 11 plus, to his teacher's amazement. He excelled at the less academic school he attended. He disliked school and was pleased to leave.
He sang in The Midsummer Marriage
, Gloriana
, The Olympians
, Billy Budd
, A Midsummer Night's Dream
, Don Carlos
, Arabella
, Der Rosenkavalier
, Don Pasquale
, and Abuction from the seraglio, among others.
He was principal bass at the Royal Opera House
from 1951 and sang in most of the great opera houses of the world, most often in the role of Baron Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier during the 1960s and 1970s. His voice has been described as 'basso profundo'. He could reach the lowest noted of that part with ease whilst going into a falsetto for the highest note in the famous waltz - something he wished he didn't have to do.
He was founder-director of the National Opera Studio
. Lesley Garrett
spent a year there during his time. A sub arrachnoid haemorrhage brought an end to his time there after 10 years.
He was an avid football fan, supporting Wolverhampton Wanderers all his life.
Langdon retired from singing in 1977. His autobiography
, Notes From a Low Singer, was published in 1982.
Langdon died in Hove
in 1991. He is survived by his wife, Vera and has two daughters, Christine and Diane
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
bass
Bass (voice type)
A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
opera singer.
Langdon was born in Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
. He had six half brothers and sisters, the youngest, Maud being 19 years his senior. His father, Harry was sixty when his youngest son was born (birth name Frank Birtles) and by all accounts a very strong personality. He was blind and after he retired from business, his young son spent much time with him, reading to him, sharing walks and conversation and learning to play the piano. Harry died when Frank was ten. Frank promptly failed the 11 plus, to his teacher's amazement. He excelled at the less academic school he attended. He disliked school and was pleased to leave.
He sang in The Midsummer Marriage
The Midsummer Marriage
The Midsummer Marriage is an opera in three acts, with music and libretto by Michael Tippett. The work's first performance was at Covent Garden, 27 January 1955, conducted by John Pritchard...
, Gloriana
Gloriana
Gloriana is an opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten to an English libretto by William Plomer, based on Elizabeth and Essex by Lytton Strachey...
, The Olympians
The Olympians
The Olympians is an opera in three acts by Arthur Bliss to a libretto by J. B. Priestley, first performed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on 29 September 1949, conducted by Karl Rankl in a production by Peter Brook....
, Billy Budd
Billy Budd
Billy Budd is a short novel by Herman Melville.Billy Budd can also refer to:*Billy Budd , a 1962 film produced, directed, and co-written by Peter Ustinov, based on Melville's novel...
, A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
, 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...
, Arabella
Arabella
Arabella is a lyric comedy or opera in 3 acts by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, their sixth and last operatic collaboration. It was first performed on 1 July 1933, at the Dresden Sächsisches Staatstheater....
, 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...
, 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 ....
, and Abuction from the seraglio, among others.
He was principal bass at the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
from 1951 and sang in most of the great opera houses of the world, most often in the role of Baron Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier during the 1960s and 1970s. His voice has been described as 'basso profundo'. He could reach the lowest noted of that part with ease whilst going into a falsetto for the highest note in the famous waltz - something he wished he didn't have to do.
He was founder-director of the National Opera Studio
National Opera Studio
The National Opera Studio in London, England was established by the Arts Council as a link between the music colleges and the six main UK opera companies. It was resident at Morley College in Lambeth until 2003, when it gained use for the first time of its own dedicated premises in Chapel Yard,...
. Lesley Garrett
Lesley Garrett
Lesley Garrett CBE is an English musician, broadcaster and media personality.- Early life :Garrett was born in the town of Thorne near Doncaster in South Yorkshire, into a musical family. She attended Thorne Grammar School, where she performed in school plays and musicals. As she grew up she...
spent a year there during his time. A sub arrachnoid haemorrhage brought an end to his time there after 10 years.
He was an avid football fan, supporting Wolverhampton Wanderers all his life.
Langdon retired from singing in 1977. His autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, Notes From a Low Singer, was published in 1982.
Langdon died in Hove
Hove
Hove is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, with which it forms the unitary authority Brighton and Hove. It forms a single conurbation together with Brighton and some smaller towns and villages running along the coast...
in 1991. He is survived by his wife, Vera and has two daughters, Christine and Diane
External links
- Erik Eriksson, Michael Langdon Biography, Allmusic.