Alan Opie
In a nation boasting several excellent lyric baritones, Alan Opie stands apart for his large, incisive voice, handsome in sound and sufficiently generous in scale for the rigors of Verdi's heaviest baritone creations. In addition to his exceptional voice, Opie is an actor of compelling authority in a wide range of roles, stretching from a gallery of Britten portraits to Mozart's Figaro and Don Alfonso. He has been a fulcrum for Chandos Records' Opera in English series. After studying at the Guildhall School of Music and the London Opera Centre, Opie made his professional debut as Papageno, sung with the Sadler's Wells Opera in Liverpool. The following year he made his American debut at Santa Fe, singing Rochefort in Donizetti's Anna Bolena. In 1971, he sang Sid in Albert Herring at the Wexford Festival and in 1972, he became a member of the English Opera Group. In 1973 he was engaged by the English National Opera and began a lengthy relationship with that company. His first appearance at Covent Garden in 1971 was in a minor part, but he quickly moved into major roles. Subsequently, he was heard in the leading houses of Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Milan (La Scala), Munich, Paris, and Vienna, and at the Bayreuth and Glyndebourne festivals. For his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1994, he sang Balstrode in Peter Grimes, a role he later recorded and for which he received a Grammy. The same role brought him back to the Vienna State Opera, where his 1999 debut as Beckmesser had generated acclaim. The latter role brought Opie another Grammy for his participation in Solti's second recording of Die Meistersinger taped during concert performances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In 1998, his vivid Falstaff at the English National Opera brought a nomination for the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera. Aside from opera appearances, Opie has been heard in concert in many of the world's most important venues. An often-recorded artist, Opie has committed to disc many of his most prominent roles. Among these are -- aside from the aforementioned Balstrode and Beckmesser -- Sid in Albert Herring, Cecil in Gloriana, Diomede in Walton's Troilus and Cressida, and a long list of Italian roles sung in English translation, including Ernani, Rigoletto, Tonio, Count di Luna (splendidly sung), and Enrico. Later recorded efforts included Strauss' Ariadne on Naxos for Chandos (2010) and Verdi's Rigoletto for Opera Australia (2011).
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Discography
8 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Walton: The Bear
Richard Hickox, Northern Sinfonia, Alan Opie, Della Jones, John Shirley-Quirk
Opera - Released by Chandos on 1 Nov 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hymnus Paradisi - A Kent Yeoman's Wooing Song
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Joan Rodgers, Alan Opie, Richard Hickox, BBC Symphony Chorus, Anthony rolfe Johnson
Classical - Released by Chandos on 21 Sep 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Holst: The Wandering Scholar, Suite de Ballet & A Song of the Night
Richard Hickox, Northern Sinfonia, Ingrid Attrot, Neill Archer, Alan Opie, Donald Maxwell
Opera - Released by Chandos on 1 May 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Alan Opie chante les airs de Bel Canto
Opera Extracts - Released by Chandos on 1 Oct 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The bear (L'ours)
Della Jones, Alan Opie, John Shirley-Quirk, Northern Sinfonia, Richard Hickox
Full Operas - Released by Chandos on 1 Nov 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hymnus Paradisi...
Joan Rodgers, Anthony rolfe Johnson, Alan Opie, BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Richard Hickox
Classical - Released by Chandos on 1 Jul 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bruce Ford sings Viennese Operetta
Bruce Ford, Walter Weller, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Helen Williams, Alan Opie, Geoffrey Mitchell Choir
Opera - Released by Chandos on 1 Nov 2002
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Alan Opie sings Bel Canto Arias
Opera - Released by Chandos on 1 Oct 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo