Robert Edward Joseph Allman
[ (8 June 19274 December 2013) was an Australian operatic ]bass-baritone
A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing thr ...
.
Biography
Robert Allman was born in Melbourne in 1927. He studied in Paris and sang at the Royal Opera, 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 si ...
for three seasons from 1955. He then moved to Germany, where he sang in over a dozen opera houses. He also sang in opera houses including Zurich, New Orleans, Singapore and Vienna.[Opera Arts]
/ref>
In 1965, he sang with the Sutherland-Williamson Opera Company on its tour of Australia, alongside Joan Sutherland
Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010) was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano known for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s.
She possessed ...
herself, Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...
, Lauris Elms
Lauris Margaret Elms (born 20 October 1931) is an Australian retired contralto, renowned for her roles in opera and lieder and as a recording artist.
Biography
She was born in Springvale, Victoria, the elder daughter of Harry Britton Elms an ...
, Margreta Elkins
Margreta Elkins (born Margaret Ann Enid Geater; 16 October 19301 April 2009) was an Australian mezzo-soprano. She sang at The Royal Opera and with Opera Australia and other companies, but turned down offers to sing at the Metropolitan Opera, B ...
and others.
He then became a Principal Artist with Opera Australia, where he remained for the rest of his career. He sang in eleven roles alongside Sutherland. His repertoire included the core bass-baritone roles of Rigoletto, Gianni Schicchi, Macbeth
''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
, The Flying Dutchman and Simon Boccanegra. He also sang as Don Fernando and Pizarro in '' Fidelio'', Rangoni in ''Boris Godunov
Borís Fyodorovich Godunóv (; russian: Борис Фёдорович Годунов; 1552 ) ruled the Tsardom of Russia as ''de facto'' regent from c. 1585 to 1598 and then as the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. After the end of his ...
'', Valentin in '' Faust'', Wolfram in '' Tannhäuser'', Donner in '' Das Rheingold'', Telramund in '' Lohengrin'', Kothner in ''Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
(; "The Master-Singers of Nuremberg"), WWV 96, is a music drama, or opera, in three acts, by Richard Wagner. It is the longest opera commonly performed, taking nearly four and a half hours, not counting two breaks between acts, and is traditio ...
'', the four villain roles in '' The Tales of Hoffmann'', Anckarstroem in '' Un ballo in maschera'', Amonasro in '' Aida'', Iago in ''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, first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887.
Th ...
'', Germont in ''La traviata
''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') 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'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...
'', Sharpless in ''Madama Butterfly
''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.
It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...
'', Tonio in ''Pagliacci
''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, "Clowns") is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who m ...
'', Marcello in '' La bohème'' and Scarpia in '' Tosca''.[
]
Recordings
His recordings include a complete ''Lucrezia Borgia
Lucrezia Borgia (; ca-valencia, Lucrècia Borja, links=no ; 18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was a Spanish-Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She reigned as the Govern ...
'' ( Donizetti), with Sutherland and Elkins, conducted by Richard Bonynge
Richard Alan Bonynge ( ) (born 29 September 1930) is an Australian conductor and pianist. He is the widower of Australian dramatic coloratura soprano Dame Joan Sutherland. Bonynge conducted virtually all of Sutherland's operatic performances ...
, as well as ''Fidelio'' and ''Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg''.
Honours
Allman was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1980 New Year's Honours,[It's an Honour: OBE]
/ref> and a Member of the Order of Australia in the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1992.
He was a Patron of the Joan Sutherland Society of Sydney.
His death was announced on 4 December 2013.Obituary: Robert Allman OBE AM
/ref>
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allman, Robert
1927 births
2013 deaths
Operatic bass-baritones
20th-century Australian male opera singers
Singers from Melbourne
20th-century Australian male musicians
20th-century Australian musicians