Rockwell Blake (born January 10, 1951) is an American
opera
Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
tic
tenor
A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...
, particularly known for his roles in
Rossini
Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano p ...
operas. He was the first winner of the
Richard Tucker Award.
Biography
Born and raised in
Plattsburgh, NY, Blake was the son of a
mink
Mink are dark-colored, semiaquatic, carnivorous mammals of the genera ''Neogale'' and '' Mustela'' and part of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, otters, and ferrets. There are two extant species referred to as "mink": the A ...
farmer. After graduating from high school in
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
, he studied music first at the
State University of New York at Fredonia
The State University of New York at Fredonia (alternatively SUNY Fredonia, Fredonia State, or Fredonia) is a public university in Fredonia, New York. It is the westernmost member of the State University of New York. Founded in 1826, it is the six ...
and then at
The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily ...
. On leaving Catholic University, he served for three years in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
as a member of the
Sea Chanters male chorus and later as a soloist with the US Navy Band. During that time, he continued his voice training with Renata Carisio Booth, who had been his teacher since his school days.
He made his solo
opera
Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
debut in 1976 at the
Kennedy Center
The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...
in Washington D.C. as Lindoro in Rossini's ''
L'italiana in Algeri
''L'italiana in Algeri'' (; ''The Italian Girl in Algiers'') is an operatic ''dramma giocoso'' in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Angelo Anelli, based on his earlier text set by Luigi Mosca. It premiered at the Teatro San ...
'', and made his debut at the
New York Metropolitan Opera House in 1981 in the same role, with
Marilyn Horne
Marilyn Berneice Horne (born January 16, 1934) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She specialized in roles requiring beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and the ability to execute difficult coloratura passages. She is a recipient ...
as his Isabella. He went on to become one of the leading
Rossini
Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano p ...
singers of his generation, singing regularly at the
Rossini Opera Festival The Rossini Opera Festival (ROF) is an international music festival held in August of each year in Pesaro, Italy, the birthplace of the opera composer Gioachino Rossini. Its aim, in addition to studying the musical heritage of the composer, is to re ...
in Pesaro since his debut there in 1983. He made his only stage appearance at
La Scala
La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...
in 1992 as Giacomo in ''
La donna del lago
''La donna del lago'' (English language, English: ''The Lady of the Lake'') is an opera composed by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola (whose verses are described as "limpid" by one critic) based on the French translationO ...
''. It was La Scala's first production of the opera in 150 years and was staged to mark the bicentenary of Rossini's birth.
Although several critics have expressed reservations about the intrinsic slightly harsh timbre of his voice, his two-and-a-half octave range and mastery of florid vocal technique
[Kozinn, A., 1989] and
coloratura
Coloratura ( , , ; , from ''colorata'', the past participle of the verb ''colorare'', 'to color') is a passage of music holding elaboration to a melody. The elaboration usually takes the form of runs, trills, wide leaps or other virtuoso ma ...
have made him a successful interpreter not only of Rossini's
tenore contraltino
The ''tenore contraltino'' is a specialized form of the tenor voice found in Italian opera around the beginning of the 19th century, mainly in the Rossini repertoire, which rapidly evolved into the modern "romantic" tenor. It is sometimes referred ...
roles (in whose recent revival he has been a chief protagonist), but also of operas by
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
,
Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian Romantic composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''bel canto'' opera ...
,
Bellini and
Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti.
Born in Halle, Germany, H ...
. Within that repertoire, Blake has sung in over 40 operas, including relative rarities such as Rossini's ''
Zelmira'', Mozart's' ''
Zaide
''Zaide'' (originally, ''Das Serail'') is an unfinished German-language opera, K. 344, written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1780. Emperor Joseph II, in 1778, was in the process of setting up an opera company for the purpose of performing ...
'', Donizetti's ''
Il furioso all'isola di San Domingo'',
Haydn's ''
L'infedelta delusa'' and
Boieldieu's ''La Dame blanche''. Blake has also been active in the orchestral and
oratorio
An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble.
Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...
tenor repertoire, performing in works by
Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...
,
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
,
Berlioz
Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...
,
Britten,
Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti.
Born in Halle, Germany, H ...
, Haydn,
Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonie ...
, Mozart, Rossini,
Saint-Saëns, and
Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of ...
.
Since 2001 he has increasingly devoted himself to teaching and has given
master class
''Master Class'' is a 1995 play by American playwright Terrence McNally, presented as a fictional master class by opera singer Maria Callas near the end of her life, in the 1970s. The play features incidental vocal music by Giuseppe Verdi, Giac ...
es at the Associazione Lirica Concertistica Italiana in Milan, the
Conservatoire Nationale de Paris, the
Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome,
Duke University
Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...
in North Carolina, the
State University of New York at Plattsburgh
The State University of New York at Plattsburgh (SUNY Plattsburgh) is a public university in Plattsburgh, New York, United States. The university was founded in 1889 and officially opened in 1890. The university is part of the State University ...
, the
Hamburg Staatsoper, and the
Chicago Lyric Opera young artists program.
His last appearances on the opera stage were as Uberto in Rossini's ''
La donna del lago
''La donna del lago'' (English language, English: ''The Lady of the Lake'') is an opera composed by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola (whose verses are described as "limpid" by one critic) based on the French translationO ...
'' (Lisbon, 2005) and as Libenskoff in Rossini's ''
Il viaggio a Reims
''Il viaggio a Reims, ossia L'albergo del giglio d'oro'' (''The Journey to Reims, or The Hotel of the Golden Fleur-de-lis'') is an operatic dramma giocoso, originally performed in three acts,Janet Johnson: ''A Lost Masterpiece Recovered'', pp. 37 ...
'' (Montecarlo, 2005).
Prizes and distinctions
*
Richard Tucker Award, 1978
*
Omicron Delta Kappa
Omicron Delta Kappa (), also known as The Circle and ODK, is an American collegiate honor society that recognizes leadership and scholarship. It was founded in 1914, at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia and has chartered more t ...
, 1988, SUNY Plattsburgh
* Cavaliere Ufficiale, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana, 1994
* Diapason d'Or de l'Année, 1994
* Honorary Degree – Doctor of Music, State University of New York at Plattsburgh, 1988
* Victoire de la Musique, 1997
* Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres de la République française, 2000
* Grand Prix du Palmarès des Palmarès, 2004
Discography
Operas
* Boieldieu – ''La Dame blanche'', Conductor:
Marc Minkowski (CD Angel/
EMI)
* Donizetti – ''Alina, Regina di Golconda'': Conductor Antonello Allemandi (CD Nuova Era)
* Donizetti – ''Marino Faliero'', Conductor:
Ottavio Dantone (DVD Hardy Classic)
* Mozart – ''Mitridate Re di Ponto'', Conductor:
Theodor Guschlbauer (DVD Euro Arts)
* Rossini – ''Il barbiere di Siviglia'', Conductor:
Bruno Campanella (CD Nuova Era)
* Rossini - ''Il barbiere di Siviglia'', Conductor:
Ralf Weikert (DVD Deutsche Grammophon)
* Rossini – ''La Donna del Lago'', Conductor:
Riccardo Muti
Riccardo Muti (; born 28 July 1941) is an Italian conductor. He is current music director of the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. Muti has previously held posts at the Maggio Musicale in Florence, the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, the ...
(CD
Philips
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...
)
* Rossini – ''La Donna del Lago'', Conductor: Riccardo Muti (DVD La Scala Collection)
* Rossini – ''La Donna del Lago'', Conductor:
Claudio Scimone
Claudio Scimone (23 December 1934 – 6 September 2018) was an Italian conductor.
He was born in Padua, Italy and studied conducting with Dimitri Mitropoulos and Franco Ferrara. He established an international reputation as a conductor, as wel ...
(CD Ponto)
* Rossini – ''Elisabetta Regina d'Inghilterra'', Conductor Gabriele Ferro (DVD Hardy Classic)
* Meyerbeer – ''Robert le Diable'', Conductor Thomas Fulton (DVD Encore)
Recitals
* ''Airs d'Opéras Français'' (CD EMI)
* ''The Rossini Tenor'' (CD
Arabesque Records)
* ''Encore Rossini'' (CD Arabesque Records)
* ''The Mozart Tenor'' (CD Arabesque Records)
* ''Rossini Melodies'' (CD EMI)
* Participation in ''
The Rossini Bicentennial Birthday Gala'' (VHS/Laserdisc and CD EMI)
References
Notes
Sources
*Duffie, B., January 13, 1991 and January 14, 1996
Interviews with Rockwell Blake WNIB Radio. Accessed 31 July 2008.
New York Metropolitan Opera Data Base. Accessed 31 July 2008.
*Holland, B.
''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', August 13, 1989. Accessed 31 July 2008.
*Horwitz, S., 1991, 'Rockwell Blake', ''Opera Monthly''.
IMG Artists Rockwell Blake Biography. Accessed 25 April 2007.
*Kozinn, A.
''The New York Times'', August 6, 1989. Accessed 31 July 2008.
*Kretschmer, J., 'Top of the Ranks', ''Opera News'', February 1992.
*Law, J., 'La donna del lago (1819)', ''Opera Quarterly'', 1993; 9: 228–232.
2002, Rockwell Blake Biography. Accessed 31 July 2008.
*''
The New Grove Dictionary of Opera
''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes.
The dictionary was first published in 1992 by Macmillan Reference, L ...
'', Oxford University Press.
The Richard Tucker Music Foundation (accessed 25 April 2007)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, Rockwell
1951 births
American operatic tenors
People from Plattsburgh, New York
Richard Tucker Award winners
State University of New York at Fredonia alumni
Catholic University of America alumni
Living people
20th-century American male opera singers
21st-century American male opera singers
State University of New York at Plattsburgh faculty