Word: heldentenore
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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Probably the best-known Wagnerian tenor of the century, Danish-born Lauritz Melchior, retired from the opera stage 19 years ago. Since then, he observes accurately enough, "there has been no one to replace me." One reason is that his major roles require a Heldentenor (heroic tenor), that rare breed of singer with the stature of a Valhalla deity, the projection of a diesel horn and the stamina of a Channel swimmer...
Melchior, now 78, has been doing his part by scouring the ranks of young singers for potential Heldentenor ma terial. He formed his own Heldentenor Foundation five years ago, and by this year had raised enough money to offer some deserving prospect a year of sub sidized study and practice. Last week, at Manhattan's Juilliard School, he auditioned nine candidates from among 50 applicants around the country. The judges included Singers Nilsson and Alexander Kipnis and Juilliard President Peter Mennin. They picked not one but two winners, each of whom proved in extreme ways Melchior's dictum...
...eventually diverted him to Philadelphia's Curtis Institute. Already a veteran of concert engagements and small roles at the Metropolitan Opera, his selections from Lohengrin and Walkure displayed massive power and a brilliantly glossy upper register. Every day, Cochran runs a mile and works out to preserve such Heldentenor traits as his 52-in. chest. "My ambition," he says, "is to be able to keep on singing until...
...singers will probably end up in Germany next season. Cochran has offers from the Stuttgart and Munich operas, and Russell wants to learn the language while developing his technique in a Wagnerian atmosphere. Meantime, Melchior took them both in tow after the audition for a basic introduction to the Heldentenor regimen: a trip to a Danish restaurant in Manhattan for smorgasbord, aquavit and beer in truly heroic quantities...
...easygoing ex-tenor named Edward Johnson, had run a tidy if not altogether harmonious house where the terrible-tempered diva and the haughty, naughty tenor reigned supreme. Bing started with a bang by firing 39 singers and several musicians, including his cousin, Conductor Paul Breisach, as well as aging Heldentenor Lauritz Melchior, whose variations on the score had been the bane of Met conductors for years. Amid the howls of "Adolf Bing!" and "Prussian dictator" Bing remained serene. "I will run this house," he said, "on the principle of quality and quality alone." In 1958, when Maria Callas refused...