Samuel Ramey

About

Official Site: http://www.samuelramey.com/

Commenting on his Met debut in Jamuary 1984, the New York Times said: "Ramey made a temendous impression with his powerful, pliable bass voice, particularly at his dazzling first entry in a wonderful Baroque chariot.

After throwing a big, steely tone out into the house in the aria "Sibilar" he opened the following scene with a dulcet "Vieni o cara" demonstrating his great vocal as well as expressive, range".

A native of Colby, Kansas, American bass Samuel Ramey was active in music throughout high school and college. After apprentice programmes at Central City and Santa Fe, he went to New York where his earliest successes took place at the New York City Opera. As his repertoire grew, he spent more and more time in the theatres of Europe, with particular triumphs in Berlin, Hamburg, London, Paris, Vienna, the festivals of Aix-en-Provence, Glyndebourne, Pesaro and Salzburg.

One of the qualities that has made Ramey so much in demand is his versatility. On the one hand, he can fulfill the damands of the Handel, Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini repertoire with its stress on speed, flexibility and range. On the other, he can fully meet the demands of the dramatic bass voice which became the vogue later in the 19th century, through the operas of Verdi, Wagner, Meyerbeer, Moussorgsky, Boito and Puccini - demands which emphasise power to rise above heavier orchestrations and the ability to project in ever-larger auditoriums.

That Samuel Ramey functions with rare success in both areas is manifested by the acclaim he has won in both repertoires. In the bel-canto repertoire he has been acclaimed for Mozart's DON GIOVANNI and THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO; in Rossini's SEMIRAMIDE, BARBER OF SEVILLE, TURCO IN ITALIA, ITALIANA IN ALGIERI; in Donizetti's ANNA BOLENA and LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR and Bellini's I PURITANI. In the dramatic repertoire he has been acclaimed for his three devils - Boito's MEFISTOFELE, Gounod's FAUST, and Berlioz' DAMNATION OF FAUST; for Verdi's ATTILA, NABUCCO, DON CARLO, I LOMBARI and JERUSALEM; and Offenbach's TALES OF HOFFMAN (all 4 villains).

Samuel Ramey is riding a crest of public and critical success unique to lower male voices. His commitments throughout the world's major opera houses, symphonies, and recording companies extend into the 21st Century.

He is frequently the focal point of new productions at La Scala, Covent Garden, the Vienna Staatsoper, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the San Francisco Opera, the Metropolitan Opera and every other important theatre in the world. He has single-handedly expanded the repertoire of each of these companies by offering a reason to present works written specifically for basses, such as Verdi's Atilla, Rossini's Maometto II and Massenet's Don Quichotte.

Samuel Ramey has made so many important recordings over the span of his career that he can safely be called the most recorded bass in history. He has recorded nearly all of his operatic roles as well as aria albums, symphonic works and crossover discs of popular American music. His exposure on television and video is no less impressive, with films of the Met's Carmen and Bluebeard's Castle, San Francisco's Mefistofele, Glyndebourne's The Rake's Progress and Salzburg's Don Giovanni, to name but a few, to his credit.

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