Edward Zambara (1926 in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada – August 7, 2007 in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, USA) was a Canadian-American

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 ...

singer and leading music educator.

Training

He studied

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

with

Boris Goldovsky Boris Goldovsky (Борис Анисимович Голдовский; June 7, 1908 - February 15, 2001) was a Russian Empire-born conductor and broadcast commentator, active in the United States. He has been called an important "popularizer" of op ...

and

Sarah Caldwell Sarah Caldwell (March 6, 1924March 23, 2006) was an American opera conducting, conductor, impresario, and stage director. Early life Caldwell was born in Maryville, Missouri, and grew up in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She was a child prodigy and ...

, as well as lieder with

Felix Wolfes Felix Wolfes (September 2, 1892 in Hannover – March 28, 1971 in Boston) was an American educator, Conducting, conductor and composer.''Baker's Biographical Dictionary'', eighth edition, p. 2068 Biography Felix was born to Jewish parents in Hanno ...

, Frederic Popper,

Jörg Demus Jörg Wolfgang Demus (2 December 1928 – 16 April 2019) was an Austrian classical pianist who appeared internationally and made many recordings. He was also a composer and a lecturer at music academies. In composition and playing, he focused on ...

, and Eric Werba. Most significantly, Zambara was the pupil of Professor William L. Whitney at the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music Music school, conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The ...

at which he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in vocal performance in 1950 and 1952, respectively. Uncle of Giuseppe Zambara. Zambara gained from Whitney a thorough knowledge of the training methods and performance traditions of the Italian

bel canto Bel canto (Italian for "beautiful singing" or "beautiful song", )—with several similar constructions (''bellezze del canto'', ''bell'arte del canto'')—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing. The phrase was not associat ...

. This Whitney himself received as the pupil of

Luigi Vannuccini Luigi Vannuccini (4 December 1828 – 14 August 1911) was an Italian conductor, composer and teacher of bel canto Life Born in Foiano della Chiana, Vannuccini began his musical studies with his father Ernesto, who had been singing teacher in Flo ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, who, in addition to being a master voice teacher, conducted the Italian premiere of

Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...

, and worked closely with the opera composers

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

Vincenzo Bellini Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (; 3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) was a Sicilian opera composer, who was known for his long-flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania". Many years later, in 1898, Giu ...

Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian 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 style dur ...

, and

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

. Thus, the lineage of Zambara's vocal training can be traced to the Italian vocal maestri of the early 19th-century.

Teaching

Following Whitney's death in 1950, Zambara, while continuing to perform, resolved to continue his teacher's legacy by training singers in bel canto, and by passing on to others the style and performance traditions of classical singing as taught to him by Professor Whitney. Zambara's teaching career began at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

in 1952. Between 1958 and 1960, he taught at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

. In 1961, he returned to the University of Tennessee as the chair of the voice department, teaching there until 1981. During that tenure, Zambara also founded the

Knoxville Opera The Knoxville Opera is an American opera company based in Knoxville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1978 as the Knoxville Civic Opera by Edward Zambara, who served as Artistic Director until 1981. The company changed its name and became an entirely p ...

, and in 1980, he received the Tennessee Governor's Award in the Arts. Subsequently, Zambara was appointed to endowed voice professorships at the St. Louis Conservatory of Music, the New England Conservatory of Music,

Curtis Institute The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...

, and the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

. In 1997, he was inducted into th
American Academy of Teachers of Singing
a select group of nationally recognized teachers. At the time of his death, Zambara was on the faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music. He had also served on the faculty of the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

Young Artists Program, the Music Academy of the West, the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists, and the Franz Schubert Institüt. Zambara often was asked to serve as a judge at district and regional Metropolitan Opera auditions. For many years, Zambara had been one of the most sought-after voice professors in the United States. Many of his pupils are successful performers in the opera houses of Europe and the United States. As well, many are successful teachers who follow his example by training young singers in the bel canto vocal tradition.

Notable pupils

Notable pupils of Edward Zambara include:
Laurence Albert
*

Kevin Burdette Kevin Burdette is an American bass who has worked as a soloist with the Teatro alla Scala, Metropolitan Opera, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Santa Fe Opera, Seattle Opera, Teatro Colón, Dallas Opera, San Diego Opera, Washington National Opera, New Y ...

Deborah Cole
*

Bruce Fowler Bruce Lambourne Fowler (born July 10, 1947) is an American trombonist and composer. He played trombone on many Frank Zappa records, as well as with Captain Beefheart and in the Fowler Brothers Band. He composes and arranges music for movies, an ...

James Daniel Frost
*

Denyce Graves Denyce Graves (born March 7, 1964) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. Early life Graves was born on March 7, 1964, in Washington, D.C., to Charles Graves and Dorothy (Middleton) Graves-Kenner. She is the middle of three children and w ...

Mary Gayle Greene
* Gordon Holleman * Victor Jannett
Lester Lynch
* John LaPierre * Heather Meyers * Cory Miller * Beverly Mosby * Gregory Newton * John Osborn
Randall Outland
*

John Relyea John Relyea (born 1972 in Toronto) is a Canadian bass-baritone opera singer and winner of the 2003 Richard Tucker Award. He was born in 1972 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to Gary Relyea, one of Canada's well-known opera singers, and a native Es ...

Jennifer Rivera Jennifer Rivera is an American mezzo-soprano who has had an active international performance career in operas and concerts since the early 2000s. Rivera studied at the Juilliard School and appeared in several productions with the Juilliard Opera ...

* Mark Stingley *

Cheryl Studer Cheryl Studer (born October 24, 1955) is an American dramatic soprano who has sung at many of the world's foremost opera houses. Studer has performed more than eighty roles ranging from the dramatic repertoire to roles more commonly associated ...

* Victoria Thompson *

Fernando del Valle Fernando del Valle (né Brian Stephen Skinner; February 28, 1964) is an American operatic tenor. He is the son of Edward King Skinner II, a Korean War veteran and Concha Marina Meléndez del Valle the cousin of George Melendez Wright. He is th ...

* Perry Ward *

Delores Ziegler Delores Ziegler (born 4 September 1951) is an American mezzo-soprano who has had an active international performance career since the late 1970s. A former resident artist at the Cologne Opera, she has performed leading roles with many of the world ...

External links

NEC Mourns the Death of Bass-baritone Edward Zambara ’50, ’52 M.M., Longtime Voice Teacher at Conservatory

Edward Zambara, dead at 81; taught singing to acclaimed performers

Obituary guestbook for Edward H. Zambara
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zambara, Edward Operatic bass-baritones 1926 births 2007 deaths New England Conservatory faculty 20th-century Canadian male singers Singers from Vancouver Burials at Walnut Hills Cemetery (Brookline, Massachusetts)