József Gregor (8 August 1940 - 27 October 2006) was a renowned Hungarian operatic

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

who enjoyed success first in Hungary, then in

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and

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, and finally in the

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. József Gregor was born in Rákosliget, a small town that is now part of

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. He studied violin for ten years and then, voice at the

Liszt Academy The Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music ( hu, Liszt Ferenc Zeneművészeti Egyetem, often abbreviated as ''Zeneakadémia'', "Liszt Academy") is a music university and a concert hall in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875. It is home to the ...

in Budapest for one year but did not graduate. He started singing with the Hungarian Army chorus in 1958 before becoming a soloist in

National Theatre of Szeged The National Theatre of Szeged is the main theatre of Szeged, Hungary. It was built in 1883 by the well-known company of Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer in Eclectic and Neo-baroque style. Theatre in Szeged The last decades of the 19th cen ...

in Hungary. In Europe he sang in many opera houses, including

Vlaamse Opera The Vlaamse Opera (Flemish Opera) is an opera company in Belgium directed by Jan Vandenhouwe which operates in two different opera houses in two Flemish cities, the Vlaamse Opera Antwerp at Van Ertbornstraat 8 and the Vlaamse Opera Ghent at Schouwbu ...

and

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

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. Beginning in 1989, József Gregor appeared in the US with the Portland Opera and later with the

Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is an American opera company located in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1955 by German-born impresario Walter Herbert and three local Houstonians,Giesberg, Robert I., Carl Cunningham, and Alan Rich. ''Houston Grand Opera at ...

(with

Cecilia Bartoli Cecilia Bartoli, Cavaliere OMRI (; born 4 June 1966) is an Italian coloratura mezzo-soprano opera singer and recitalist. She is best known for her interpretations of the music of Bellini, Handel, Mozart, Rossini and Vivaldi, as well as for her ...

at her American debut) and 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 ...

(with

Bryn Terfel Sir Bryn Terfel Jones, (; born 9 November 1965) (known professionally as Bryn Terfel) is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly '' Figaro'', ''Leporello'' and ''D ...

). His most famous roles included Sarastro, Osmin, Falstaff, Don Pasquale, Dulcamara, Don Basilio, Don Bartolo, Don Alfonso, Leporello, Don Magnifico, Boris Godunov, Gremin, Varlaam, Gianni Schicchi, Philip II, Banquo, Attila, Pagano, Fiesco, Mephistofeles, Bluebeard etc., roles in masses and oratorios, musicals (Tevye, Caiaphas), and songs. He died in

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

of gastric cancer. József Gregor made many recordings. They were with Arts Music,

Sony Classical Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired by S ...

and, particularly, the Hungarian state label

Hungaroton Hungaroton is the oldest record and music publisher company in Hungary. Hungaroton was founded in 1951, when its only competitors in the Hungarian music market were record labels like Melodiya, Supraphon and from other socialist countries. Pre ...

. In 1996, he met Andras Ruszanov who wrote a Hungarian lyrics version of

Comme d'habitude "" (, French for "As usual") is a French song about routine in a relationship falling out of love, composed in 1967 by Jacques Revaux, with lyrics by Claude François and . In 1968 the song was adapted by David Bowie and given new lyrics to crea ...

My Way "My Way" is a song popularized in 1969 by Frank Sinatra set to the music of the French song "Comme d'habitude" composed by Jacques Revaux with lyrics by Gilles Thibaut and Claude François and first performed in 1967 by Claude François. Its E ...

for him. József Gregor went to a studio and made a record this song titled Az én utam directed by Péter Wolf. József Gregor performed Az én utam in one of the most popular TV show in Budapest, since then this version has been permanently on the playlists of numerous radio stations in Hungary.Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine

References

External links

obituary by

Anne Midgette Anne Midgette (born June 22, 1965) is an American music critic who was the first woman to write classical music criticism regularly for ''The New York Times''. She was the chief classical music critic of ''The Washington Post'' from 2008 to 2 ...

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, October 31, 2006
Jozsef Gregor: 1940--2006 Opera singer, director of company celebrated for powerful voice
obituary by the

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in the

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

, October 28, 2006 1940 births 2006 deaths 20th-century Hungarian male opera singers Operatic bass-baritones {{Hungary-opera-singer-stub