Maurice Stern

Maurice Stern (Mauro Lampi) is an American operatic tenor and sculptor. He graduated from the Eastman School of Music. He made his debut at the New York City Opera as The Emperor Altuom in Giacomo Puccini's ''Turandot'', and received a laudatory solo review by Eric Salzman of ''The New York Times'' for that small role.

Stern progressed from small character parts to the lyric tenor roles of Don Ottavio, Belmonte, The Duke in ''Rigoletto'', Roméo, Rodolfo, Pinkerton, and Cavaradossi. He then played great dramatic tenor roles, including Otello, Radames, Canio, Don José, Calaf, Manrico, Don Alvaro, Andrea Chenier, Samson, Dick Johnson, Bacchus, Lohengrin and Tannhäuser. During his international career, he also studied with Franco Corelli in New York City.

Stern performed in opera houses in the United States, Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe and China. He received critical acclaim for his singing, his acting and character delineation, and his portrait sculpture and works on paper.

Stern now performs as a duo with his wife, and continues his work in the visual arts.

Life and career

Early studies

Stern's vocal training began at age 14 in New York City with Eduardo Battente, a tenor graduate of the Naples Conservatory. Stern learned the roles of The Duke in Rigoletto; Nemorino in ''Don Pasquale'' and Edgardo in ''Lucia di Lammermoor''.
Stern attended the High School of Music and Art, now known as Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. During his years there, he performed regularly as a super (non-singing extra) at the Metropolitan Opera.

At 17, Stern performed the leading role of Mr. Scratch (The Devil) in the High School of Music and Art's production of ''The Devil and Daniel Webster'' at Hunter College's Sylvia and Danny Kaye Playhouse, with composer Douglas Moore attending. Moore expressed his astonishment that such a young singer could interpret the role so powerfully. Stern received the Voice Award upon graduating.

Stern married fellow vocal student Barbara Cagnazzo, an aspiring soul singer. During the Korean War, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and stationed in Germany, where he continued vocal study, gave concerts at the Amerika Haus in Heidelberg. On returning to the U.S., he continued his studies at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, and became a father to his first two children, sons Robert (1952) and Stephen (1954).

He received the McCurdy Scholarship for Juniors. He also won the "You Can Be a Star Series" Contest sponsored by WHAM-TV in Rochester, whose prize was an automobile, a screen test in Hollywood, and the opportunity to meet celebrity personalities Jack Benny, Jimmy Durante and Betty White.

Stern's parents were European emigrants of varied ethnicity. He speaks five languages.

New York City Opera

After graduating from the Eastman School of Music, Stern and his family returned to New York. He and his wife had a third child, daughter Heidi (1960), in Queens, where they first resided. After marrying his second wife, Rita Loving, an accomplished pianist, singer, and operatic vocal coach, Stern and his children moved to Manhattan's Upper West Side. Maurice became the cantor soloist in a reform synagogue. Also during this period he performed in the popular Viennese and Italian restaurants that featured opera, operetta and Italian songs, such as the Viennese Lantern, Bianchi & Margaritas, and Asti's.

Throughout most of the 1960s Stern performed as a tenor soloist with orchestras in many Catskill Hotels, including the famous Concord Hotel where the composer Sholom Secunda was the musical director and conductor. Stern performed in the Catskill Mountains and onstage in New York City in collaboration with his second wife as a duet act called "Loving and Stern." In addition, Stern performed as soloist under Secunda at Madison Square Garden.

Stern received a scholarship from the Henry Street Settlement to study with the Metropolitan Opera soprano Rose Bampton and her husband, conductor Wilfrid Pelletier. Stern performed the role of Spoleta in an NBC production of Puccini's ''Tosca'' with Pelletier conducting. An audition for the New York City Opera, arranged by Bampton, began Stern's operatic career.

Among the many roles he sang at New York City Opera were Porcus in Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher by Arthur Honegger; Don Basilio in The Marriage of Figaro and Tanchum the Madman in the world premiere of ''The Golem'', by Abraham Ellstein. In the role of Tanchum Miles Kastendieck of the New York Journal-American noted "Maurice Stern's madman topped all the characterizations, for he acts and sings with complete conviction." Paul Henry Lang of New York Herald Tribune wrote, "Maurice Stern acted and sang the role of the madman with convincing force." Winthrop Sargeant of The New Yorker stated, "Maurice Stern, as a ghetto madman, made outstanding contributions …with his exceptional abilities as an actor."

Stern sang the role of Giles Corey in the world premiere of ''The Crucible (opera)'' by Robert Ward at the New York City Opera, and also in its first recording. Irving Kolodin noted in The Saturday Review that "Maurice Stern was a striking Giles Corey". Stern performed regularly with the company through 1963 and later returned as guest in the roles of Robespierre in the American premieres of ''Danton's Death'' by Gottfried von Einem and ''The Inspector General'' by Werner Egk. He also appeared as the Shepherd in ''Oedipus Rex'' by Igor Stravinsky. Further roles in Douglas Moore operas included: An Old Silver Miner in ''The Ballad of Baby Doe''; The Lecturer at the National Gallery in the world premiere of ''The Wings of the Dove'' at the New York City Opera, and a repeat performance of Mr. Scratch in ''The Devil and Daniel Webster'' at Kansas City Lyric Theater.

Stern appeared as Captain James Lee in the world premiere of ''Deseret'', an opera by Leonard Kastle

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