The grand opera singers of to-day - an account of the leading operatic stars who have sung during recent years, together with a sketch of the chief operatic enterprises (1912) (14778712591)

Putnam Griswold (1875 – February 26, 1914) was an American

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 libr ...

bass singer.

Biography

Born in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, in 1875, Griswold originally followed a business career. At the age of 22 he discovered his voice and began to study with a local teacher in California. In 1900 he went to London, where he was for two years a pupil of

Alberto Randegger Alberto Randegger (13 April 1832 – 18 December 1911) was an Italian-born composer, conductor and singing teacher, best known for promoting opera and new works of British music in England during the Victorian era and for his widely used textbook o ...

at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including performanc ...

. During the winter of 1902/03 he studied under Bouhy at Paris, the next winter under

Julius Stockhausen The gens Julia (''gēns Iūlia'', ) was one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain the c ...

at Frankfurt; and finally he completed his studies with Emerich at Berlin in 1905. His operatic début took place at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...

, Covent Garden, London, in 1901. During the summer of 1904 he sang at the Royal Opera in Berlin. After having sung the role of

Gurnemanz The Knights of the Round Table ( cy, Marchogion y Ford Gron, kw, Marghekyon an Moos Krenn, br, Marc'hegien an Daol Grenn) are the knights of the fellowship of King Arthur in the literary cycle of the Matter of Britain. First appearing in lit ...

in Savage's production of ''

Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is an opera or a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is loosely based on the 13th-century Middle High German epic poem ''Parzival ...

'' in America (1904–1905), he became in 1906 a regular member of the Berlin Opera. There he remained, appearing also as guest in various German cities, until he came to 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 oper ...

House in 1911, where through his interpretation of Wagner's heroes, he immediately won over the public and critics. Griswold was the first American bass to sing the great Wagner roles at the Metropolitan, where he was compared with the most distinguished of his foreign predecessors. He had been a prime favorite in Berlin, where the critics had praised him as the greatest foreign interpreter of

Wotan (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the ''Nibelun ...

and he was twice decorated by Emperor William (Kaiser Wilhelm). His sudden death on February 26, 1914—due to an attack of

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a ru ...

—came as a shock to his numerous admirers. {{DEFAULTSORT:Griswold, Putnam Musicians from Minneapolis American operatic basses 1875 births 1914 deaths Alumni of the Royal College of Music Pupils of Alberto Randegger 19th-century American male opera singers Singers from Minnesota Classical musicians from Minnesota 20th-century American male opera singers Deaths from appendicitis