Pablo Elvira (September 24, 1937 – February 5, 2000) was a Puerto Rican

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

. He performed with the

New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, du ...

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 ...

, and he was a strong supporter of opera in the state of

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Colum ...

, where he co-founded the Intermountain Opera in

Bozeman Bozeman is a city and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. Located in southwest Montana, the 2020 census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it the fourth-largest city in Montana. It is the principal city of ...

Life

Elvira was born on September 24, 1937 in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...

, Puerto Rico. He began his musical career playing

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major f ...

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

there, with his uncle, Rafael Elvira, in his orchestra, he continued in his father's band and later started his own band who played at the Hotel San Juan. In 1966, he joined the voice faculty of the

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

School of Music; during his eight years there he performed baritone roles in many of the school's opera productions. In 1974, Elvira made his first appearance with the

. He debuted at the

in 1978 and performed there over 100 times during the next 12 years in works by Rossini, Donizetti, Verdi, Puccini, Berlioz and Leoncavallo. Elvira was a strong supporter of opera in the state of Montana. With Anthony Stivanello and Joe Bostick, he co-founded the Intermountain Opera Association of Montana in

Bozeman, Montana Bozeman is a city and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. Located in southwest Montana, the 2020 census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it the fourth-largest city in Montana. It is the principal city of th ...

in 1979. Elvira married Signe Landoe in 1975, and they moved to

one year later. They had a son, Pablo. Elvira died on February 5, 2000 in Bozeman.

Discography

* Casals: ''El Pessebre'' (Iglesias, Forrester; Casals; 1974) COL * Montemezzi: ''L'amore dei tre re'' (Moffo, Domingo, Siepi; Santi, 1976) RCA * Mascagni: ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (Scotto, Domingo; Levine, 1978) RCA

Videos

* Puccini: ''Manon Lescaut'' (Scotto, Domingo; Levine, Menotti, 1980) ive* Donizetti: ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' (Sutherland, Kraus, Plishka; Bonynge, Donnell, 1982) ive

References

External links

Interview with Pablo Elvira
by Bruce Duffie, November 23, 1985 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Elvira, Pablo 1937 births 2000 deaths People from San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican opera singers Singers from Montana Operatic baritones People from Bozeman, Montana Indiana University faculty 20th-century American male opera singers