Richard Cowan (December 24, 1957 – November 16, 2015) was an American
operatic
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 ...
. A national finalist in the 1985
Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and winner of the Grand Prize in the 1987 Concours International de Chant de Paris, Cowan sang leading roles in the opera houses of Europe and North America and was the artistic director of the Lyrique en Mer opera festival in
Belle Île, which he founded in 1998.
Early life and education
Cowan was born in
Euclid, Ohio, and attended
Euclid High School. He earned a degree in opera and composition from the
Indiana University School of Music in 1981.
Career
Cowan apprenticed first with
Central City Opera and
Michigan Opera Theatre and then joined the
Lyric Opera of Chicago's Center for American Artists in 1983. He made his Chicago debut in 1983 as The Priest in the company premiere of ''
Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk'' and by 1988 had appeared there in ''
Carmen
''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...
'', ''
Arabella
''Arabella'', Op. 79, is a lyric comedy, or opera, in three acts by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, their sixth and last operatic collaboration.
Performance history
It was first performed on 1 July 1933 at the Dr ...
'', and ''
Die Frau ohne Schatten''.
[Delacoma, Wynne (4 December 1988)]
"Deep-voiced Richard Cowan gets down to business"
'' Chicago Sun-Times''. Retrieved via Highbeam Research 9 January 2013 . He later appeared in two more company premieres: Antony in Barber's ''
Antony and Cleopatra
''Antony and Cleopatra'' (First Folio title: ''The Tragedie of Anthonie, and Cleopatra'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed, by the King's Men, at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre in around ...
'' (1991) and John Sorel in Menotti's ''
The Consul'' (1996).
His European debut came in 1985 when on the invitation of
Bruno Bartoletti, he sang The Animal Trainer and The Athlete in
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( , ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...
's ''
Lulu'' at the
Maggio Musicale in Florence, roles he would later reprise in Chicago and at
San Francisco Opera.
In 1985 he was a National Finalist in the
Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and in 1987 won the Grand Prize in the
Concours International de Chant de Paris Concours may refer to:
* Concours d'Elegance, a competition among car owners on the appearance of their cars
* EU Concours, a selection process for staff of the EU institutions
* A competitive examination
* Cadillac Concours, an automobile model ...
.
Cowan made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1990 on the opening night of the season as Schaunard in ''
La bohème'' and went on to perform there as Guglielmo in ''
Così fan tutte
(''All Women Do It, or The School for Lovers''), K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte w ...
'' and in the title role of ''
Don Giovanni
''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...
'',
[ Metropolitan Opera Archives]
Cowan, Richard (Bass-baritone)
Retrieved 9 January 2013. a role he would sing many times in the opera houses of North America and Europe. His other leading roles have included Bluebeard in Bartók's ''
Bluebeard's Castle'' (Deutsche Oper in Berlin, Opera de Geneve, Melbourne, Liege, and the
RAI National Symphony Orchestra in Turin), Escamillo in ''Carmen'' (Chicago, Toronto), Jokanaan in ''
Salome
Salome (; he, שְלוֹמִית, Shlomit, related to , "peace"; el, Σαλώμη), also known as Salome III, was a Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II, son of Herod the Great, and princess Herodias, granddaughter of Herod the Great, an ...
'' (Miami, Minneapolis, Vancouver), and Nick Shadow in Stravinsky's ''
The Rake's Progress'' (
Spoleto Festival).
Cowan was the artistic director of Lyrique en Mer, Festival de
Belle Île in France. He founded the festival in 1998, and has directed various works at the island's Citadelle Vauban such as ''
Otello
''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887.
Th ...
'', ''
Rigoletto'', ''
La traviata
''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...
'', ''Don Giovanni'', ''Così fan tutte'', ''
Le nozze di Figaro'', ''
Dido and Aeneas'', ''
La Cenerentola'', and ''Carmen''.
['' Le Télégramme'' (22 August 2013)]
"Lyrique en mer. Richard Cowan, la cheville ouvrière"
Retrieved 9 January 2013 . He has taught classical voice at
Roosevelt University in Chicago,
Northern Kentucky University, and
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...
.
Personal life
Cowan died after a long illness on November 16, 2015, in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Recordings
*''
La Bohème'' (1988) – Chœur de Radio France and
Maîtrise de Radio France; Orchestre national de France;
James Conlon, conductor. Label:
Erato
In Greek mythology, Erato (; grc, Ἐρατώ) is one of the Greek Muses, which were inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. The name would mean "desired" or "lovely", if derived from the same root as Eros, as Apollonius o ...
*''
Madame Butterfly'' (1995) – Chœurs et Maîtrise de Radio France; Orchestre national de France; James Conlon, conductor. Label:
Sony Classical
Filmography
*Schaunard in ''La Bohème'' (1988 feature film of the opera, directed by
Luigi Comencini)
*Sharpless in ''
Madame Butterfly'' (1995 feature film of the opera, directed by
Frédéric Mitterrand)
*Dr. Clovis Vincent in ''Ravel's Brain'' (2001 television documentary on
Maurice Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...
, directed by Larry Weinstein)
[ Telefilm Canada]
''Ravel's Brain''
Retrieved 9 January 2013.
References
External links
Official website: Lyrique-en-mer, Festival de Belle-Île
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowan, Richard
1957 births
2015 deaths
Carnegie Mellon University faculty
Jacobs School of Music alumni
Northern Kentucky University faculty
American operatic bass-baritones
People from Euclid, Ohio
Roosevelt University faculty
Voice teachers
Winners of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions
Singers from Ohio
Classical musicians from Ohio