Roald Reitan (11 November 1928 – 21 February 2011 ) 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 librett ...

tic

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 ...

who had an active international career from the 1950s through the 1970s.

Life and career

Born in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

, Reitan graduated from Stadium High School in 1946. He then studied voice at the

University of Puget Sound The University of Puget Sound (UPS or Puget Sound) is a private university in Tacoma, Washington. The university draws approximately 2,600 students from 44 states and 16 countries. It offers 1,200 courses each year in more than 50 traditional an ...

while simultaneously working for an appliance store. He began his career with the San Francisco Opera, making his professional debut as the First Officer in '' Dialogues of the Carmelites'' in 1957. In 1959 Reitan won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. He was offered a contract at the Met, making his debut with the company in October 1959 as the Gypsy in '' Il trovatore'' under conductor

Fausto Cleva Fausto Cleva (May 17, 1902August 6, 1971) was an Austro-Hungarian Empire-born American operatic conductor. Life and career Fausto Cleva was born in Trieste in 1902. After studies at the Conservatorio in his native city and Milan, Cleva made his ...

. He made 250 appearances at the Met between 1959 and 1963, portraying mainly small to mid size roles like Baron Douphol in ''

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 ...

'', Frank in '' Die Fledermaus'', the Herald in ''

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 ...

'', Jago in ''

Ernani ''Ernani'' is an operatic ''dramma lirico'' in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the 1830 play ''Hernani (drama), Hernani'' by Victor Hugo. Verdi was commissioned by the Teatro La Fenice in V ...

'', the Jailer in ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...

'', Jim Larkens in ''

La fanciulla del West ''La fanciulla del West'' (''The Girl of the West'') is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by and , based on the 1905 play '' The Girl of the Golden West'' by the American author David Belasco. ''Fanciulla'' followe ...

'', Mandarin in '' Turandot'', Masetto in ''

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 ...

'', Roucher in ''

Andrea Chénier ''Andrea Chénier'' () is a verismo opera in four acts by Umberto Giordano, set to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica, and first performed on 28 March 1896 at La Scala, Milan. The story is based loosely on the life of the French poet Andr ...

'', Schaunard in '' La bohème'', Silvano in ''

Un ballo in maschera ''Un ballo in maschera'' ''(A Masked Ball)'' is an 1859 opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The text, by Antonio Somma, was based on Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's 1833 five act opera, '' Gustave III, ou Le bal masqué''. The ...

'', Silvio in ''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, "Clowns") is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who m ...

'', Wagner in '' Faust'', the Wigmaker in '' Ariadne auf Naxos'', and Yamadori in ''

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...

''. However, he did appear in several performances of one major role at the Met, Figaro in ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was base ...

'' opposite

Jeanette Scovotti Jeanette Scovotti (born December 5, 1936 in New York City) is an American coloratura soprano. Life and career In 1956 Scovotti was in the ensemble of the original Broadway cast of ''Li'l Abner''; the only Broadway production she ever appeared in. ...

's Rosina. His last appearance with the company was as Ortel in ''

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (; "The Master-Singers of Nuremberg"), WWV 96, is a music drama, or opera, in three acts, by Richard Wagner. It is the longest opera commonly performed, taking nearly four and a half hours, not counting two breaks between acts, and is traditio ...

'' on May 22, 1963. Reitan was singing the role of the Surgeon in ''

La forza del destino ' (; ''The Power of Fate'', often translated ''The Force of Destiny'') is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, ' (1835), by Ángel de Saavedra, 3rd Duke of Rivas, wi ...

'' on March 4, 1960, and was on stage with Leonard Warren when the latter collapsed and died during the performance. Reitan created the leading role of the Roman Soldier in the world premiere of George Thaddeus Jones's Easter television opera ''Break of Day'' which was broadcast nationally on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

on April 3, 1961. From 1964 until 1967 he was a resident artist at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. In 1973 he was the soloist in the world premiere of Leroy Ostransky's ''Songs for Julia'' with the Seattle Symphony under conductor

Milton Katims Milton Katims (June 24, 1909February 27, 2006) was an American violist and conductor. He was music director of the Seattle Symphony for 22 years (1954–76). In that time he added more than 75 works, made recordings, premiered new pieces and le ...

. He died of lung cancer in Tacoma at the age of 82.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reitan, Roald 1928 births 2011 deaths American operatic baritones University of Puget Sound alumni Winners of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Musicians from Tacoma, Washington Deaths from lung cancer Deaths from cancer in Washington (state) 20th-century American male opera singers