Sir Willard Wentworth White, OM, CBE (born 10 October 1946) is a Jamaican-born British 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 ...

Early life

White was born into a Jamaican family in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

. His father was a dockworker, his mother a housewife. White first began to learn music by listening to the radio and singing Nat King Cole songs. He was also inspired by the American bass baritone singer and civil rights activist Paul Robeson. White was a founding member of The Jamaican Folk Singers, and trained at the Jamaican School of Music. In a visit to Jamaica,

Evelyn Rothwell Evelyn, Lady Barbirolli Officer of the Order of the British Empire, OBE (24 January 191125 January 2008) was an English oboe, oboist, and the wife of the eminent conductor Sir John Barbirolli. She was born Evelyn Rothwell, and was known profess ...

, the oboist and wife of conductor Sir John Barbirolli, heard him sing and suggested that he go to study in London. Instead, his father bought him a one-way ticket to New York City, because "the flight was cheaper". He won a scholarship and continued his studies with bass Giorgio Tozzi at the Juilliard School. While at Juilliard, he was selected by

Maria Callas Maria Callas . (born Sophie Cecilia Kalos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her ''bel cant ...

to participate in the master classes she gave there from 1971 to 1972.

Career

In May 1971, White made his debut as the runaway slave Jim in the Juilliard American Opera production of

Hall Overton Hall Franklin Overton (February 23, 1920 – November 24, 1972) was an American composer, jazz pianist and music teacher. He was born in Bangor, Michigan, the first of the three sons of Stanford and Ruth (Barnes) Overton. He grew up in Grand Rapi ...

's opera ''Huckleberry Finn''. He next appeared with New York City Opera in 1974 as Colline in '' La bohème''. In 1976, he made his London opera debut with English National Opera as Seneca in Monteverdi's '' L'incoronazione di Poppea'', having starred with Leona Mitchell that year in the first truly complete recording of '' Porgy and Bess''. He has since sung at the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, Opéra Bastille, the opera houses of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and the major European cities as well as the Festivals at Glyndebourne,

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...

, Verbier, and Salzburg. In addition to covering a wide range of the bass-baritone roles in the standard repertoire by

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

, Verdi,

Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long lin ...

and Wagner, White has also explored less traditional territory by appearing as Bluebeard in Bartók's '' Bluebeard's Castle'', Golaud in Debussy's '' Pelléas and Mélisande'', Tchélio in Prokofiev's '' The Love for Three Oranges'', the title role in

Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithology, ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th century. His m ...

's '' Saint François d'Assise'', Nekrotzar in Ligeti's '' Le Grand Macabre'', Claggart in Britten's''

Billy Budd ''Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative)'' is a novella by American writer Herman Melville, left unfinished at his death in 1891. Acclaimed by critics as a masterpiece when a hastily transcribed version was finally published in 1924, it quick ...

'', John Adams' ''El Niño'', Nick Shadow in

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

's '' The Rake's Progress'', Creon in Stravinsky's ''

Oedipus Rex ''Oedipus Rex'', also known by its Greek title, ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' ( grc, Οἰδίπους Τύραννος, ), or ''Oedipus the King'', is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed around 429 BC. Originally, to the ancient Gr ...

'', the title role in

Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky ( rus, link=no, Модест Петрович Мусоргский, Modest Petrovich Musorgsky , mɐˈdɛst pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈmusərkskʲɪj, Ru-Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky version.ogg; – ) was a Russian compo ...

's ''

Boris Godunov Borís Fyodorovich Godunóv (; russian: Борис Фёдорович Годунов; 1552 ) ruled the Tsardom of Russia as ''de facto'' regent from c. 1585 to 1598 and then as the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. After the end of his ...

'' and Ivan in '' Khovanshchina''. In 2005 he sang Michael Tippett's ''A Child of our Time'' at the First Night of the Proms. His voice was heard as one of the operatic soloists in the Academy Award-winning motion picture '' Amadeus''. Among his most memorable roles are Mephistopheles in Berlioz's ''

The Damnation of Faust ''La damnation de Faust'' (English: ''The Damnation of Faust''), Op. 24 is a work for four solo voices, full seven-part chorus, large children's chorus and orchestra by the French composer Hector Berlioz. He called it a "''légende dramatique'' ...

'' and Porgy in ''Porgy and Bess''. He has starred in non-singing roles, such as a

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

production of ''

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...

'' (1989), with

Ian McKellen Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. His career spans seven decades, having performed in genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. Regarded as a British cultural i ...

as Iago and Imogen Stubbs as Desdemona. He sang Porgy in the Glyndebourne production (1993) of the opera ''Porgy and Bess''. Both productions were directed by Trevor Nunn and both were videotaped for television. White appeared with Cantamus Girls Choir in Harrogate in 2004. He has sung the role of

Vodnik Vodnik (russian: Водник) is a bandy club from Arkhangelsk in Russia. Vodnik was founded in 1925. During the existence of the Soviet Union the club was a part of the Voluntary Sports Societies of the USSR Vodnik. Vodnik became Russian cha ...

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czechs, Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravian traditional music, Moravia and his native Bohemia, following t ...

's opera ''

Rusalka In Slavic folklore, the rusalka (plural: rusalky/rusalki; ; pl, rusałka}) is a typically feminine entity, often malicious toward mankind and frequently associated with water, with counterparts in other parts of Europe, such as the French Melus ...

'' several times, including in a Stefan Herheim production in 2012 at La Monnaie in Brussels and in 2004 at the Metropolitan Opera, New York. On 5 June 2019 at Portsmouth, during the ceremony commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Normandy landings, White interpreted in French the "

Chant des Partisans The "Chant des Partisans" (; "Song of the Partisans") was the most popular song of the Free French and French Resistance during World War II. The piece was written and put to melody in London in 1943 after Anna Marly heard a Russian song, namely Po ...

", the most popular song of the Free French and French Resistance during World War II, in front of veterans and heads of state including

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

, Donald Trump and

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...

. In August 2020, White caused some controversy when he refused to sing

Oley Speaks Oley Speaks (June 28, 1874 – August 7, 1948) was an American composer and songwriter.Oley Speaks at IMDb https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1672696/bio His compositions include many religious songs, as well as his best-known success, " On the Road to ...

' setting of Rudyard Kipling's poem "

Mandalay Mandalay ( or ; ) is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. Located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631km (392 miles) (Road Distance) north of Yangon, the city has a population of 1,225,553 (2014 census). Mandalay was fo ...

", as a planned part of the UK's VJ commemorations, because it "made him feel uncomfortable". Less than a year later, Sir Willard demonstrated his powerful artistic longevity; on 22 May 2021 at the age of 74, he sang the role of Seneca in the premiere of the Vienna State Opera production of

Claudio Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is considered ...

's '' L'incoronazione di Poppea''. In 2022 White sang the role of Count Monterone in Opera North's production of '' Rigoletto'', directed by

Femi Elufowoju jr Oluwafemi Elufowoju Jr. (; ; born 31 October 1962) is a British born, Nigerian raised performance practitioner working across the creative industries After Alton Kumalo's Temba Theatre Company, he is the second theatre director of African desc ...

Awards and personal life

In 1977, the first stereo recording of ''Porgy and Bess'', conducted by

Lorin Maazel Lorin Varencove Maazel (, March 6, 1930 – July 13, 2014) was an American conductor, violinist and composer. He began conducting at the age of eight and by 1953 had decided to pursue a career in music. He had established a reputation in th ...

, in which White sang the role of Porgy, received a Grammy Award. White himself received the Gold Musgrave Medal of The Institute of Jamaica. In 1995 he was awarded the CBE and he was made a Knight Bachelor in the

2004 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2004 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 11 June 2004 for the United Kingdom, New Zealand, the Cook IslandsCook Islands list: and elsewhere to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2004. The recipients of honours are d ...

. In 2000, White was awarded the

Jamaican Order of Merit The Order of Merit is part of the Jamaican honours system, and it is the fourth-highest honour awarded by the nation of Jamaica. The Order of Merit is conferred upon Jamaicans or distinguished citizens of other countries who have achieved interna ...

(OM), then the third highest honour in the Jamaican honours system, for eminent international distinction in the performing arts. This entitles him to the

prenominal Pre-nominal letters are a title which is placed ''before'' the name of a person as distinct from a post-nominal letters, post-nominal title which is placed ''after'' the name. Examples of pre-nominal titles, for instance professional titles inclu ...

style " The Honourable". White lives in Lewisham, South East London.

Selected discography

* ''Wagner: Die Walküre'' as

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 ...

with

Eva Johansson Eva Johansson (25 February 1958) is a Danish operatic soprano. Born in Copenhagen and educated at Ingrid Jespersens School, Johansson studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music and then the Copenhagen Opera Academy as well as privately with Or ...

Robert Gambill Robert Gambill (born March 31, 1955 in Indianapolis) is an opera singer (Heldentenor). Biography Gambill studied mathematics at Purdue University (1973-1976) before becoming an exchange student at Hamburg University in Germany, where he ad ...

, Lilli Paasikivi,

Eva-Maria Westbroek Eva-Maria Westbroek (born 26 April 1970) is a Dutch soprano opera singer. Training Westbroek studied at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague from 1988 to 1995. Her vocal teachers included Iris Adami Corradetti and the American tenor James McCr ...

, Berlin Philharmonic,

Simon Rattle Sir Simon Denis Rattle (born 19 January 1955) is a British-German conductor. He rose to international prominence during the 1980s and 1990s, while music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980–1998). Rattle was principal ...

, Festival Aix-en-Provence, DVD * ''Berlioz: La damnation de Faust'' as Mephistopheles with Veselina Kasarova, Paul Groves, Salzburg Festival, Sylvain Cambreling, DVD * ''Porgy and Bess'' with Leona Mitchell, Barbara Hendricks, Florence Quivar, and others, the Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus conducted by

. This is the first truly complete recording of ''Porgy and Bess'' ever made. Decca (

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

in the US) * ''The Paul Robeson Legacy'' (2002), a collection of spirituals and ballads made famous by Paul Robeson, arranged specially for Willard White. ''

Linn Records Linn Records is a Glasgow-based record label which specialises in classical music, jazz and Scottish music. It is part of Linn Products. History While Linn engineers were testing their flagship product, the Sondek LP12 turntable, they became fru ...

'' AKD 190, (with

Guy Barker Guy Jeffrey Barker, (born 26 December 1957) is an English jazz trumpeter and composer. Early life Barker was born in Chiswick, London, the son of an actress and a stuntman. He started playing the trumpet at the age of twelve, and within a year ...

, trumpet) * ''Willard White – A Gala Celebration'': Carl Davis: "Three Spirituals", "On The Beach (Whitman)", Copland: "Old American Songs", opera arias by Mozart and Gounod,

Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', which has become on ...

's "

Pearl Fishers' Duet "" ("At the back of the holy temple") is a duet from Georges Bizet's 1863 opera ''Les pêcheurs de perles''. The libretto was written by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. Generally known as "The Pearl Fishers' Duet", it is one of the most popular nu ...

", and Broadway numbers including " Some Enchanted Evening" and "

Ol' Man River "Ol' Man River" is a show tune from the 1927 musical ''Show Boat'' with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. The song contrasts the struggles and hardships of African Americans with the endless, uncaring flow of the Mississipp ...

". With

Bonaventura Bottone Bonaventura Bottone (born 19 September 1950 in London) is an operatic tenor who has performed at many of the world's leading opera houses. He trained at the Royal Academy of Music in London. The Academy awarded him a Fellowship in 1998. He ...

, tenor, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, cond. Carl Davis, conductor. RLCD 204 * ''Porgy and Bess'' with Cynthia Haymon,

Harolyn Blackwell Harolyn Blackwell (born November 23, 1955) is an American lyric coloratura soprano who has performed in many of the world's finest opera houses, concert halls, and theaters in operas, oratorios, recitals, and Broadway musicals. Initially known ...

, Glyndebourne Chorus and

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

, conducted by

. Another complete recording of the opera, and the basis for the 1993 television production. EMI. * ''Mozart:

Requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

'' with

Barbara Bonney Barbara Bonney (born April 14, 1956) is an American soprano. She is associated with lyric soprano roles in operas by Mozart and Richard Strauss as well as lieder performances. Early life Bonney was born in Montclair, New Jersey. As a child she pr ...

, Anne Sofie von Otter, Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner. * ''Handel: Messiah'' with

Yvonne Kenny Yvonne Kenny AM (born 25 November 1950) is an Australian soprano, particularly associated with Handel, Mozart and bel canto roles. Biography Born in Sydney, she first studied at the University of Sydney in science, hoping to become a biochemi ...

Jean Rigby Jean Rigby (born 22 December 1954) is an English opera and concert singer. A mezzo-soprano, she is a long-time principal with the English National Opera. Biography Born in Fleetwood, Lancashire, Rigby studied at the Birmingham School of Music and ...

and Thomas Randle, with the

Royal Choral Society The Royal Choral Society (RCS) is an amateur choir, based in London. History Formed soon after the opening of the Royal Albert Hall in 1871, the choir gave its first performance as the Royal Albert Hall Choral Society on 8 May 1872 – the choir' ...

and the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

, conducted by

Owain Arwel Hughes Owain Arwel Hughes Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 21 March 1942) is a Welsh people, Welsh orchestral conductor. Hughes was born in Ton Pentre, Rhondda, the son of the composer Arwel Hughes. He studied at Howardian High School, Cardiff, ...

. * ''Dvořák:

'', 2012 production at La Monnaie, released 2014 on EuroArts DVD, Blu-ray.''Rusalka''
EuroArts.

References

Notes

External links