Willem Ravelli (31 May 1892 – 21 September 1980) was a Dutch classical

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 ...

and an academic voice teacher. After a short operatic career with

De Nederlandse Opera The Dutch National Opera (DNO; formerly De Nederlandse Opera, now De Nationale Opera in Dutch) is a Dutch opera company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its present home base is the Dutch National Opera & Ballet housed in the Stopera building, a m ...

, he worked mostly in concert, singing ''

Lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...

er'' and oratorios. He is known for as the voice of Christ in Bach's ''

St Matthew Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (german: Matthäus-Passion, links=-no), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets ...

'', which he performed more than 400 times, including the first recording of the work.

Career

Born Willem Albert Felix Ravelli in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

, Ravelli studied voice with Frans Andreolie and Cornélie van Zanten, then at the conservatory in his home town in the opera class of

Anton Sistermans Anton Sistermans (5 August 18655 March 1926) was a Dutch baritone during the late 19th-early 20th century. He is particularly notable for interpretations of lieder and oratorios. During his career, Sistermans premiered important compositions by ...

. Ravelli was a member of the

in Amsterdam from the 1922/23 season. He appeared in many supporting roles, such as Morales in Bizet's ''

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 ...

'' and Alcindor in Puccini's '' La bohème'', and in 1927 as Wolfram in Wagner's ''

Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; gmh, Tanhûser), often stylized, "The Tannhäuser," was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and 1 ...

''. He focused on concert singing, succeeding Thomas Denijs as the

vox Christi Vox (Latin for 'voice') may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters * Vox (DC Universe character), Mal Duncan * Vox, several characters in the anime series '' Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-ne'' * Gleeman Vox, from the ''Ratche ...

in the regular performances of Bach's ''

'' conducted by Willem Mengelberg. He sang the role in the first recording of the work in 1939, with the and the Concertgebouw Orchestra, alongside Karl Erb as the

Evangelist Evangelist may refer to: Religion * Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels * Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ * Evangelist (Anglican Church), a c ...

. A reviewer of a reissue of the performance which was shortened as customary at the time of the recording, notes in 2004: "As Jesus the Dutch bass Willem Ravelli can be a mite gruff but he's also a spiritually intense presence and right inside the role, one incidentally he performed over four hundred times." Ravelli also appeared in Belgium, England and Germany, presenting a broad repertory including the bass part in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. He recorded the symphony in 1940, again with Mengelberg, the Toonkunstkoor and the Concertgebouw Orchestra, and the Royal Oratorio Society. Ravelli was a voice teacher at the

Rotterdam Conservatory Codarts University for the Arts ( nl, Codarts hogeschool voor de kunsten) is a Dutch vocational university in Rotterdam that teaches music, dance and circus. It was established in its present location in 2000. History Codarts can trace its origin ...

from 1937, and at the conservatory in The Hague from 1945. He died in Laren, North Holland.

References

External links

"Willem Ravelli (Bass)"
Bach Cantatas website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ravelli, Willem Dutch bass-baritones 1892 births 1980 deaths Musicians from The Hague 20th-century Dutch male opera singers Voice teachers