John William Shaw, AO

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(12 October 192424 February 2003) was an Australian operatic

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 ...

best known for his appearances at The Royal Opera, Covent Garden, where he spent 15 seasons.

Life and career

Shaw was born in Newcastle,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, in 1924. Both his grandfathers were singers and he himself took an interest in singing at a young age, performing with his church choir and amateur musicals and concerts. In

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

he studied under Henri and Annie Portnoj and joined the Australian National Theatre Opera Company where he performed in dozens of small roles and gained stage experience. In 1953, Shaw played the Secret Police Agent in the Australian debut of Menotti's ''

The Consul ''The Consul'' is an opera in three acts with music and libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti, his first full-length opera. Performance history Its first performance was on March 1, 1950 at the Schubert Theatre in Philadelphia with Patricia Neway as the ...

'' and soon repeated the role at the Tivoli Theatre in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. In 1955, the J.C. Williamson Italian Opera Company hired him to perform 13 major baritone roles during a tour of Australia and in the following year performed

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 ...

and the Count in ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...

'' for the Elizabethan Theatre Trust, roles he would not repeat. With that company in 1957 he was to perform Iago in

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

's ''

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 ...

'' and Scarpia in

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 ...

's ''

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 ...

'', with Joan Hammond as Tosca and Desdemona. This gave Shaw the opportunity to perform at Covent Garden. His Covent Garden debut came in January 1958 in the title role of Verdi's '' Rigoletto'' and he was soon to perform Amonasro in Verdi's '' Aida''. In 1967 he created the role of Smirnov in William Walton's '' The Bear''. Shaw spent 15 seasons at Covent Garden and was best known for his performances as Amonasro, Tonio, Ford, Iago, Telramund, and Scarpia. He toured all over

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He died in

in 2003, aged 78.

Honours

John Shaw was appointed an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1977 on the recommendation of the Government of New South Wales. In 1986 he was appointed an Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

.It's an Honour
Retrieved 27 February 2014

References

Notes

External links

Royal Opera House Collections Online
- Archive listing Shaw's performances at Covent Garden (Retrieved 2 March 2011) {{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, John 1924 births 2003 deaths 20th-century Australian male opera singers Australian operatic baritones Musicians from Newcastle, New South Wales Officers of the Order of Australia Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire