László Polgár (1 January 1947 – 19 September 2010) was a Hungarian operatic bass. He was a singer in the Opera, Oratorio and Lieder genres and was renowned for his silky voice and outstanding declamation and musicality. His art is well represented on

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It employs the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) standard and was capable of hol ...

, particularly in opera.

Biography

Polgár was born to Jewish parents Lajos Polgár and Anna Kántor in

Somogyszentpál Somogyszentpál (until 1929 as ''Tótszentpál'', ) is a village in Somogy County, Hungary. Geography It lies southeast of Balatonkeresztúr and south of Balatonfenyves between Kéthely and Csömend. The village can be reached by car from Kéthel ...

. He studied with Eva Kutrucz at the

Franz Liszt Academy of Music The Franz Liszt Academy of Music (, often abbreviated as ''Zeneakadémia'', "Liszt Academy") is a music university and a concert hall in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875. It is home to the Liszt Collection, which features several ...

, 1967–72, and later privately with

Hans Hotter Hans Hotter (19 January 19096 December 2003) was a German operatic bass-baritone. He stood and his appearance was striking. His voice and diction were equally recognisable. Early life and career Born in Offenbach am Main, Hesse, Hotter studied ...

and

Yevgeny Nesterenko Yevgeny Yevgenievich Nesterenko (; 8 January 1938 – 20 March 2021) was a Soviet and Russian operatic bass. He made an international career, based at the Bolshoi Theatre. He performed a vast repertoire of 50 leading roles, and was known for the ...

. He made his debut at the

Hungarian State Opera The Hungarian State Opera is the national opera company of Hungary. Located in Budapest, it is a busy institution, with over 200 operas each calendar year, on top of extensive educational programs, ballet, and musical theatre. The company employs ...

in 1971, as Count Ceprano in ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...

''. His other roles there included Osmin, Sarastro, Leporello, Basilio, and Gurnemanz. His international career took off in 1981, when he sang Rodolfo in ''

La sonnambula ''La sonnambula'' (; ''The Sleepwalker'') is an opera semiseria in two acts, with music in the ''bel canto'' tradition by Vincenzo Bellini set to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, based on a scenario for a ''ballet-pantomime'' written by Eu ...

'' at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

in London. He became a regular guest at the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...

in 1983, at the

Munich State Opera The Bavarian State Opera () is a German opera company based in Munich. Its main venue is the Nationaltheater München, and its orchestra the Bavarian State Orchestra. History The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under Ele ...

and the

Opéra de Paris The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

from 1985; also, he appeared in

Hamburg State Opera The Hamburg State Opera (in German: ) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''Generalmusikdirektor'' ...

, and at the festivals of

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

and

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

. From 1992 until 2008 he was a principal solo bass of the

Zurich Opera House The Zurich Opera House () is an opera house in the Swiss city of Zurich. Located at the Sechseläutenplatz, it has been the home of the Zurich Opera since 1891, and also houses the Bernhard-Theater Zürich. It is also home to Ballett Zürich. I ...

. Other notable roles of his included Oroveso, Giorgio, Il Prefetto,

Walter Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

, Padre Guardiano, and

Filippo Filippo is an Italian male given name, which is the equivalent of the English name Philip, from the Greek ''Philippos'', meaning "horse lover".''Behind the Name''"Given Name Philip" Retrieved on 23 January 2016. The female variant is Filippa. T ...

. He is perhaps best known for his interpretation of the title role in Bartók's ''

Bluebeard's Castle ''Duke Bluebeard's Castle'' (, literally ''The Blue-Bearded Duke's Castle'') is a one-act Symbolism (movement), Symbolist opera by composer Béla Bartók to a Hungarian libretto by his friend and poet Béla Balázs. Based on the French folk legen ...

'', which he sang several times with distinction, and also recorded with soprano

Jessye Norman Jessye Mae Norman (September 15, 1945 – September 30, 2019) was an American opera singer and recitalist. She was able to perform dramatic soprano roles, but did not limit herself to that voice type. A commanding presence on operatic, concert ...

, conductor

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 19255 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music. Born in Montb ...

, and the

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891, the ensemble has been based in the Symphony Center since 1904 and plays a summer season at the Ravinia F ...

. In 1986 he played the double role of Sarastro and Man with Greying Hair in '' A Hungarian Fairy Tale (Hol volt, hol nem volt ...)'' in the Hungarian film directed by Gyula Gazdag. Polgár taught at the

Hochschule für Musik A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

Winterthur Winterthur (; ) is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. With over 120,000 residents, it is the country's List of cities in Switzerland, sixth-largest city by population, as well as its ninth-largest agglomeration with about 14 ...

, Switzerland, and also at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. He died in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

in 2010, at the age of 63. He is buried at the Kozma Street Jewish Cemetery in Budapest.

Sources

* ''Grove Music Online'', Peter Varnai &

Alan Blyth Geoffrey Alan Blyth (27 July 1929 – 14 August 2007) was an English music critic, author, and musicologist who was particularly known for his writings within the field of opera. He was a specialist on singers and singing. Born in London, Blyth ...

, Oxford University Press, 2008. * ''Bach-Cantatas'', Aryeh Oron & Maria Langsch, August 2001.

References

External links

László Polgár
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polgar, Laszlo 1947 births 2010 deaths Operatic basses Jewish opera singers 20th-century Hungarian male opera singers 21st-century Hungarian male opera singers Franz Liszt Academy of Music alumni 20th-century Hungarian Jews 21st-century Hungarian Jews Jewish Hungarian musicians Grammy Award winners Hungarian expatriates in Switzerland People from Somogy County