The American opera singer Samuel Edward Ramey (born March 28, 1942 in Colby, Kansas) is considered one of the finest basso cantante singers of his generation. He is greatly admired for his range and versatility, having both the bel canto technique to sing Handel, Mozart, Rossini, as well as the power to handle the dramatic roles of Verdi and Puccini. He was married to soprano Lindsey Larsen, June 29, 2002. For the American opera singer, see Samuel Ramey. ... For other uses, see Opera (disambiguation). ... is the 87th day of the year (88th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Advertised as The Oasis on the Plains, Colby is the county seat6 and largest city in Thomas County, Kansas, with a total population of 5,450 as of the 2000 census. ... The term Bel Canto may refer to: Belcanto, a vocal technique; or Bel Canto, a novel by Ann Patchett. ... “Handel” redirects here. ... “Mozart” redirects here. ... Portrait Gioacchino Antonio Rossini (February 29, 1792 – November 13, 1868)[1] was an Italian musical composer who wrote more than 30 operas as well as sacred music and chamber music. ... “Verdi” redirects here. ... Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini (December 22, 1858 – November 29, 1924) was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire. ...

Early life

Samuel Ramey is a 1960 graduate of Colby High School in Colby, Kansas. He studied music in high school and in college at Kansas State University and Wichita State. In College at Kansas State, Ramey was a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity. After further study in Central City (where he was in the chorus of Don Giovanni in 1963, with Norman Treigle in the name part) and as an apprentice with the Santa Fe Opera, he went to New York where he had his first breakthrough at the New York City Opera. Colby High School is a public school in Colby, Kansas. ... Advertised as The Oasis on the Plains, Colby is the county seat6 and largest city in Thomas County, Kansas, with a total population of 5,450 as of the 2000 census. ... Kansas State University, officially called Kansas State University of Fashion and Design [2] but commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States. ... Wichita State University, an American university, was founded as Fairmount College in 1886 by the Rev. ... ΚΣ (Kappa Sigma) is an international fraternity with currently over 200 chapters and colonies in North America. ... Norman Treigle (né Adanelle Wilfred Treigle, on 6 March 1927; died on 16 February 1975) was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the fifth and final child of a poor carpenter and his wife. ... Solid rod stays support the roof of the Crosby Theater at the Santa Fe Opera. ... This article is about the state. ... The New York State Theater at Lincoln Center, seen from Lincoln Center Plaza New York State Theater The New York State Theater at Lincoln Center, interior, as seen from the stage The New York City Opera (NYCO) is based in Philip Johnsons New York State Theater at Lincoln Center. ...

As his repertoire expanded, he spent more and more time in the theatres of Europe, notably in Berlin, Hamburg, London, Paris, Vienna, and the summer festivals in Aix-en-Provence, Glyndebourne, Pesaro, and Salzburg. Staatsoper Unter den Linden, 2003 Berlin State Opera (in German: Staatsoper Unter den Linden) is a prominent German opera company. ... The Hamburg State Opera (in German: Hamburgische Staatsoper) is one of the leading opera companies in Germany. ... The Floral Hall of the Royal Opera House, home of the Royal Opera The Royal Opera is London and the United Kingdoms most famous and most wealthy opera company. ... Opéra National de Paris is the leading opera company of France. ... Vienna State Opera (German: Wiener Staatsoper), located in Vienna, Austria, is one of the most important opera companies in Europe. ... The Festival dAix-en-Provence, which is also known as the Festival international dArt Lyrique (International Opera Festival), is an annual summer festival of opera held in Aix-en-Provence in southern France. ... Glyndebourne Festival Opera is a opera festival held at Glyndebourne House near Lewes, in southern England. ... The Rossini Opera Festival (frequently referred to among musicians as the Pesaro Festival) is a festival held in August of each year in Pesaro, Italy, the birthplace of the opera composer Gioacchino Rossini The Festival was established in 1980 for giving performances of Rossinis operas and to give to... The Salzburg Festival (Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama. ...

Later career

In January 1984, Ramey made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in Handel's Rinaldo. He has since become a fixture at the La Scala, Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, Vienna State Opera, the Paris Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the New York City Opera, and the San Francisco Opera. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, the lead section of this article may need to be expanded. ... Rinaldo is an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel, now a part of the standard operatic repertoire. ... The Teatro alla Scala in Milan, by night. ... The Floral Hall of the Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House is a performing arts venue in London. ... Covent Garden is a district in London, located on the easternmost parts of the City of Westminster and the southwest corner of the London Borough of Camden. ... Vienna State Opera (German: Wiener Staatsoper), located in Vienna, Austria, is one of the most important opera companies in Europe. ... Opéra National de Paris is the leading opera company of France. ... Exterior of the Civic Opera House Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. ... The New York State Theater at Lincoln Center, seen from Lincoln Center Plaza New York State Theater The New York State Theater at Lincoln Center, interior, as seen from the stage The New York City Opera (NYCO) is based in Philip Johnsons New York State Theater at Lincoln Center. ... The San Francisco War Memorial Opera House San Francisco Opera (SFO) is the second largest opera company in North America. ...

In the bel canto repertoire, Ramey has excelled in Mozart's Don Giovanni and The Marriage of Figaro and in Rossini's Semiramide, The Barber of Seville, Il Turco in Italia, L'Italiana in Algeri; in Donizetti's Anna Bolena and Lucia di Lammermoor and Bellini's I Puritani. Don Giovanni (K.527; complete title: Il dissoluto punito, ossia il Don Giovanni, literally The Rake Punishd, or Don Giovanni) is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte. ... Le nozze di Figaro ossia la folle giornata (Trans: ), K. 492, is an opera buffa (comic opera) composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, Le mariage de Figaro (1784). ... Semiramide is an opera in two acts by Gioacchino Rossini. ... For the Beaumarchais play, see The Barber of Seville (play). ... A seductive Turk visits Italy to discover European customs. ... Litaliana in Algeri (The Italian Girl in Algiers) is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Angelo Anelli, based on his earlier text set by Luigi Mosca. ... Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was a famous Italian opera composer. ... Maria Callas as Anna Bolena Anna Bolena is an Italian opera by Gaetano Donizetti. ... Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico, or opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. ... Vincenzo Bellini Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (November 3, 1801 – September 23, 1835) was an Italian opera composer. ... I puritani (The Puritans) is an opera in three acts, by Vincenzo Bellini. ...

In the dramatic repertoire, Ramey has been acclaimed for his "Three Devils": Boito's Mefistofele, Gounod's Faust, and Berlioz's The Damnation of Faust Arrigo Boito (February 24, 1842 – June 10, 1918) was an Italian poet, journalist, novelist and composer, best known today for his opera libretti and his own opera, Mefistofele. ... Mefistofele is the only completed opera by the Italian composer Arrigo Boito. ... Charles Gounod. ... Faust is an opera in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carrés play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Goethes Faust, Part I. It debuted at the Théatre-Lyrique in Paris on March 19, 1859. ... Painting of Berlioz by Gustave Courbet, 1850. ... The Damnation of Faust (French: La damnation de Faust) is work for orchestra, voices, and chorus written by Hector Berlioz (he called it a légende dramatique). The libretto was adapted by Berlioz from Goethes Faust. ...

Other dramatic roles have included Verdi's Nabucco, Don Carlo, I Lombardi and Jerusalem and Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann (all four villains). A number of previously obscure operas with strong bass-baritone roles have been revived solely for Ramey, such as Verdi's Attila, Rossini's Maometto II, and Massenet's Don Quichotte. Nabucco is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based on the biblical story and the play by Anicet-Bourgeois and Francis Cornu. ... Don Carlos is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi. ... I Lombardi alla prima crociata (The Lombards on the First Crusade) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based epic poem by Tommaso Grossi. ... Jacques Offenbach (20 June 1819 – 5 October 1880) was a French composer and cellist of the Romantic era with German-Jewish descent and one of the originators of the operetta form. ... Les contes dHoffmann (Tales of Hoffmann) is an opera by Jacques Offenbach. ... Attila is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based on the play Attila, König der Hunnen by Zacharias Werner. ... Jules Massenet Jules (Émile Frédéric) Massenet (May 12, 1842 – August 13, 1912) was a French composer. ...

Recordings

Ramey has made a huge number of recordings, including nearly all of his operatic roles as well as collections of arias, symphonic works, and crossover discs of popular American music. He has also appeared on television and video productions of the Met's Carmen and Bluebeard's Castle, San Francisco's Mefistofele, Glyndebourne's The Rake's Progress and Salzburg's Don Giovanni. For other uses, see Carmen (disambiguation). ... Glyndebourne Festival Opera is a opera festival held at Glyndebourne House near Lewes, in southern England. ...

In 1996, Ramey gave a concert at New York's Avery Fisher Hall titled "A Date with the Devil" in which he sang fourteen arias representing the core of this repertoire, and he continues to tour this program throughout the world. In 2000, Ramey presented this concert at Munich's Gasteig Concert Hall. This performance was recorded live and was released on compact disc in summer 2002. , Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center. ... For other uses, see Munich (disambiguation). ...

Current activities

Ramey lives in Chicago and participates in some seventy performances a year. For other uses, see Chicago (disambiguation). ...

He is on faculty at Roosevelt University's Chicago College of Performing Arts.

External links

• Samuel Ramey's website
• MySpace: a tribute to Samuel Ramey