John Lankston

John Lankston (29 May, 1934 - 12 July, 2018) He was a regular performer with the New York City Opera from 1966 to 2001. His greatest success with the NYCO was his creation of the quintuple role of Voltaire/Pangloss/Businessman/Governor/Gambler in the 1982 revival of Leonard Bernstein's Candide which was directed by Hal Prince and filmed for national broadcast on PBS's Live from Lincoln Center. The company later recorded the production on disc, and Lankston and the rest of the artists involved were awarded the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording in 1987.

Lankston most often performed supporting roles in his long tenure at the NYCO, often appearing in comedic character roles or villains. Occasionally he was given leading roles, including the title role in the United States premiere of Josef Tal's Ashmedai in 1976 in which his skills as both a singer and dancer were featured. Other larger parts he excelled in included the Prologue in Benjamin Britten's The Turn of the Screw (1970, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1978); Arbace in Mozart's Idomeneo (1974, 1975); Eisenstein in Johann Strauss II's Die Fledermaus (1976, 1986); the Devil in Stravinsky's L'Histoire du soldat (1977), Officer Olim in Kurt Weill's Silverlake: A Winter's Tale (1980); Satan/Lucifer in Igor Stravinsky's The Flood (1982); Ko-Ko in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado (1984, 2001); Monostatos in Mozart's The Magic Flute (1985, 1992); and Torquemada in Maurice Ravel's L'heure espagnole (1990, 1999). With the NYCO he notably appeared in several world premieres, including the roles of Major Mark Lyon in Hugo Weisgall's Nine Rivers from Jordan (1968); Professor Clement in Gian Carlo Menotti's The Most Important Man (1971); Bentley Drummle in the world premiere of Dominick Argento's Miss Havisham's Fire (1979); and Dr. Sokolsky in the world premiere of Jay Reise's Rasputin (1988) He also portrayed Šapkin In the United States premiere of Leoš Janáček's From the House of the Dead (1989). His portrayal of The Schoolmaster in Janáček's The Cunning Little Vixen was broadcast on PBS's Live from Lincoln Center in 1983. He graduated from Bridgeport High School in 1952 and then pursued music studies at Vincennes University from which he graduated in 1954. That same year he created the roles of Adolph and the Ziegfeld Tenor in Jule Styne's Funny Girl, and was the featured tenor with Barbra Streisand in the song "His Love Makes Me Beautiful." He rose to become a huge star with NYCO, appearing in numerous operas with the company for 35 years. In 1984 he starred in the American premiere of Harrison Birtwistle's Down by the Greenwood Side with the New York Philharmonic. He also portrayed the villainous Loge in Richard Wagner's Das Rheingold at the Earl W. Brydges Artpark State Park with conductor Christopher Keene in 1985.

Lankston died in Bridgeport, Illinois, on July 12, 2018, at the age of 84. Prologue in Benjamin Britten's The Turn of the Screw (1970, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1978) Gastone in Giuseppe Verdi's La traviata (1970, 1972, 1982, 1991, 1992) Lord Cecil in Gaetano Donizetti's Roberto Devereux (1970) Kaspar in Gian Carlo Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors (1970, with the American Boychoir School) Professor Clement in Gian Carlo Menotti's The Most Important Man (1971, world premiere) First Praetorian soldier in Claudio Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea (1973) Arabace in Mozart's Idomeneo (1974, 1975) Dancing Master in Puccini's Manon Lescaut (1974) Second Jew in Richard Strauss' Salome (1975) Victorin in Erich Korngold's Die tote Stadt (1975) Dancing Master and Scaramuccio in Richard Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos (1975, 1982, 1983) Pong in Puccini's Turandot (1975) Achille in Jacques Offenbach's La belle Hélène (1976) Eisenstein in Johann Strauss II's Die Fledermaus (1976, 1986) L'Incredibile in Umberto Giordano's Andrea Chénier (1979) Bentley Drummle in the world premiere of Dominick Argento's Miss Havisham's Fire (1979) Dr. Caius in Verdi's Falstaff (1979, 1981, 1999) Guillot in Jules Massenet's Manon (1979, 1985)

1980s

Officer Olim in Kurt Weill's Silverlake: A Winter's Tale (1980) The Schoolmaster in Leoš Janáček's The Cunning Little Vixen (1981, 1983, 1991, 1993) Lord Arturo Bucklaw in Donnizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor (1981, 1982, 1988) Voltaire/Pangloss/Businessman/Governor/Gambler in the 1982 revival of Leonard Bernstein's Candide (1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1989) Flaminio in Italo Montemezzi's L'amore dei tre re (1982) Satan/Lucifer in Igor Stravinsky's The Flood (1982) Monostatos in Mozart's The Magic Flute (1985, 1992) the Master of Ceremonies in Jules Massenet's Cendrillon (1986) Curzio in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro (1986) Beppe in Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci (1987) Spoletta in Puccini's Tosca (1987, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1994) Admiral de Jean in Sigmund Romberg's The New Moon (1988) Dr. Sokolsky in the world premiere of Jay Reise's Rasputin (1988) Ambrogio in Rossini's The Barber of Seville (1992, 1998) Mogul in world premiere of Ezra Laderman's Marilyn (1993) Brazilian Ambassador, Solo Policeman, and An Associate Editor in Leonard Bernstein's Wonderful Town (1994) Gobin in Puccini's La rondine (1995) Supervisor in Stewart Wallace's Harvey Milk (1995) Father in Toshiro Mayuzumi's Kinkakuji (1995) General Mercier in the United States premiere of Jost Meier's Dreyfus Affair (1996) Sylvester von Schaumber in Paul Hindemith's Mathis der Maler (1995) Gelsomino in Rossini's Il viaggio a Reims (1999)