Norman Mittelmann

Norman Mittelmann (25 May 1932 – 17 March 2019 ) was a Canadian operatic baritone who had an active international opera career from the 1950s through the 1990s. A winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Mittelmann performed periodically at the Met from 1961 through 1984. Primarily active with opera houses in Europe, he was a resident artist at the Grillo-Theater in Essen, Germany (1959–1961), the Deutsche Oper am Rhein (1960–1964), and the Zürich Opera (1964–1982) in addition to appearing frequently with other opera houses internationally as a guest artist. His voice is preserved on several live complete opera recordings from the 1960s and 1970s that have been released on disc; including performances with Luciano Pavarotti, Renata Scotto, Shirley Verrett, Plácido Domingo, Jon Vickers, Birgit Nilsson, and Richard Tucker.

Life and career Born into a Jewish family in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Mittelmann graduated from St. John's High School in his native city. He first studied singing with Canadian soprano Doris Lewis in Manitoba, before entering the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia on a full scholarship in 1950 at the age of 18.

After completing his studies at Curtis in 1954, Mittelmann pursued graduate studies at the Music Academy of the West in Montecito, California in 1955 and 1956 where he was a pupil of Lotte Lehmann. He made his professional opera debut in Santa Barbara in 1956; portraying Count Almaviva in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro and Harlequin in Richard Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos in productions directed by Lehmann. That same year he performed in the United States premiere of Darius Milhaud's David at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. In 1958 he portrayed Marcello in Giacomo Puccini's La bohème for his first opera appearance in Canada in a production mounted by the Canadian Opera Company (COC). His final appearance at the Met was on November 18, 1985 as Shaklovity in Modest Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina. In 1983 he performed the role of Shishkov in the United States premiere of Leoš Janáček's From the House of the Dead with the New York Philharmonic. His final opera performance was in 1991, although he continued to work as a concert performer for several more years. 1972 Verdi: Aida Amonasro Mittelmann,Richard Cassilly,Marina Krilovici, Simon Estes, et al. Jesús López CobosChorus and orchestra of the San Francisco Opera Live, 24 November 1972 Premiere 1916 1973 Meyerbeer: L'Africaine Nelusko Mittelmann,Shirley Verrett,Plácido Domingo, et al. Jean PérissonChorus and orchestra of the San Francisco Opera Live Opera d'oro 1974 Verdi: La traviata Germont Mittelmann,Antigone Sgourda,Barry Morell, et al. Alberto EredeChorus and orchestra of the Zürich Opera Live, 3 March 1974 Lyric Distribution 1974 Verdi: Un ballo in maschera Renato Mittelmann, Luciano Pavarotti, Renata Scotto, et al. Nello SantiChorus and orchestra of the Hamburg State Opera Live, 17 June 1974 Lyric Distribution 1975 Puccini: Madama Butterfly Scarpia Mittelmann, Ghena Dimitrova, Renato Francesconi, et al. Michaelangelo VeltriChorus and orchestra of the Teatro Colón Live IMR Classic Records, 2003 1976 Offenbach: The Tales of Hoffmann Lindorf, Coppelius, Dappertutto and Dr. Miracle Mittelmann,Ruth Welting,Plácido Domingo, et al. Bruno BartolettiChorus and orchestra of the Lyric Opera of Chicago Live TOL CON