GEORGE LONDON
Though the celebrated bass-baritone George London has made appearances in Cleveland with the annual visit of the Metropolitan Opera Company, this concert for West Shore Concerts will be his first appearance here as a solo recitalist. His artistry has become familiar to millions through his frequent radio and television appearances on The Telephone Hour and The Voice of Firestone, and recently on the Ed Sullivan Show.
George London was born in Montreal, Canada, the only child of naturalized American parents. At an early age he settled in Los Angeles, California, with his parents, and there he received his elementary and high school education. During his high school years London sang wherever he could--in church choirs, with small opera companies, at Hollywood studios, at social gatherings. As a youthful member of the American Music Theater he sang opera in English in Los Angeles, and was selected by the English composer-conductor, Albert Coates, to sing the first concert performance of Coates' opera Gainsborough at the Hollywood Bowl. Following an appearance with the San Francisco Opera and the Los Angeles and San Francisco Light Opera Companies, he joined a road company production of Desert Song and toured as far as New York, where he was engaged to sing the premiere of Hindemith's Requiem on Walt Whitman's When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed.
In 1947 London signed a contract with Arthur Judson and Columbia Artists Management which led to solidly booked concert tours, including two with the Bel Canto Trio (Frances Yeend and Mario Lanza) and appearances as soloist with leading symphony orchestras of the country, among them the Boston Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic, and the Grant Park Symphony of Chicago.
Two years later, London took a decisive step: he temporarily abandoned his career as a concert singer in America to go to Europe, where he was unknown because he believed he needed further study and the invaluable experience of singing in Europe. The move was auspicious--he was heard by a representative of the Vienna State Opera, a contract followed, and his first performance made him an overnight sensation. TIME Magazine reported London to be "the operatic find of the year". Rudolph Bing, General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera, became interested, auditioned him, invited him to sing at the "Met," and on the opening night of the 1951-52 season he sang Aida, making musical history. He says he will never forget the day he signed his contract with the "Met": "the most thrilling experience of my career...until I married Nora". Nora Sheldon of New York is his wife.
On January 9, 1952, London made another successful debut at La Scala, in Milan, singing the role of Pizarro in Beethoven's Fidelio. In the fall of 1952 he returned to the United States and appeared as guest artist with the New York Philharmonic under Mitropoulos at Carnefie Hall, singing excerpts from Boris Godunov in his own English translation. In this, his second season with the "Met" he sang Boris Godunov, the title role in Don Giovanni, Escamillo in Carmen, Amfortas in Parsifal, and Scarpia in Tosca, the latter role for the first time on any stage. The next season he repeated most of his previous roles and added a Faust Mephisto, a Figaro Count, and a Tannhauser Wolfram. For the 1954-55 season he was chosen to introduce the leading male role Mandryka in the "Met's" lavish American premiere of Richard Strauss' Arabella.
In 1956, his fifth season with the "Met", London returned to sing Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro and added the roles of the four villains in Offenback's Tales of Hoffman and the Speaker in The Magic Flute. In May he left the United States to appear with the Zagreb and Belgrade Opera Companies, then in Milan, Italy, and Munich, Germany. In early July he reported for extensive rehearsals in Bayreuth, where he was chosen by Wieland Wagner, grandson of Richard Wagner, to sing the title role of The Flying Dutchman for that year's new production, as the first American to sing the role there. Buenos Aires heard him in the fall in Don Giovanni and The Marriage of Figaro.
At all times George London continues to study and practice with his teacher, Donna Paola Nikova, for though appreciative of the heights he has already attained, London firmly believes that the true artist must always continue to work, grow and develop. He spends as many summers as possible in Europe, returning to the Vienna State Opera and various international festivals. Last year he received the title of "Kammersaenger"--"Singer to the Court"--from Austria's president, Theodo Koenrer, and was one of the youngest persons ever to receive this distinction.
On the personal side, George London tips the scales at two hundred pounds and stands a statuesque six feet two. He is very fond of winter sports, though he says he has to settle for weight-lifting and dumbbells while on tour. He is also an ardent baseball fan. He loves to dance, and is keen on swing and jazz. His busy career frustrates a desire to "run off to the French Riviera and just lie in the sun". In addition to his wife Nora, his household comprises a long-haired Dachshund named "Daisy", who has to love opera, "or else".