DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | Cecile Cooper newspaper clippings, 1966-1987 | 1985-11-03 ""Simon Estes likes coming home"" Page 2

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Cecile Cooper newspaper clippings, 1966-1987

1985-11-03 ""Simon Estes likes coming home"" Page 2

DES MOINES SUNDAY REGISTER Nov. 3, 1985/5H

Estes prays, sings heavenly notes

SIMON ESTES
[[italics]]Continued from Page One[[end italics]]

Wagnerian bass-baritone is the fact that one of the few operatic roles actually written for a black man, that of Porgy in "Porgy and Bess," led to Estes' debut at Bayreuth. As a well-established, successful singer of modest local fame in Berlin, Estes traveled to Zurich to sing the Porgy role with the Zurich Opera in 1977.
He so impressed the director of the Zurich Opera that he was offered the lead in "The Flying Dutchman," which in turn was the key to his debut at the Metropolitan Opera.
One of the gratifying things for Estes is his acceptance by the public in a variety of roles. "The first time I sang at Bayreuth, some people thought  there would be disturbances because of my race. But there weren't any. And last year at Bayreuth, there were some people there who had seen every opera in the season, and they told me that I got more applause at my curtain calls than any other performer."
Estes is not only a Wagnerian singer, but has performed, for instance, in almost all of Verdi's operas. Musically, Estes' voice is remarkable for its tremendous range. He is able to sing baritone roles, such as Macbeth in Verdi's "Macbeth," as well as very deep bass roles. Thus he is able to sing roles that require two very different kinds of voices. Estes has sung 93 roles.
Although Estes been making recordings since 1968, only since 1984 has he begun to make important recordings in leading roles. He now has an exclusive contract with Philips Records and has released three major records in the past year, all of which are now available in the are record stores: an album of Wagner opera arias (which won the Grand Prix du Disc in France), an album of spirituals and an album of extensive excepts from "Porgy and Bess."
It was in Zurich during his "The Flying Dutchman" days that Estes met Beaumont Glass. Though he is now director of Opera Theater at the University of Iowa, Glass at that time was a coach at the Zurich Opera. They continued their association by traveling together to Spain, where Glass accompanied Estes in his recitals.
Asked whether Estes fits the stereotype of the temperamental opera star, Glass, who still accompanies Estes frequently, responded with a vigorous "No!"
"Simon is very friendly and cooperative to work with. He also is deeply religious, and we used to pray together before recitals. Many singers do pray before they sing, but very few of them do it openly or in front of other people."
Glass will direct Estes in the leading role in three performances of Mussorgsky's "Boris Bodunov" next April 25-27 at the University of Iowa. "For a major opera start o appear in a campus production is practically unheard of," said Glass. "But Simon will be here with us next spring and will of course rehearse with us beforehand.
"The opportunity for the young singers here to work with Simon onstage and rehearse with him and just to be around him will be extremely valuable to them. We're all very, very excited about it. This will be the biggest thing we've ever done -- we'll have 100 people on stage for the coronation scene. Iowa Public Television will film the opera, so people all over the state of Iowa will be able to share in the event."
Glass recalled a recital for school-children in Cedar Rapids, which ended with Estes "talking to the young people in a very natural way about drugs, alcohol and other problems young people have today. He was able to reach them in a way very few adults ever can.
Estes' plans for the coming year include four performances at Metropolitan Opera in New York as Porgy; a concert in Carnegie Hall with Leonard Bernstein conducting; operas and recitals in California, Oklahoma and Texas, and several months of opera in Europe. In 1986, he will record Verdi's "Requiem" with Bernstein conducting, and he will make an album of show tunes with Andre Previn. Other discs that will be released include one of Verdi arias, "The Flying Dutchman" as recorded in Bayreuth last summer, and "Persifal."
All the trappings of success now belong to Estes, and he remains a devoted family man. He has an apartment in Manhattan as well as a house in New Jersey and another near Zurich. Estes and his wife Yvonne have two daughters, 2 1/2 and six months.

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DES MOINES SUNDAY REGISTER Nov. 3, 1985/5H Estes prays, sings heavenly notes SIMON ESTES [[italics]]Continued from Page One[[end italics]] Wagnerian bass-baritone is the fact that one of the few operatic roles actually written for a black man, that of Porgy in "Porgy and Bess," led to Estes' debut at Bayreuth. As a well-established, successful singer of modest local fame in Berlin, Estes traveled to Zurich to sing the Porgy role with the Zurich Opera in 1977. He so impressed the director of the Zurich Opera that he was offered the lead in "The Flying Dutchman," which in turn was the key to his debut at the Metropolitan Opera. One of the gratifying things for Estes is his acceptance by the public in a variety of roles. "The first time I sang at Bayreuth, some people thought there would be disturbances because of my race. But there weren't any. And last year at Bayreuth, there were some people there who had seen every opera in the season, and they told me that I got more applause at my curtain calls than any other performer." Estes is not only a Wagnerian singer, but has performed, for instance, in almost all of Verdi's operas. Musically, Estes' voice is remarkable for its tremendous range. He is able to sing baritone roles, such as Macbeth in Verdi's "Macbeth," as well as very deep bass roles. Thus he is able to sing roles that require two very different kinds of voices. Estes has sung 93 roles. Although Estes been making recordings since 1968, only since 1984 has he begun to make important recordings in leading roles. He now has an exclusive contract with Philips Records and has released three major records in the past year, all of which are now available in the are record stores: an album of Wagner opera arias (which won the Grand Prix du Disc in France), an album of spirituals and an album of extensive excepts from "Porgy and Bess." It was in Zurich during his "The Flying Dutchman" days that Estes met Beaumont Glass. Though he is now director of Opera Theater at the University of Iowa, Glass at that time was a coach at the Zurich Opera. They continued their association by traveling together to Spain, where Glass accompanied Estes in his recitals. Asked whether Estes fits the stereotype of the temperamental opera star, Glass, who still accompanies Estes frequently, responded with a vigorous "No!" "Simon is very friendly and cooperative to work with. He also is deeply religious, and we used to pray together before recitals. Many singers do pray before they sing, but very few of them do it openly or in front of other people." Glass will direct Estes in the leading role in three performances of Mussorgsky's "Boris Bodunov" next April 25-27 at the University of Iowa. "For a major opera start o appear in a campus production is practically unheard of," said Glass. "But Simon will be here with us next spring and will of course rehearse with us beforehand. "The opportunity for the young singers here to work with Simon onstage and rehearse with him and just to be around him will be extremely valuable to them. We're all very, very excited about it. This will be the biggest thing we've ever done -- we'll have 100 people on stage for the coronation scene. Iowa Public Television will film the opera, so people all over the state of Iowa will be able to share in the event." Glass recalled a recital for school-children in Cedar Rapids, which ended with Estes "talking to the young people in a very natural way about drugs, alcohol and other problems young people have today. He was able to reach them in a way very few adults ever can. Estes' plans for the coming year include four performances at Metropolitan Opera in New York as Porgy; a concert in Carnegie Hall with Leonard Bernstein conducting; operas and recitals in California, Oklahoma and Texas, and several months of opera in Europe. In 1986, he will record Verdi's "Requiem" with Bernstein conducting, and he will make an album of show tunes with Andre Previn. Other discs that will be released include one of Verdi arias, "The Flying Dutchman" as recorded in Bayreuth last summer, and "Persifal." All the trappings of success now belong to Estes, and he remains a devoted family man. He has an apartment in Manhattan as well as a house in New Jersey and another near Zurich. Estes and his wife Yvonne have two daughters, 2 1/2 and six months.