Donald Gramm


Donald John Gramm was an American bass-baritone whose career was divided between opera and concert performances. His appearances were primarily limited to the United States, which at the time was unusual for an American singer. John Rockwell of The New York Times described Gramm as follows: "He had an unusually rich, noble tone, and although its volume may not have been large, it penetrated even the biggest theaters easily. Technically, he could handle bel-canto ornamentation fluently. But his real strengths lay in his aristocratic musicianship and his instinctive acting." Among the most notable of his many operatic roles were the title role in Verdi's Falstaff, Leporello in Mozart's Don Giovanni, and Dr. Schön and Jack the Ripper in Berg's Lulu.

Early life and training

Gramm was born Donald John Grambsch in Milwaukee, Wisconsin of German ancestry. He later changed the surname Grambsch to Gramm. He received his early musical training at the Wisconsin College Conservatory of Music and sang his operatic debut at age 17 at Chicago's Eighth Street Theater as Raimondo in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. He later studied at the Chicago Musical College and with Martial Singher at the Music Academy of the West.

Adult life

Donald Gramm lived for over 25 years, until his death, with his life partner Donald Dervin in New York City. They shared two connected brownstones on Park Avenue with the renowned theatrical and arts philanthropist, Robert L. B. Tobin. They also spent time at their houses in Connecticut and Santa Fe, where he performed with the Santa Fe Opera.

Career

He made his New York debut in 1951 in Berlioz's L'enfance du Christ with The Little Orchestra Society. The following year he made his New York City Opera debut as Colline in Puccini's La bohème and continued to sing with that company in nearly every season for the next 30 years. His roles there included both the Count and Figaro in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, Orlofsky in Johann Strauss's Die Fledermaus, Dandini in Rossini's La Cenerentola, Bartolo in Rossini's The Barber of Seville, and the title role in Verdi's Falstaff. In 1953 he created the role of The Bachelor in the world premiere of Bohuslav Martinů's The Marriage with the NBC Opera Theatre.
Gramm also performed major roles frequently with Sarah Caldwell's Opera Company of Boston and John Crosby's Santa Fe Opera. In an interview Caldwell had this to say about Gramm as a performer: "Conductors and stage directors love him. Donald's high level of musicianship and intelligence, and his beautiful voice are attributes which make him the logical choice of a conductor. His remarkable ability for physical characterization and his deep interest in its development make him the logical choice of a stage director. This fusion of musical and dramatic qualities sets him apart as one of the most extraordinary singing actors of our time."

Metropolitan Opera performances

Gramm's Met Opera debut was on January 10, 1964, in the minor role of Truffaldino in Richard Straus's Ariadne auf Naxos. One of the most important roles Gramm performed during his career at the Met was Leporello in Mozart's Don Giovanni. He performed the part 24 times with the company between 1966 and 1981; of these only 5 were in New York, the remainder were on tour. He was otherwise, however, often confined to smaller parts. Roles performed in the 1964–65 season included the Maharajah in Menotti's The Last Savage, Don Alfonso in Mozart's Così fan tutte, and the Doctor in Berg's Wozzeck; in the 1965–66 season, Count Waldner in Strauss's Arabella, Pedro in Offenbach's La Périchole, Geronte in Puccini's Manon Lescaut, and Leporello in Don Giovanni; in the 1966–67 season, Dr.Falke in Die Fledermaus; in the 1967–68 season, the Speaker in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Plunkett in Flotow's Martha, and again the Doctor in Wozzeck; and in the 1968–69 season, the Doctor in Wozzeck. He did not perform in the 1969–70 season.
In the 1970–71 season he appeared again as Pedro in La Périchole and Leporello in Don Giovanni but also added Don Basilio in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia and the Bailiff in Massenet's Werther. In the 1971–72 season he repeated the role of Bailiff in Werther, added Kothner in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, but most importantly sang Sulpice in Donizetti's La fille du régiment. In the 1972–73 season he was cast as Zuniga in Göran Gentele's new production of Bizet's Carmen ; he repeated his roles as the Speaker, Leporello, and Sulpice, and added Captain Balstrode in Britten's Peter Grimes. In the 1973–74 season he performed Papageno in Die Zauberflöte. In the 1974–75 season he repeated the Doctor in Wozzeck and added Varlaam in Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov. In the 1975–76 season he repeated Papageno and added the roles of Dr. Schön and Jack the Ripper in Berg's Lulu, the Met's first production of the opera, directed by John Dexter. In the 1977–78 season he repeated Captain Balstrode and Leporello. In the 1978–79 season, on the Met's Spring Tour, he added the title role in Donizetti's Don Pasquale. He never performed this part at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.
In the 1980–81 season he again sang only on tour, repeating his portrayal of Leporello; but in the 1981–82 season he appeared as Don Alfonso in a new production of Così fan tutte; on the tour he repeated his portrayal of Papageno. In 1982–83, his final season at the Met, Gramm alternated with Paul Plishka as Varlaam and Pimen in Boris Godunov, and repeated the role of Count Waldner in a new production premiere of Arabella on 10 February 1983. Patrick J. Smith, writing in Opera, described his performance as follows: "Donald Gramm, as Waldner, underplayed the role rather than making it into a broad-accented German buffo, and brought to life the inner pride of the down-at-heel nobleman. His first-act scene with Mandryka was a highpoint of the evening ; the clarity of his enunciation was exemplary." Gramm repeated the role 6 more times, giving his final performance at the Met in a matinee broadcast on March 5, 1983. In total he had appeared 230 times with the company.

Death

Gramm died of a heart attack in New York City on June 2, 1983. He was 56 years old. He had just finished a set of performances in Bellini's Norma with Sarah Caldwell and the Opera Company of Boston on May 29. His publicist said he had complained of chest pains in the last week, but otherwise appeared to be in good health.

Recordings

Audio

Berlioz: La damnation de Faust • Boston Symphony Orchestra, Harvard Glee Club, Radcliffe Choral Society
Mozart: Don Giovanni • English Chamber Orchestra, Ambrosian Singers
Donizetti: Don Pasquale • London Symphony Orchestra, Ambrosian Opera Chorus
Verdi: Falstaff • London Philharmonic Orchestra, Glyndebourne Chorus