Born: February 21, 1922 - Coalinga, California, USA

The American tenor, John McCollum, was initially active as journalist and publisher of magazines. Then he got training of his voice with Mynard Jones in Oakland, with Edgar Schofield in New York, at the Berkshire Music Centre and at the Goldovsky Opera School in Lenox.

John McCollum’s stage debut came in 1953 at the New England Opera Theatre as Fenton in Verdi’s Falstaff. He also appeared in 1958 at the Festival of Spoleto in the premiere of the opera Scarf by Hoiby. His career took place to a large extent in North America. He sang there at the operas of Boston, Seattle and Santa Fé, in Washington, Cincinnati, Vancouver and Toronto, but mostly at the New York City Centre Opera.

From John McCollum’s lyric repertoire should be mentioned: Paolino in Il Matrimonio segreto by Cimarosa, Pelléas in Pelléas et Mélisande, Belmonte in Entführung aus dem Serail, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Tamino in Zauberflöte, Ferrando in Così fan tutte, Idamante in Idomeneo, Rodolfo in La Bohème, Alfredo in La Traviata, Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Titelheld in Faust by Charles Gounod, Licinio in La Vestale by Spontini, Jason in Médée by Milhaud, the Male Chorus in Benjamin Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia and Pêcheur in Stravinsky’s Le Rossignol.

Apart from his impressive stage appearance and estimated concert singing, John McCollum was active in teaching. As such he worked at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Recordings: RCA (Amahl and the Night Visitors by Menotti).

Source: Operissimo Website, English translation by Aryeh Oron (April 2004)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (April 2004)

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