Sir Donald McIntyre, Baritone

SIR DONALD McINTYRE, called by the press “one of the greatest exponents of Wagnerian roles,” is known for his magnificent voice and commanding interpretations. In 1988, Sir Donald was awarded a medal by the directors of the major opera houses of Europe at Covent Garden, for the outstanding achievements of his long and distinguished career. Four years later, in 1992, Sir Donald was knighted.

Mr. McIntyre’s career spans several continents, as he performs such varied repertoire as: UN RE IN ASCOLTO at Covent Garden and at the Bastille Opera; PETER GRIMES at the Nationaltheater in Munich; FIDELIO and DIE MEISTERSINGER in Sydney, PARSIFAL in Amsterdam, and ARABELLA at the Met in New York. DIE MEISTERSINGER was filmed by the ABC in Australia.

Since making his debut with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in 1968, Donald McIntyre has made annual visits to the United States. A welcome artist at the Metropolitan Opera, Sir Donald has performed a variety of roles in this house.   These have included several productions of Wagner’s RING, Mussorgsky’s KHOVANSHCHINA, Hans Sachs in DIE MEISTERSINGER, the Doctor in WOZZECK, Orest in ELEKTRA, Count Waldner in Richard Strauss’ ARABELLA and Klingsor in Wagner’s PARSIFAL, as well as a new production of THE MAKROPOLOS CASE by Janacek. Both ELEKTRA and ARABELLA were taped for TV.  Sir Donald made his L.A. Opera debut as King Mark in TRISTAN UND ISOLDE and returned to the role of Count Waldner in Richard Strauss’ ARABELLA in his debut with the San Francisco Opera. Sir Donald continues with an extremely busy schedule. Highlights include THE MAKROPOLOS CASE at the Festival in Glyndebourne, in Toulouse and in Barcelona. PETER GRIMES at the Nationaltheater in Munich, PELLEAS ET MELISANDE in Paris and Brussels, THE RAKE’S PROGRESS in Paris and Amsterdam, and LADY MACBETH in Brussels.  During the last few seasons, Mr McIntyre has again portrayed the role of Wotan at the Longbourne Festival in Great Britain, Gurnemanz in his native country of New Zealand, and performed the Sprecher in Schoenberg’s GURRELIEDER with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, as well as in Greece.

Sir Donald McIntyre was born in Mt. Eden, New Zealand. At the age of twenty-four he moved to Great Britain, where he studied at the Guildhall School of Music. A year later, he made his debut with the Welsh National Opera in Verdi’s NABUCCO.

In 1967, the bass-baritone made his debuts both at Covent Garden and at the Festspiele in Bayreuth. At Covent Garden he performed Pizarro in FIDELIO, and he has since enjoyed a long association with the company. His many roles there have included Wotan/Der Wanderer (THE RING), Kurwenal (TRISTAN UND ISOLDE), Telramund (LOHENGRIN), Barak DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN, Scarpia (TOSCA), Nick Shadow (THE RAKE’S PROGRESS), and Caspar (DER FREISCHÜTZ). At the Bayreuther Festspiele he debuted as Telramund in LOHENGRIN and has returned many times, most notably as Wotan/Der Wanderer in the then controversial Pierre Boulez/Patrice Chereau Centenary production of THE RING, which was recorded and televised, and remains one of the foremost interpretations of THE RING ever produced.