Beattie, Herbert (Wilson)
Beattie, Herbert (Wilson)
Beattie, Herbert (Wilson), American bass and teacher; b. Chicago, Aug. 23, 1926. He studied voice with John Wilcox at the American Cons. of Music in Chicago and with Dick Marzzolo in N.Y., he also studied at Colo. Coll. (B.A., 1948), Westminster Choir Coll. (M.M., 1950), and the Salzburg Mozarteum (1955). On Oct. 11, 1957, he made his debut at the N.Y. City Opera as Baron Bouphol in La Traviata, where he sang regularly until 1972 and again from 1980 to 1984; he also sang opera in other cities in the U.S. and Europe, and toured as a concert artist. He taught at Syracuse Univ. (1950–52), Pa. State Univ. (1952–53), the Univ. of Buffalo (1953–58), and at Hofstra Univ. (1959–82). Among his best roles were Mozart’s Osmin, Sarastro, Leporello, and Don Alfonso, and Rossini’s Dr. Bartolo and Mustafa. He also sang in many contemporary operas.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire