Dean, Stafford (Roderick)

views updated

Dean, Stafford (Roderick)

Dean, Stafford (Roderick) , English bass; b. Kingswood, Surrey, June 20, 1937. He studied at Epsom Coll. and at the Royal Coll. of Music in London; also received private lessons from Howell Glynne and Otakar Kraus. He first sang with opéra for All (1962–64); in 1964 he made his debut at the Glyndebourne Festival as Lictor in L’incoronazione de Popped, and at Sadler’s Wells in London as Zuniga, where he appeared regularly until 1970; in 1969 he made his debut at London’s Covent Garden as Masetto, and remained on its roster. On Feb. 6, 1976, he made his Metropolitan opéra debut in N.Y. as Figaro. He also sang opéra in Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto, Hamburg, Berlin, Vienna, Paris, and other cities, and likewise toured widely as a concert artist. His extensive repertoire includes such roles as Sarastro, Leporello, Osmind, Sparafucile, and King Philip. He married Anne Howells.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire