Gramm (real name, Grambasch), Donald (John)
Gramm (real name, Grambasch), Donald (John)
Gramm (real name, Grambasch), Donald (John), American bass-baritone; b. Milwaukee, Feb. 26, 1927; d. N.Y., June 2, 1983. He studied piano and organ at the Wise. Coil-Cons, of Music (1935-44), and also studied voice with George Graham. He made his professional debut in Chicago at the age of 17 when he sang the role of Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor. He continued his vocal studies at the Chicago Musical Coll. and at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, where he was a student of Martial Singher. On Sept. 26, 1952, he made his debut at the N.Y.C. Opera as Colline in La Boheme, and continued to appear with the company for the rest of his life. On Jan. 10, 1964 he made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Truffaldino in Ariadne aufNaxos, and then sang major roles there until his death. He was extremely versatile in his roles; he sang Mephistopheles, Leporello, Mozart’s Figaro, Fal-staff in Verdi’s opera, Baron Ochs, and Scarpia. He also distinguished himself as an interpreter of such difficult parts as Dr. Schon in Berg’s Lulu and as Moses in Schoenberg’s Moses und Aron
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire