Johnson, Edward
Johnson, Edward
Johnson, Edward, distinguished Canadian-born American tenor and operatic administrator; b. Guelph, Ontario, Aug. 22, 1878; d. there, April 20, 1959. He sang in concert and oratorio performances before going to N.Y. in 1899 to study with Mme. von Feilitsch. After appearing in the U.S. premiere of Oscar Straus’s A Waltz Dream in 1907, he continued his studies with Richard Barthélémy in Paris (1908) and Vincenzo Lombardi in Florence (1909).He made his operatic debut as Andrea Chénier at the Teatro Verdi in Padua on Jan. 10, 1912, using the stage name of Edoardo Di Giovanni. He subsequently appeared in Milan at La Scala, where he sang the title role in Parsifal at its first complete stage production in Italy, on Jan. 4, 1914. He made his U.S. debut as Loris in Fedora at the Chicago Grand Opera on Nov. 20, 1919, remaining on its roster until 1922. He then made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Avito in Vamore dei tre Re on Nov. 16, 1922, continuing to sing there until 1935, when he became its general manager, guiding its fortunes through the difficult years of World War II and the postwar era. He retired in 1950. Although he became a naturalized American citizen in 1922, he maintained a close connection with Canada, returning there after his retirement. He was particularly esteemed for such roles as Romeo, Tannhäuser, Don José, Siegfried, Canio, and Pelléas. He also created leading roles in Deems Taylor’s TheKing’s Henchman (1927) and Peter Ibbetson (1931) at the Metropolitan.
Bibliography
R. Mercer, The Tenor of His Time: E. J. of the Met (Toronto, 1976).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire