Svéd, Sándor

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Svéd, Sándor

Svéd, Sándor, Hungarian baritone; b. Budapest, May 28, 1904; d. Vienna, June 9, 1979. He studied violin at the Budapest Cons., then went to Milan for vocal studies with Sammarco and Stracciari. He made his operatic debut as Count Luna in Budapest in 1930; was a member of the Vienna State Opera (1936-39); also sang at Covent Garden in London and the Salzburg Festival. On Dec. 2, 1940, he made his debut under the name of Alexander Sved at the Metropolitan Opera in N.Y. as Renato in Un ballo in maschera) he remained on its roster until 1948, and then returned for the 1949-50 season. He subsequently sang in Rome, in Paris, and at the Bayreuth Festival; also made appearances with the Budapest Opera, and later toured as a concert singer. In 1956 he went to Stuttgart as a vocal teacher.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire