Donald McIntyre obit

Obituary: Sir Donald McIntyre CBE Passes Away at 91

 

He was not on the list.

Bass-baritone Sir Donald McIntyre CBE passed away on Nov. 13. He was 91 years old.

McIntyre was born in Auckland, New Zealand, on Oct. 22, 1934. He studied at the Guildhall School of Music and, in 1959, made his debut with the Welsh National Opera as Zaccaria in “Nabucco.” In 1964, he starred in the world premiere of Gian Carlo Menotti’s “Martin’s Lie” at the Bath International Music Festival. He made his Bayreuth Festival debut in 1967, where he sang regularly until 1990.

Throughout his career, McIntyre made frequent guest appearances at leading opera houses such as Teatro alla Scala, Covent Garden, and the Metropolitan Opera. McIntyre is most known for singing Wotan in Bayreuth’s centenary Ring Cycle in 1976. He performed other Wagnerian roles in “Der fliegende Holländer,” “Parsifal,” and “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.”

In 1982, McIntyre won a Grammy Award in the Best Opera Recording category for his role as Wotan/Wanderer in “Der Ring Des Nibelungen.”

He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1977 New Year Honours, and later was promoted to Commander of the Order of the British Empire. In 1992, he was appointed a Knight Bachelor, for services to opera.