Norman Cordon

              Figure

BASS BARITONE METROPOLITAN OPERA ASSOCIATION
NORMAN CORDON



Mephistopheles in Faust



NORMAN CORDON
BRILLIANT singer, able and versatile actor, engaging and manly personality.  Norman Cordon has rolled up an impressive list of achievements in concert, opera and radio.  A singer of American birth and background.  Cordon is an artist in the great tradition of Chaliapin, Adamo Didur, Clarence Whitehill.  Each season his numerous appearances with the Metropolitan Opera—in such widely diversified rôles as Mephistopheles in Faust, the richly comic Kezal in The Bartered Bride, or the spine-chilling Commendatore in Don Giovanni—gain him tributes from the New York press and acclaim from the public.  One evening he may sing the sonorous and dignified King Henry in Lohengrin, and in the next rôle appear as the mirth-provoking Don Basilio of The Barber of Seville or the grotesque King Dodon in Coq d'Or.  In the concert field, he has been soloist with most of the great symphony orchestras and music festivals of the United States and Canada, and recital audiences have heard him from coast to coast.  He has been featured on the air on many of the major hours.

Norman Cordon was born in Washington, North Carolina, of a distinguished Southern family.  He received his earliest vocal training as a choir boy, singing soprano solos long before his voice deepened to the bass-baritone register.  At the University of North Carolina, his interest in music continued and for a while he played the saxophone and sang in a male quartet.  Afterward, he devoted himself to serious music, studying at the Nashville Conservatory of Music under Gaetano de Luca, then for two years with Hadley Outland.

His opportunity for an opera career came by chance.  One night he went to a party and was asked to sing.  Another guest was enthusiastic about his voice and arranged an audition which led to his opera début with the Chicago Opera Association.

The following season he came to the Metropolitan, where the management was putting on a Spring Season presenting young American singers.  Norman Cordon was such an instant success with critics and public that he was immediately signed up as a full-fledged member of the regular Metropolitan personnel.  Since that date, he has been among the most frequently heard of the company's artists.  During his first four years he sang 297 performances of 43 rôles, a record achievement.  In recital, concert and radio, Cordon's art established him at once among the most prominent figures in these fields.  His North American successes led to his engagement by the Teatro Colon, in Buenos Aires.

Offstage, Cordon plays a good game of golf, makes a hobby of carpentry.  He spends his vacations at his summer home in North Carolina, where he often adds to his extensive repertoire of Negro Spirituals.


Kezal in The Bartered Bride




THE CRITICS
LAUD A MAGNIFICENT VOICE

Cordon gave an example of beautiful singing, as is his wont.—
Virgil Thomson, New York Herald Tribune


Throughout the evening, Cordon dominated the performance.  He sang well and received hearty applause.—
New York Times


Cordon's voice has ample breadth and weight for the most ringing proclamation, permitting him to display the three-dimensional qualities of his art.—
New York Sun


One of the Metropolitan's most valuable artists.—
Francis D. Perkins, New York Herald Tribune


Cordon was simply superb.—
New York World-Telegram


Accomplished artists like Norman Cordon do not happen along frequently.—
Frederick Yeiser, Cincinnati Enquirer


It is a distinct achievement for a singer effectively to portray intense dramatic characters when singing as soloist with orchestra, without stage settings or costumes.  Norman Cordon succeeded admirably.—
Howard W. Hess, Cincinnati Times-Star


An imposing figure, a magnificent bass voice.—
Norman Nairn, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle


Possessor of a fine, resonant bass-baritone voice, Cordon sang with noble feeling and did wonders with the florid passages.—
Thomas Archer, Montreal Gazette


Norman Cordon's gifts as an actor are as great as his endowments as a singer.  His is a polished art and he sings magnificently.—
Richard E. Hays, Seattle Times


That spark which sets an audience afire and turns polite applause into enthusiasm was not struck until Norman Cordon appeared.  He gave a superb performance and was called back no less than five times.—
Willard M. Clark, Springfield Union





THE
IMPRESSIVE STATISTICS
OF NORMAN CORDON'S CAREER INCLUDE:

King Henry in Lohengrin



6 SEASONS METROPOLITAN OPERA ASSOCIATION
Other Opera Affiliations

San Francisco Opera
Chicago Opera
Cincinnati Summer Opera
St. Louis Grand Opera
Hollywood Bowl
Central City Music Festival
Montreal Grand Opera Festival
Seattle Grand Opera Festival
Rochester Civie Music Association
Teatro Colon.  Buenos Aires



Among Concert Achierements
Soloist with…

Boston Symphony Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Montreal Concerts Symphoniques
Ann Arbor May Festival (three times)
Cincinnati May Festival
Berkshire Symphonic Festival (Dedication Season)
Montreal Music Festival (three times)
Mozart Festival (Asheville, N. C.)
Worcester Festival



RECITAL TOURS OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA
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