Donald McIntyre

Sir Donald Conroy McIntyre CBE (born 22 October 1934 in Auckland) is an operatic bass-baritone from New Zealand.

Operatic career

McIntyre made his formal debut as Zaccaria in Nabucco, at the Welsh National Opera, in 1959. In 1964 he created the role of the Stranger in the world premiere of Gian Carlo Menotti's Martin's Lie at the Bath International Music Festival. He has appeared at Covent Garden (from 1967, debuting as Pizarro in Fidelio), the Bayreuth Festival (from 1967), the Teatro alla Scala (the Old Servant in Elektra, 2014), etc. He first sang at the Metropolitan Opera in 1975, as Wotan in Das Rheingold, and was seen at that theatre until 1996.

His discography includes Pelléas et Mélisande (as Golaud, with George Shirley and Elisabeth Söderström, conducted by Pierre Boulez, 1969), Parsifal (as Klingsor, opposite Dame Gwyneth Jones, 1970), Lohengrin as Friedrich von Telramund (conducted by Rudolf Kempe), Œdipus Rex (conducted by Sir Georg Solti, with Sir Peter Pears, 1976), Parsifal (as Gurnemanz, led by Sir Reginald Goodall, 1984), as well as Handel's oratorios, Messiah and Israel in Egypt.

A major accomplishment was his Wotan/Wanderer at Bayreuth in the Jahrhundertring (Centenary Ring) in 1976, celebrating the centenary of both the festival and the first performance of the complete cycle, conducted by Pierre Boulez and staged by Patrice Chéreau, recorded and filmed in 1979 and 1980. Also on DVD are Sir Donald's performances of Der fliegende Holländer (conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch, 1974), Elektra (as Orest, with Birgit Nilsson conducted by James Levine, in Herbert Graf's production, 1980), Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras, 1988), Arabella (with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, 1994), as well as another Elektra (conducted by Levine, 1994).