THE GIFT
OF MUSIC
DISPLAYING AN AMAZING RANGE
My heart is steadfast, I’ll sing and make music (Psalms 57:7)
Great singers give every performance an individual expression whether their preferred genre is pop, gospel, or opera. But Simon Estes is the truly rare singer, because he mastered an amazing range of styles – recording gospel classics, singing Broadway tunes and performing oratorio and arias in the world’s great opera houses and concert halls.
On July 26th, 1978 the New York Times said, “Simon Estes won acclaim last night in The Flying Dutchman at the 1978 Bayreuth Festival. He was the first black male to sing a lead role at the shrine of Wagnerian opera.” Playing Der Fliegende Holländer that day became a career-defining role Simon would go on to perform over 400 times. Yet, Estes did far more than embody Wagner’s Dutchman. He performed 104 different roles, in 84 opera houses, with over 115 orchestras. This is unheard of breadth, and a feat no other opera singer has matched.
BOY SOPRANO TO BASS-BARITONE
Simon’s boyhood was full of song, and although his voice was much heralded in church and the school choir his path to opera greatness was full of obstacles. It’s ironic that one of Opera’s greatest bass-baritones started as a boy soprano. In junior high, Simon was invited by the high school choral director to move up and sing in the high school choir. He sang first soprano and could match the highest notes sung by the girls.
Then, as a high school senior, something seemed wrong with his voice when preparing for a solo contest. The director sent him to a doctor, assuming it was a problem with Simon’s vocal cords. As it turned out, his voice was changing. Planning for college, Simon then assumed this change was the end of his hopes of becoming a professional singer. How wrong he was.
A VOICE THAT COULD OPEN DOORS
Simon just wanted to sing in the choir at the University of Iowa, so he approached the director of the music department who reportedly said, “No, no, no, your voice isn’t good enough.” Undeterred, Simon asked if he could take voice lessons. Again Simon was rebuffed with, “You have no talent. I wouldn’t waste my time on you. But, there’s a young teacher coming this fall. Maybe he’ll take you.” That teacher was Professor Charles Kellis, the man responsible for discovering and cultivating Simon’s talents.
According to Kellis, he first heard Simon’s voice through a closed door of a rehearsal hall. What he heard was an element of “penetration” – the power of a voice that could carry in a large opera hall. Kellis decided to take Simon under his wing and teach him to sing opera. Kellis asked, “What voice do you think you are?” Simon said, “A tenor.” And Kellis replied, “No, you’re a bass baritone.” Kellis provided voice instruction and taught Simon to sing in German, Italian and French – the languages Kellis spoke. Finally, it was Kellis who arranged Simon’s audition at the Juilliard School of Music. And the rest, as they say, is history.
THE BAYREUTH SHRINE TO WAGNER
The Bayreuth Festival is an annual event showcasing the operas of German composer Richard Wagner. Wagner himself personally supervised the design and construction of the theatre, which has many architectural innovations to accommodate the huge orchestras for which Wagner composed. This Festival has become a pilgrimage destination for Wagner enthusiasts.
In 1978, Simon Estes became the first black male to sing a leading role at the Bayreuth Festival (as reviewed in The New York Times, July 26, 1978) where he performed the lead role in Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman). This performance was a personal triumph for Simon as he went on to sing at Bayreuth for the next six consecutive years and this acclaim led to finally getting major parts in U.S. opera houses and the recognition he long deserved in America.
Simon returned to Bayreuth in 1985 to sing the Dutchman yet again; a performance that was captured on DVD and is still widely considered one of the best recordings of that role in the history of opera. Simon sang the role of The Dutchman over 400 times in his career.