Bell, Donald (Munro)
Bell, Donald (Munro)
Bell, Donald (Munro), Canadian bass-baritone; b. South Burnaby, British Columbia, June 19, 1934. He began his studies with Nancy Paisley Benn in Vancouver; after attending the Royal Coll. of Music in London on scholarship (1953–55), he pursued training with Hermann Weissenborn in Berlin (1955–57). He later studied with Judith Boroschek in Dusseldorf (1967–76) and Richard Miller in Oberlin, Ohio (from 1985). He was only 14 when he was engaged to sing with the Vancouver Sym. Orch. In 1955 he appeared at the Glynde-bourne Opera and the Berlin State Opera. In 1958 he made his recital debut at London’s Wigmore Hall, and then appeared at the Bayreuth Festivals (1958–61). He made his Carnegie Hall debut in N.Y. in 1959. From 1964 to 1967 he was a member of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, where he sang such roles as Don Giovanni, Count Alma viva, Wolfram, Amf ortas, Kurwe-nal, and Gounod’s Méphistophèlés. He also sang at other European opera houses, but eventually became best known asa concert artist. In addition to the standard repertoire, he devoted much time to furthering the cause of contemporary music. After teaching at Carleton Univ. and the Univ. of Ottawa in 1977, he taught at the Univ. of Calgary from 1982.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire