Opera Scotland

Raimund Herincx Suggest updates

Born London, 23 August 1927.

English bass-baritone.

Of Belgian parentage, Raimund Herincx studied in Belgium and Italy, and sang a wide range of roles with British companies during a long career. He also worked extensively abroad, both with major continental companies and with visits to the USA. These included Boston (1967). and later the New York Met and Seattle, where he was noted for his Wagner roles.

Raimund Herincx made his debut in 1950 as Figaro in Belgium. He sang with Welsh National early on, and one of his most important roles with them was the title role in Mefistofele in 1957. He also sang leading Verdi roles such as Nabucco. He continued to appear with them regularly, one of his last appearances for the company being King Fisher in 1978.

At Covent Garden he made his debut in 1968 as King Fisher in a major revival of Tippett's Midsummer Marriage and returned to create Faber in The Knot Garden (Tippett 1970), the White Abbott in Taverner (Maxwell Davies 1972), and the Governor in We Come to the River (Henze 1976). Other roles for the Royal Opera included Donner, One-Armed Brother and Rangoni.

He worked with Sadler's Wells/ENO throughout his career, singing dozens of parts, and eventually graduating to leading Wagner roles such as Dutchman, Telramund, Hagen and Wotan. He sang Baron Prus in the British premiere of Makropulos, repeating at many revivals. He created Segura in Our Man in Havana (Williamson 1963) originally for Rostrum, but repeating it the following year with Sadler's Wells. He sang later performances as Count de Serindan in The Violins of Saint-Jacques. When he appeared in the ENO Ring on tour in Glasgow he "only" sang the three Wotan roles (on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday), but on the previous year's tour, including Leeds, he had also sung Hagen on the Saturday night.

He only worked with Scottish Opera once, in Manon Lescaut, when already semi-retired from singing. He taught for thirty years at the North East Scotland Music School in Aberdeen as well as in London (Trinity College and Royal Academy of Music), in Cardiff and the USA., and had a number of notable students, including Nicholas Folwell. His many recordings range from Dido and Aeneas with Anthony Lewis, and Messiah with Charles Mackerras to Creon / Messenger, King Fisher and Faber with Colin Davis. He also recorded some unusual British works including Koanga by Delius and Pilgrim's Progress and Sir John in Love by Vaughan Williams.