London, George

He was born George Burnstein to Russian parents in Montreal. He grew up in Los Angeles and made his debut 1942 in Hollywood in the tiny role of Dr. Grenvil in La Traviata. He continued his studies in New York, frequently appearing in operettas and musicals. In 1947 he was engaged to tour with Mario Lanza and Frances Yeend as a member of the “Belcanto Trio.” Growing success enhanced his ambition to change to a more “serious” repertory and he went to Europe. In 1949 Karl Böhm engaged him to appear at the Vienna State Opera (debut as Amonasro). Subsequently, he appeared as Galitzki, Escamillo, the four villains in the Tales of Hoffmann and as Boris. He was appointed “Kammersänger” of the Vienna State Opera, a great honour for a Canadian-born singer. As of 1950 he appeared at the Glyndebourne Festival every summer. In 1951 he made his German debut in Bayreuth and sang every year until 1964 (Amfortas and Holländer). In 1951 he joined the Met. There he was especially acclaimed as Don Giovanni, Scarpia and again Boris (his favorite role). He was invited to Moscow to sing Boris, the first American singer ever to appear there. In 1961 George London suffered paralysis of his vocal chords, but he tried to continue singing until 1965. His life between 1965 until his death was overshadowed by severe illness. In 1968 he was appointed director of the Kennedy Centre in Washington. He also worked as an operatic producer and was an acclaimed singing teacher.

Recordings: (selection)
Mozart - Don Giovanni (Böhm 1955/Della Casa, Jurinac, Dermota Seefried, Kunz)	RCA
Mozart - Don Giovanni (Moralt 1955/Zadek, Jurinac, Simoneau, Sciutti, Berry, Waechter)	Philips
Mozart - Don Giovanni (Klemperer 1955/Zadek, Cunitz, Streich, Kusche, Günter, Weber)	Testament
Mozart - Le Nozze di Figaro (Karajan 1950/Schwarzkopf, Seefried, Kunz, Jurinac, Höngen)	EMI
Mozart - Die Zauberflöte (Karajan/Seefried, Dermota, Kunz, Loose, Lipp)	EMI
Offenbach - Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Schaenen 1954/Simoneau, Alarie, Danco, West)	Voce della Luna
Offenbach - Les Contes d’ Hoffmann (Cluytens 1964/Gedda, d’Angelo, Schwarzkopf, de los Angeles)	EMI
Puccini - Tosca (Adler 1959/Steber, Bergonzi)	Myto
Puccini - Tosca (Molinari-Pradelli 1959/Tebaldi, del Monaco)	Decca
Strauss - Arabella (Solti 1957/Della Casa, Güden, Dermota)	Decca
Strauss - Arabella (Kempe 1955/Steber, Güden, Sullivan)	Voce della Luna
Tchaikovsky - Eugene Ongin (Mitropoulos/Amara, Elias, Tucker, Tozzi)	GOP
Tchaikovsky - Eugene Onegin (Kraus/Bak, Dermota, Töpper, Frick)	Myto
Wagner - Der fliegende Holländer (Dorati 1961/Rysanek, Tozzi, Liebl, Elias)	Decca
Wagner - Der fliegende Holländer (Sawallisch 1959/Rysanek, Greindl, Uhl)	Melodram
Wagner - Der fliegende Holländer (Keilberth 1956/Rysanek, Varnay, van Mill, Traxel)	Myto
Wagner - Parsifal (Knappertsbusch 1951/Windgassen, Mödl, Weber, van Mill, Uhde)	Teldec
Wagner - Parsifal (Krauss 1953/Vinay, Mödl, Uhde, Greindl)	LYS
Wagner - Parsifal (Knappertsbusch 1962/Windgassen, Dalis, Hotter, Talvela, Neidlinger)	Philips
Wagner - Parsifal (Knappertsbusch 1963/Windgassen, Dalis, Hotter, Weber, Neidlinger)	Golden Melodram
Wagner - Das Rheingold (Solti/Flagstad, Neidlinger, Svanholm)	Decca
Wagner - Die Walküre (Leinsdorf/Vickers, Brouwenstijn, Gorr)	Decca
Recital 1952 - 1955 (Arias by Berlioz, Boito, Musorgsky, Wagner, Rubinstein, Massenet, Verdi)	Myto
Of Gods and Demons (Arias by Gounod, Berlioz, Boito, Rubinstein, Paladilhe, Massenet, Borodin, Musorgsky, Wagner, Gruenberg)	Sony Heritage
George London - Live Recordings 1953 - 1956	Orfeo
Excerpts from Meistersinger (Knappertsbusch/Stokowski)	Decca
George London in Concert (New York 1957)	VAI
Mike Richter’s Opera Page: Stars of David/The Record of Singing Vol. 4	CD-ROM

He is a dramatic and very expressive singer. In many roles he sings like a demonic panther with a sound of purple-black in color. London is a singer favoring the drama in a piece. Although his technique is not faultless, he is able to vary color to suggest shifts of mood. His acting on stage was described as overwhelming. The special magnetism of this artist is documented on his great recordings.

I admire him in the following roles: Boris Godunov, Amfortas, Mandryka, Holländer, Scarpia, the four Villains in Tales of Hoffmann and Wotan. Every role is sung with utmost expression and unbelievable commitment. He is truly a singing-actor!