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Joseph, Baron Van Damme (born 25 August 1940 inBrussels), known asJosé van Dam, is aBelgianbass-baritone, described as having "a magnificent resonant and expressive voice" and being "an excellent actor".[1]
At the age of 17, he entered theBrussels Royal Conservatory and studied with Frederic Anspach. A year later, he graduated with diplomas and first prizes in voice andopera performance. He made his opera début as the music teacher Don Basilio inGioacchino Rossini’sIl Barbiere di Siviglia at theOpéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège in 1960, and was engaged the next year at the Paris Opera where he remained until 1965,[1] when he sang his first major role, Escamillo fromBizet'sCarmen. He then sang for two seasons atGeneva,La Scala,Covent Garden, and in Paris. At Geneva, Van Dam sang in the première of Milhaud'sLa mère coupable in 1966.Lorin Maazel heard van Dam and invited him to recordRavel’sL’heure espagnole with him forDeutsche Grammophon. In 1967, Maazel asked him to join theDeutsche Oper inBerlin.
Van Dam has performed atL’Opéra de Paris, Covent Garden, theMetropolitan Opera,Teatro alla Scala inMilan,Vienna State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, theThéâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels,Teatro Colón inBuenos Aires, theSalzburg Festival, and festivals inAix-en-Provence andOrange, France.
Van Dam has become the Master in Residence of the singing section at theQueen Elisabeth Music Chapel in his home country, Belgium, since 2011.[2]
Van Dam is also a concert, oratorio, and lieder singer and has won international awards for his performances on stage and in recordings. Berlin conferred on him the title ofKammersänger in 1974, and the same year he received the German Music Critics’ Prize. Other awards include the Gold Medal of the Belgian Press (1976), Grand Prix de l’Académie française du Disque (1979), Orphée d’Or de l’Académie Lyrique Française (1980), the European Critics’ Prize, (1985), Diapason d’Or and Prix de la Nouvelle Académie du Disque (1993), and the Orphée d’Or de l’Académie du Disque Lyrique (1994).
In August 1998, His Majesty KingAlbert II of Belgium made van Dam abaron, recognizing him as one of the finest classical singers. On 4 December 1999 van Dam was one of the performers at the marriage of Belgium'sCrown Prince Philippe andMathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz.
Van Dam is featured as one of the three interviewees in 'Doucement les Basses', withGabriel Bacquier andClaudio Desderi discussing their approach to roles in the bass-baritone repertoire.[3]
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Van Dam appears in the filmsThe Music Teacher (1988) as Joachim Dallayrac, and inDon Giovanni (1979) as Leporello, directed byJoseph Losey, and conducted by Maazel. Van Dam also appears as Philip in the DVD of the 1996 production ofDon Carlos from theThéâtre du Châtelet in Paris under Pappano directed by Luc Bondy, and as Hans Sachs in the 2003Zürich Opera production ofDie Meistersinger conducted byFranz Welser-Möst.
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Among van Dam's extensive discography are complete studio recordings ofCarmen as Escamillo (in 1974 underLombard in Strasbourg, in 1975 underSolti in London and 1982 under Karajan in Berlin), as the father inLouise (Rudel, 1977),Die Zauberflöte (as the Speaker, 1980),Faust as Méphistophélès (conducted byMichel Plasson, 1991),Les contes d'Hoffmann as the four opponents of Hoffmann (in 1988 underCambreling, and underNagano in 1994–1996),Don Carlos (1996), andDie Meistersinger (conducted bySir Georg Solti, 1997). In 2010, the Metropolitan released his 1980Wozzeck (withAnja Silja andRichard Cassilly, conducted byJames Levine) on compact disc.
WithHerbert von Karajan, he also recordedFidelio (1970),Le nozze di Figaro (1978),Salome (1978),Pelléas et Mélisande (1978),Parsifal (1979–1980),Die Zauberflöte (1980), andDer fliegende Holländer (1981–1983),Ein Deutsches Requiem (1978 and 1985), as well as Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (1977 and 1983).
One of the bass-baritone's greatest successes was in the title role ofOlivier Messiaen'sSaint François d'Assise. The world-premiere was recorded underSeiji Ozawa (1983), as was the Salzburg production, underKent Nagano (1998).
MALISCH, KURT. (2001) 2016. “Dam, José van.” In: MGG Online, edited by Laurenz Lütteken. Bärenreiter, Metzler, RILM, 2016–. Accessed August 27, 2022.https://www.mgg-online.com/mgg/stable/12468
