He is considered one of the finest basso cantante singers of his generation. He is greatly admired for his range and versatility, having both the bel canto technique to sing Händel, Mozart, Rossini, as well as the power to handle the dramatic roles of Verdi and Puccini.
He is a 1960 graduate of Colby High School in Colby, Kansas, and studied music in high school and in college at Kansas State University and Wichita State. In College at Kansas State, Ramey was a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity. After further study in Central City (where he was in the chorus of "Don Giovanni" in 1963, with Norman Treigle in the name part) and as an apprentice with the Santa Fe Opera, he went to New York, where he had his first breakthrough at the New York City Opera.
As his repertoire expanded, he spent more and more time in the theatres of Europe, notably in Berlin, Hamburg, London, Paris, Vienna, and the summer festivals in Aix-en-Provence, Glyndebourne, Pesaro and Salzburg.
In January, 1984, Ramey made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in Händel's "Rinaldo". He has since become a fixture at the La Scala, Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, Vienna State Opera, the Paris Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the New York City Opera, and the San Francisco Opera.
In the bel canto repertoire, Ramey has excelled in Mozart's "Don Giovanni" and "The Marriage of Figaro" and in Rossini's "Semiramide", "The Barber of Seville", "Il Turco in Italia", "L'Italiana in Algeri", in Donizetti's "Anna Bolena" and "Lucia di Lammermoor" and Bellini's "I Puritani".
In the dramatic repertoire, Ramey has been acclaimed for his "Three Devils" : Boito's "Mefistofele", Gounod's "Faust", and Berlioz's "The Damnation of "Faust".
Other dramatic roles have included Verdi's "Nabucco", "Don Carlo", "I Lombardi" and "Jerusalem" and Offenbach's "Tales of Hoffmann" (all four villains). A number of previosly obscure operas with strong bass-baritone roles have been revived solely for Ramey, such as Verdi's "Attila", Rossini's "Maometto II" and Massenet's "Don Quichotte".
FAMOUS WORKS :
¤ Zuniga, Carmen, New York City Opera, 1973. ¤ Creon, Medea, New York City Opera, 1974. ¤ Basilio, The Barber of Seville, New York City Opera, 1974. ¤ Henry VIII, Anna Bolena, New York City Opera, 1974. ¤ Collino, La Boheme, New York City Opera, 1974. ¤ Alvise, La Gioconda, Opera Theatre of New Jersey, 1974. ¤ The four villains, The Tales of Hoffmann, New York City Opera, 1975. ¤ Henry VIII, Anna Bolena, Opera Company of Philadelphia, PA, 1975. ¤ Figaro, The Marriage of Figaro, Glyndebourne Festival, Great Britain, 1976, then New York City Opera,1977. ¤ Title role, Don Giovanni, Grand Theatre, Bordeaux, France, 1977. ¤ Basilio, The Barber of Seville, New York City Opera, 1977. ¤ Count des Grieux, Manon, New York City Opera, 1977. ¤ Title role, Mefistofele, New York City Opera, 1977. ¤ Nick Shadow, The Rake's Progress, Glyndebourne Festival, 1977. ¤ The four villains, The Tales of Hoffmann, Netherlands Opera, 1978. ¤ Colline, La Boheme, Paris Opera, France, 1978. ¤ King Arkel, Pelleas and Melisande, Hamburg State Opera, Germany, 1978. ¤ Title role and Leporello, Don Giovanni, New York City Opera, 1980. ¤ Prince Assur, Semiramide, Aix-en-Provence Festival, France, 1981. ¤ Title role, Figaro, La Scala, Milan, Italy, 1981. ¤ Raimondo, Lucia di Lammermoor, Hamburg State Opera, 1981. ¤ Escamillo, Carmen, Vienna State Opera, Austria, 1981. ¤ Rinaldo, Metropolitan Opera, New York City, 1984. ¤ Title role, Don Quichotte, New York City Opera, 1985. ¤ I Puritani, Metropolitan Opera, 1993. ¤ Also appeared in the Houston Grand Opera, 1975; San Francisco Opera, 1978; Chicago Lyric Opera, 1979.
TELEVISION APPEARANCES; SPECIALS
¤ Basilio, "The Barber of Seville", Live from Lincoln Center, PBS, 1977. ¤ Count des Grieux, "Manon", PBS, 1977. ¤ Soloist, "Rossini at Versailles", Great Performances, PBS, 1985. ¤ "The Night of Music: A Global Celebration", Great Performances, PBS, 1986. ¤ Escamillo, "Carmen", Live from the Met, 1987. ¤ A Grand Night: The Performing Arts Salute Public Television, PBS, 1988. ¤ Title role, "Don Giovanni", Great Performances, PBS, 1988. ¤ The Richard Tucker Opera Gala, PBS, 1989. ¤ Bluebeard, "Bluebeard's Castle" (also known as "Erwartung"), The Metropolitan Opera Presents, PBS, 1989. ¤ Great Moments from the Met, PBS, 1990. ¤ "Flicka and Friends: From Rossini to 'Show Boat' ", Live from Lincoln Center, PBS, 1990. ¤ Mefistofele, "Mefistofele from the San Francisco Opera", Great Performances, PBS, 1990. ¤ Title role, "Don Giovanni", The Metropolitan Opera Presents, PBS, 1990. ¤ "The Richard Tucker Gala", Great Performances, PBS, 1991. ¤ Carnegie Hall: Live at 100! The Gala Celebration, PBS, 1991. ¤ Prince Assur, "Semiramide", The Metropolitan Opera Presents, PBS, 1991 ¤ "Metropolitan Opera Silver Anniversary", Great Performances, PBS, 1992. ¤ Richard Tucker Gala: A Salute to American Music, PBS, 1992. ¤ Live from the Philadelphia Orchestra with Richardo Muti, Arts and Entertainment, 1992. ¤ Pitkin, 1st Workman, and Announcer, "On the Town in Concert", Great Performances, PBS, 1993. ¤ Pagano, "I Lombardi", The Metropolitan Opera Presents, PBS, 1994. ¤ The Richard Tucker Opera Gala: American Voices, PBS, 1994.
FILM APPEARANCES:
¤Voice of Banquo, Macbeth, Dedalus, 1987.
LINKS:
Hello Beautiful! - Act 2: Samuel Ramey interviewed by Steve Edwards, Chicago Public Radio, May 13, 2007. Samuel Ramey talks to Scott Simon. Weekend Edition Saturday, October 7, 2006.
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