John Lankston

John Lankston
Born1934 (1934)
Bridgeport, Illinois
DiedJuly 12, 2018(2018-07-12) (aged 85–86)
Bridgeport, Illinois
Education
Occupations

John Lankston (1934 - July 12, 2018)[1] was an American tenor and actor who had a career in opera and musical theatre from the 1950s through the 2000s. After making his Broadway debut in Redhead (1959), he went on to create the roles of Adolph and the Ziegfeld Tenor in Jule Styne's Funny Girl (1963) in which he was a featured soloist with Barbra Streisand. For his work, he and the rest of the main cast were awarded the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album at the 7th Annual Grammy Awards.[2] He was a regular performer with the New York City Opera from 1966 to 2001. His greatest success with the NYCO was his creation of the quintuple role of Voltaire/Pangloss/Businessman/Governor/Gambler in the 1982 revival of Leonard Bernstein's Candide which was directed by Hal Prince and filmed for national broadcast on PBS's Live from Lincoln Center.[3][4] The company later recorded the production on disc, and Langston and the rest of the artists involved were awarded the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording in 1987.[5]

Lankston most often performed supporting roles in his long tenure at the NYCO, often appearing in comedic character roles or villains. Occasionally he was given leading roles, including the title role in the United States premiere of Josef Tal's Ashmedai in 1976 in which his skills as both a singer and dancer were featured.[6] Other larger parts he excelled in included the Prologue in Benjamin Britten's The Turn of the Screw (1970, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1978);[7] Arbace in Mozart's Idomeneo (1974, 1975);[8] Eisenstein in Johann Strauss II's Die Fledermaus (1976, 1986);[9] the Devil in Stravinsky's L'Histoire du soldat (1977),[10] Officer Olim in Kurt Weill's Silverlake: A Winter's Tale (1980);[11] Satan/Lucifer in Igor Stravinsky's The Flood (1982);[12] Ko-Ko in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado (1984, 2001);[13] Monostatos in Mozart's The Magic Flute (1985, 1992);[14] and Torquemada in Maurice Ravel's L'heure espagnole (1990, 1999).[15] With the NYCO he notably appeared in several world premieres, including the roles of Major Mark Lyon in Hugo Weisgall's Nine Rivers from Jordan (1968);[16] Professor Clement in Gian Carlo Menotti's The Most Important Man (1971);[17] Bentley Drummle in the world premiere of Dominick Argento's Miss Havisham's Fire (1979);[18] and Dr. Sokolsky in the world premiere of Jay Reise's Rasputin (1988)[19] He also portrayed Šapkin In the United States premiere of Leoš Janáček's From the House of the Dead (1989).[20] His portrayal of The Schoolmaster in Janáček's The Cunning Little Vixen was broadcast on PBS's Live from Lincoln Center in 1983.[4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Historical was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Jennifer Ballantyne (March 26, 2014). "Funny Girl: Original Broadway Cast Recording 50th Anniversary Edition to Be Released by Capitol/UMe". Business Wire.
  3. ^ Francisco Salazar (July 17, 2018). "Obituary: John Lankston Dies at 84". Opera Wire.
  4. ^ a b Brian O'Doherty; Rebecca Krafft (1991). The Arts on Television, 1976-1990; Fifteen Years of Cultural Programming. National Endowment for the Arts. ISBN 9780160359262.
  5. ^ Henry Schipper (March 4, 1987). "Music Records: Vets Dominate Grammy Awards; Simon's Graceland Is Top LP; Gabriel, Jackson Empty Handed". Variety. Vol. 326, no. 6. p. 113.
  6. ^ Harold C. Schonberg (April 2, 1976). "The Opera: Ashmedai by City Troupe". The New York Times.
  7. ^ Theodore Strongin (March 2, 1970). "Turn of the Screw Staged by Off Broadway's Mann". The New York Times.
  8. ^ Raymond Ericson (March 10, 1974). "Unafraid, a New Music School Opens". The New York Times.
  9. ^ "Low-Key Fledermaus Given by City Opera". The New York Times. November 8, 1976.
  10. ^ Harold C. Schonberg (April 24, 1977). "Opera: 'Trilogy' by City Company". The New York Times.
  11. ^ Dan Dietz (2016). The Complete Book of 1980s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781442260924.
  12. ^ Jennifer Dunning (June 11, 1982). "City Ballet Opens 8-Day Celebration of Stravinsky". The New York Times.
  13. ^ Will Crutchfield (September 5, 1984). "City Opera Mikado Assembles". The New York Times.
  14. ^ Tim Page (October 21, 1985). "Opera: Magic Flute Performed in English". The New York Times.
  15. ^ John Rockwell (November 12, 1990). "Review/Opera; Ravel and Sendak, Affectionately Paired". The New York Times.
  16. ^ Harold C. Schonberg (October 10, 1968). "Opera: 'Nine Rivers From Jordan' Has Premiere; City Troupe Performs Hugo Weisgall's Work Johnston Libretto Full of Religious Symbolism". The New York Times.
  17. ^ Margaret Ross Griffel (2013). Operas In English: A Dictionary. Scarecrow Press. p. 329. ISBN 9780810883253.
  18. ^ Harold C. Schonberg (March 23, 1979). "City Opera: Miss Havisham" (PDF). The New York Times. p. 45.
  19. ^ Donal Henahan (September 19, 1988). "Review/Music; Mad Monk Redux in City Opera's New Rasputin". The New York Times.
  20. ^ John Rockwell (August 30, 1990). "Review/Opera; American Premiere of Janacek's House of the Dead". The New York Times.