James King
This page lists known recordings of American tenor James King (1925-2005). King had a strong powerful voice and he specialised in the taxing heldentenor roles of Strauss and Wagner. From the mid 1960s to the mid 1980s he was pre-eminent as Bacchus in Ariadne aux Naxos, the Emperor in Die Frau Ohne Schatten, and as Siegmund in Die Walkure. He was also a notable Walther, Lohengrin, Parsifal, Florestan and Otello. While he sang all over the world, he achieved greatest fame in Europe (particularly in Germany and Austria), a notable achievement for an American singer. King was already in his 40s when his career reached its height, but continued singing smaller roles (such as Aegisth in Elektra) well into his 60s. His recorded legacy is dominated by live performances, some of which were recorded professionally and issued commercially, but others are radio broadcasts and in-house recordings of varying quality.
Live Recordings
1962
August 3, Salzburg Iphigenie en Aulide (Orfeo)
1963
October 29 Tokyo Fidelio (video)
Berlin Macbeth
1964
May 21-25 Vienna Daphne (DG)
June Berlin Die Zauberflote (DG) 1st man
June 9, Berlin Die Frau Ohne Schatten (radio broadcast)
August 11, Salzburg Elektra
December 16 Munich (Bavarian TV) Daphne
1965
August 14 Bayreuth Die Walkure (radio broadcast)
November 7 Munich Sunday Concert (stereo radio broadcast) with Dvorakova and Weiner. King sings arias and duets from Fidelio, Lohengrin, and Ariadne
1966
January 22 Met Fidelio (radio broadcast)
February 11 Vienna Carmen (Orfeo)
July 27, Bayreuth Die Walkure (radio broadcast)
October 25, Met Frau ohne Schatten (in house)
November 20 Met Frau ohne Schatten (in house)
November 24 Met Elektra (in house)
December 10 Met Elektra (radio broadcast)
December 17 Met Frau ohne Schatten (radio broadcast)
1967
June 17 London Frau ohne Schatten (stereo radio broadcast)
July 23 Bayreuth Walkure (Phillips)
July 30 Bayreuth Lohengrin (radio broadcast)
August 5, Bayreuth Parsifal (radio broadcast)
November 29 Vienna Ariadne aux Naxos
1968
February 27, Met Lohengrin (in house)
March 19 London Der Fliegende Hollander (RFH Concert radio broadcast)
May 23, Carnegie Hall Concert Walkure Act 1
July 24 Munich Concert
July 26 Bayreuth Lohengrin
July 30 Bayreuth Die Walkure
August 12 Salzburg Fidelio
November 21, Stockholm Das Lied von der Erde (in house)
December 1, Munich concert (extracts from Otello)
1969
February 22, Met Turandot (in house)
March 8, Met Frau ohne Schatten (radio broadcast)
July 26 Bayreuth Parsifal (radio broadcast)
July 29 Bayreuth Die Walkure (radio broadcast)
August 13 Salzburg Fidelio (stereo radio broadcast)
Sept/Oct San Francisco Fidelio
1970
March 28, Met Ariadne auf Naxos (radio broadcast)
April 11 Munich Concert
April 12, Munich Concert with Gwyneth Jones
June 3 Vienna Tosca
June 9, Vienna Fidelio (radio)
June Vienna Fidelio (Decca video)
July 24 Bayreuth Parsifal (DG)
December 14 Vienna Leonore
1971
February 25 Berlin Manon Lescaut
June 1, Colon, Samson et Dalila
June 18 Colon Aida (radio broadcast)
October 1, San Francisco Meistersinger (stereo radio broadcast)
October 29, San Francisco Trovatore
1972
January 15, Met Meistersinger (radio broadcast)
April 4 Boston Concert Tristan und Isolde (act 2)
May 28 Vienna Der Freischutz
July 27 Bayreuth Die Walkure (radio broadcast in stereo)
August 4 Bayreuth Parsifal (radio broadcast)
1973
February 12, Vienna Turandot (in house)
March 18 Munich Concert
March 27 Rome Der Freischutz
1974
January 30 Paris Trovatore
June 21, Vienna Otello
August 16 Salzburg Frau ohne Schatten (stereo broadcast)
November 15 San Francisco Otello
December 10, La Scala Fidelio
1975
April 3, Met Tosca (in house)
June 11 London Frau ohne Schatten (Acts 1 & 2)
June 21 London Frau ohne Schatten (Act 3)
July 21 Munich Parsifal (act 1 incomplete - mono in house recording)
July Salzburg Die Frau Ohne Schatten (radio broadcast in stereo)
July 29 Bayreuth Die Walkure (radio broadcast in stereo)
October 21 Vienna Meistersinger
1976
April 5, London Frau ohne Schatten
May 15 Vienna Carmen
September 30, Vienna Ariadne auf Naxos
October 3 Munich Frau Ohne Schatten
November 20, Vienna Ariadne auf Naxos
Vienna Aida
1977
February 19, Met Die Walkure (radio broadcast)
March 13 Vienna Die Walkure
March 27 Munich Concert
April 7 Munich Parsifal (in house - stereo audience recording)
April 10 Munich Parsifal (in house - stereo in house recording - from the lighting bridge?)
July Tanglewood Tristan und Isolde (extracts)
October 13 Vienna Frau ohne Schatten (in house)
October 23 Vienna Frau ohne Schatten (in house)
October 27 Vienna Frau ohne Schatten (in house)
October 23/27 Vienna Frau ohne Schatten (DG composite)
1978
January 30, Munich Fidelio
April 1 Met Frau ohne Schatten (radio broadcast in stereo)
November 4 Marseille Die Walkure
1979
January 21, Munich, Sunday concert with Leonie Rysanek
February 20, Vienna Tosca
March 29 Vienna Frau ohne Schatten
May 26 Prague Carmen
Juily 27 Vienna, Karl Bohm 85th Birthday concert
July 28 Vienna Ariadne auf Naxos
August 28 Ossiach Liederabend (radio broadcast in stereo)
November 6 Vienna Pagliacci
November 25, Munich Sunday Concert
1980
January 8 Hamburg Frau ohne Schatten
April 13 Vienna Frau ohne Schatten (in house)
April 17 Vienna Tosca (Act 1)
April 22 Vienna Ariadne auf Naxos
June 15 Stuttgart Meistersinger (in house stereo)
August Salzburg Ariadne auf Naxos
September 25, San Francisco Die Frau Ohne Schatten (radio broadcast in stereo)
November 28 San Francisco I Pagliacci
1981
June Vienna Wozzeck
July 14 Munich Frau ohne Schatten
September Athens, Die Walkure (act 1)
October Buenos Aires Die Walkure
November San Francisco Die Walkure
1982
May 16 Vienna Palestrina
July 1 Berlin Lohengrin (in house)
August 6, Salzburg Ariadne auf Naxos
1983
August 17, Salzburg Fidelio
August Berlin Die Tote Stadt
1984
June 11, Vienna Frau ohne schatten
July 30, Munich Ariadne aux Naxos
November 21, Munich Frau Ohne Schatten
Berlin Die Tote Stadt
1985
May 21 Vienna (concert) Siegfried (act 3)
July 27 Salzburg Die Zauberflote (1st man)
August 11, Vienna Il ritorno d’Ulisse
December 23 Vienna Die Tote Stadt
1986
February 2 Paris Die Walkure
1987
January 4 Hamburg Lohengrin
September 12 San Francisco Salome
1988
November 25 Chicago Salome
Metropolitan Opera Ariande auf Naxos (DG video)
1989
Vienna Elektra (Pioneer video)
Berlin Notre Dame (Capriccio studio)
1990
January 6, Met Wozzeck (radio broadcast)
June 9 Netherlands Frau Ohne Schatten
1991
March 3 Carnegie Hall Elektra
December 7, San Francisco Elektra
Orange Festival Elektra (video)
1992
April 18, Met Elektra (radio broadcast)
1994
January 22, Met Elektra (radio broadcast)
1995
December 16, Valencia Elektra
1996
April 27 Met James Levine Gala - Meistersinger Act 3 finale (radio broadcast)
2000
November 15 Bloomington Indiana, Walkure Act 1 Sc 2 and 3
Studio Recordings
July 10, 11, & 31, Aug 1-4, 1964 – Bamberg, Der Fliegende Hollander (DG studio extracts)
1965 Vienna Die Walkure (Decca)
1966 Rome Tosca (Decca extracts)
1966 Beethoven 9 (Decca)
1966 Das Lied von der erde with Fischer-Dieskau (Decca)
1967 Songs of Schubert and Strauss LP RCA LSC-2975 with William Hughes, piano
1967 Operatic Aria LP Decca 0 LXT6326 0 SXL6326, Vienna Opera Orchestra c. Dietfried Bernet.
June 26 - July 5 1968 Dresden, Ariadne aux Naxos (EMI)
1968 Salome (RCA)
1969 Dresden Fidelio (DG)
1970 James King in Operetta and Song LP London OS 26153 Berlin Symphony Orchestra c.Hans Carste
1971 April Munich Lohengrin (DG)
1972 Munich Madam Butterfly (Eurodisc)
1973 Munich Samson et Dalila (RCA)
1975 Das Lied von der erde with Janet Baker (Phillips)
1977 Munich Mathis der Maler (EMI)
1980 Munich Parsifal (Arts & Archives)
Dec 1982 & July 1983 London Gotterdammerung (Lodia extracts)
Opera Recital LP, EMI Odeon 1C 063-01 850, Bavarian Radio Symphony c. Kurt Eichhorn
Turandot Arias 45rpm, Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin, c. Heinrich Hollreiser