Death of a US baritone in Germany
mainWe are sad to hear that Allan Evans is no more.
He died on November 7 in Mannheim, where he sang in Pelleas et Melisande as recently as March this year.
Allan was 77.
Raised in Macon, Georgia, he went to Juilliard on a scholarship from the Reader’s Digest owners DeWitt and Lila Wallace and completed his studies with Hilde Zadek in Vienna. ‘I was born into racism,’ he said.
With few opportunities for a singer of colour in America, he joined the Theatre in Trier and later Basle, moving to Mannheim in 1987. He guested all over Europe, specialising in Wagner roles.
A singer I wish I had known more about before this moment. RIP.
So do I.
He may have been “born into racism” but it obviously did not affect his rise in music. Otherwise we wouldn’t be celebrating his success here, we’d be mourning his lack of of it.
May have helped that he moved to Europe?
How insensitive can you be? The point is that he had to leave the U.S. to make a career because of the racism he encountered.