Loren Driscoll

Loren Driscoll (April 14, 1928 – April 8, 2008) was an American tenor born in Midwest, Wyoming, whose career spanned Broadway musicals, world premiere opera productions, and major international opera houses from the 1950s through the mid-1980s. He studied at Syracuse University and Boston University before making his professional operatic debut in 1954, singing Dr. Cajus in Verdi's Falstaff with Opera of Boston.

During the 1950s, Driscoll maintained a parallel presence in both opera and musical theater. His Broadway credits included the roles of the Imam of the Mosque and The Bangle Man in Kismet, Freddy Eynsford-Hill in My Fair Lady, and Jerry Devine in the 1959 premiere of Marc Blitzstein's Juno. He also created the role of Shridaman in Peggy Glanville-Hicks' Transposed Heads at the Phoenix Theatre in New York City in 1958.

His operatic career gained significant momentum through his association with Santa Fe Opera, where he debuted in 1957 as Tom Rakewell in Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress. The following year he created the role of Edgar Linton in the world premiere of Carlisle Floyd's Wuthering Heights, and in 1961 he sang Hermann in the United States premiere of Paul Hindemith's Neues vom Tage. Also in 1958, Driscoll performed Leo Hubbard in Marc Blitzstein's Regina with the New York City Opera, and his work appears on the recording of that production. He can additionally be heard on recordings of Stravinsky's Renard the Fox and The Wedding, both conducted by Stravinsky himself, with the latter featuring Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland, Lukas Foss, and Roger Sessions performing on the four pianos.

In 1962, Driscoll joined the Deutsche Oper Berlin as a principal singer, remaining with the company for approximately 25 years. During that period he also performed at the Salzburg Festival, Glyndebourne, and numerous other opera houses across Europe and North America. His tenure at the Deutsche Oper Berlin included creating several roles in world premieres: Pedro de Alvarado in Roger Sessions' Montezuma in 1964, Lord Barrett in Hans Werner Henze's Der junge Lord in 1965, Eumaeus in Luigi Dallapiccola's Ulisse in 1968, and First Officer in Wilhelm Dieter Siebert's Der Untergang der Titanic in 1979. His performance as Lord Barrett earned him the honorary title of Kammersänger. He also created the role of Dionysos in Henze's The Bassarids at the Salzburg Festival in 1966, and The Architect in Aribert Reimann's Melusine at the Schwetzingen Festival in 1971.

Driscoll made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1966 as David in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, a role he sang 23 times with the company between 1966 and 1972. He appeared at the Met again in 1967 as Alfred in their production of Die Fledermaus. Driscoll died in Berlin on April 8, 2008.