Timothy Nolen

Timothy Nolen (July 9, 1941 – August 31, 2023) was an American actor and baritone born in Rotan, Texas, whose career in opera, musical theatre, concerts, plays, and television spanned more than four decades. He began performing in small supporting roles with opera companies across the United States during the 1960s before establishing himself as a leading voice in both operatic and Broadway circles.

Nolen's operatic career took shape at the San Francisco Opera, where he made his debut on October 5, 1968, as the Officer in the United States premiere of Darius Milhaud's Christophe Colomb. Through 1973 he appeared in a range of supporting roles with the company, including Gregorio in Roméo et Juliette, Marullo in Rigoletto, Montano in Otello, Morales in Carmen, Ned Keene in Peter Grimes, Schaunard in La Bohème, Sciarrone in Tosca, and the Wigmaker in Ariadne auf Naxos. He later returned to the San Francisco Opera in leading roles, portraying Figaro in The Barber of Seville in 1976 alongside Frederica von Stade as Rosina, Dr. Malatesta in Don Pasquale in 1980 with Geraint Evans in the title role, and Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus in 1990 with Patricia Racette as Rosalinde.

In 1984, Nolen portrayed the title role in the first operatic presentations of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, performed at both the Houston Grand Opera and the New York City Opera. His Broadway debut followed in 1985, when he originated the role of Doyle in Larry Grossman's Grind, earning a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical. In October 1988, Nolen returned to Broadway as the Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, becoming the second actor to hold the role after taking it over from original star Michael Crawford. He remained with the production until March 1989, when he was succeeded by Cris Groenendaal. Nolen's Broadway work continued with Cyrano: The Musical in 1994, in which he first played the Comte de Guiche before later assuming the title role.

Beyond Broadway, Nolen reprised the role of Sweeney Todd at Chicago's Marriott Theatre in 1993, receiving a Joseph Jefferson Award nomination for the portrayal, and subsequently performed the role in productions at the Goodspeed Opera House and elsewhere. In 2004, he returned to the title role at the New York City Opera opposite Elaine Paige as Mrs. Lovett. He also took on the role of Judge Turpin in a 2001 concert version of Sweeney Todd performed by the New York Philharmonic, broadcast on PBS's Great Performances, alongside George Hearn, Patti LuPone, Davis Gaines, and Neil Patrick Harris. Nolen reprised Judge Turpin that same year at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and again in 2012 at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

Nolen made his Metropolitan Opera debut on October 1, 1996, as Krusina in Bedřich Smetana's The Bartered Bride under conductor James Levine. He returned to the Met as Baron Zeta in The Merry Widow during the 2000–2001 season, with Plácido Domingo as Count Danilovich, and as the One-Eyed Man in Die Frau ohne Schatten during the 2001–2002 season, with Deborah Voigt as the Empress. His television credits include guest appearances on The Sopranos, Wildfire, and Guiding Light. Nolen died on August 31, 2023, at the age of 82.