Kostas Paskalis

Kostas Paskalis, baritone singer: born Levadia, Greece 1 September 1929; married Marina Krilovici; died Athens 9 February 2007.

Kostas Paskalis was a baritone with a warm-toned, resonant voice, a keen sense of rhythm, impeccable diction and strong dramatic drive. It was therefore only natural that he should become one of the finest Verdi baritones of his generation.

A member of the Vienna State Opera for 20 years, he also sang in New York, London, Berlin and many other cities throughout Europe and North America, as Rigoletto, Macbeth, Nabucco, Iago in Otello and at least half a dozen other Verdi roles. His repertory also included Don Giovanni, Eugene Onegin and Scarpia in Tosca.

Paskalis was born in Levadia, near Delphi, in 1929. He studied piano and voice at the Royal Conservatory in Athens, making his début in that city in 1954 as Rigoletto - a very heavy role for a young man of 25. He continued to sing in Athens for some years, then in 1958 first appeared in Vienna as Renato in Un ballo in maschera. Over the next two decades he sang the Marquis of Posa in Don Carlos, Rigoletto, Amonasro in Aida and other Verdi characters, as well as Harlequin in Richard Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos in Vienna.

Paskalis made his British début at Glyndebourne in 1964 in the title role of Macbeth. This was one of his finest Verdi interpretations; he seemed to find endless variety in the character, and his performance of the role continued to improve throughout his career. He made his Covent Garden début as Macbeth in 1969; he sang it opposite Birgit Nilsson as Lady Macbeth in Vienna in 1970; he returned to Glyndebourne in 1972 for a new production. Each time he managed to find something new in the motivation that an honourable man become a murderer. Later his Macbeth was also admired in Florence, Dallas and Catania.

In 1965 Paskalis made his Metropolitan début as Don Carlo in La forza del destino. Though his performance was a success, he was not invited back to the Met until 1972, when he sang Ford in Falstaff there. In 1966 he sang Rigoletto and Posa in Rome, then appeared at the Salzburg Festival, creating the role of Pentheus in the first performance of Hans Werner Henze's opera The Bassarids. The following summer he was back at Glyndebourne, singing Don Giovanni, his only Mozart role. He repeated The Bassarids at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin in 1968; in Berlin he also sang Count di Luna in Il trovatore, Posa and the title role of Simon Boccanegra from his extensive Verdi repertory.

Paskalis scored a great personal triumph at San Francisco in 1970, when he sang Iago in Otello. This was another particularly fine Verdi characterisation, possibly even greater than his Macbeth. He sang Iago at Covent Garden in 1972 with Jon Vickers as Otello, an unforgettalble experience; five years later the two singers repeated their roles together in London, in an even more incandescent performance. Paskalis sang Iago at Strasbourg in 1973, when one critic exclaimed "What a voice! What a musician!" He also sang Iago in Munich in 1975 and in Houston in 1979. On both these occasions the Otello was again Jon Vickers.

At Covent Garden in the 1970s Paskalis also sang Rigoletto and Scarpia. On the latter occasion Gwyneth Jones was the Tosca and Placido Domingo (making his Covent Garden début) the Cavaradossi. He continued singing to the end of the decade, appearing at Trieste as Eugene Onegin; in Frankfurt at a concert performance of Rossini's Guillaume Tell; in Dallas as Giorgio Germont in La Traviata with Beverly Sills as Violetta; and in New Orleans as Scarpia, with Marina Krilovici (his wife) as Tosca, and as Nabucco, with Rita Hunter as Abigaille.

Elizabeth Forbes