Edmund Toliver is often proclaimed, as a most talented singer and
performer in such notable newspapers as; "The most outstanding singing
came from Zelotes Edmund Toliver." (International Herald Tribune, Zurich); "Zelotes Edmund Toliver sang the part of Hunding revealing a huge sonorous bass marshaled with great skill." (The Minneapolis Star Tribune)
Mr.
Toliver began his full-time vocal-career in Europe with the Vienna
State Opera, singing there in over 140 performances. He has had major
guest contracts at: The Zurich Opera; "Deutsche" Opera - Berlin; Theâtre
du Châtélet - Paris; Bavarian State Opera - Munich; Netherlands Opera
and the Grand Theater of the Geneva Opera. He has worked with such
leading conductors as: Erich Leinsdorf, Heinrich Hollreiser, Christoph
von Dohnanyi, Nello Santi, and Horst Stein (Vienna), Niksa Bareza
(Graz), Ralf Weikert (Zurich), Esa-Pekka Salonen and Jeffery Tate (Paris
and Minneapolis), James Conlon (Cologne), Lawrence Renes and Ton
Koopmann (Netherlands), Hartmut Haenchen (Amsterdam) and Armin Jordan
(Geneva).
He has convincingly portrayed among his many roles: Don Basilio, Sarastro, Sparafucile, Boito's Mefistofele, King Phillip, Grand Inquisitor, Ramphis, King Henry, Gurnemanz, King Marke and Pogner. His interpretations as Fasolt, Hunding, Fafner and Hagen in the Graz Production of Wagner's "Ring des Nibelungen"
- including television recordings - brought him into recognition as a
truly outstanding performer. His repertory encompasses almost all of the
major-bass roles in Mozart, Verdi, and Wagner Operas. During his years
in Europe he has also been a member of the ensembles in Graz, Austria and Dortmund.
In
the United States Mr. Toliver, made his opera debut during his student
years with The Michigan Opera Theatre and since has appeared with The
Wolf Trap Opera, The Cincinnati Opera, The New York City Opera, and The
Lyric Opera of Chicago.
In Europe, Asia and Africa Mr. Toliver has had Guest Performances
in: Amsterdam - Berlin - Bergen - Budapest - Cologne - Düsseldorf -
Essen - Freiburg - Geneva - Graz - Hannover - Innsbruck - Kassel -
Mannheim - Munich - Windhoek, Namibia - Osaka - Paris - Rotterdam -
Salzburg - Strasbourg - Tokyo - Vienna - Wiesbaden - Zurich, among
numerous other cities.
Born on Long Island, New York, Zelotes
Edmund Toliver studied at Illinois Wesleyan University earning a
Bachelor of Music Education Degree with Honors. He received his Master
of Music and Doctor of Musical of Arts Degrees at the University of
Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he sang major roles in fourteen different
operas. His principal teachers of voice were Professor David Nott and
Professor Willis C. Patterson. In Vienna, Austria, he studied with Prof. Franz Schuch-Tovini and won prizes in many
international music competitions, including: The International Verdi
Voice Competition; Buseto, Italy;
The Sixth International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, and was a
Regional Winner in the Metropolitan Opera Auditions in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Toliver has received a career study award from the Grinnell
Foundation, a National Opera Institute study grant and a professional
study grant from the Metropolitan Opera National Council.
Under the baton of James Conlon, he appeared on the complete recording of the opera Madame Butterfly, with the Orchestre de Paris and in Alexander von Zemlinsky's "Der Traumgörge
with the Cologne Philharmonic Orchestra. The Austrian Radio (ORF) has
aired his evening of "Negro Spirituals". Edmund has a Compact Disc recording of Negro-Spirituals "The Songs of Old Souls".
He has appeared in concert with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, conducted
by Gunther Schuller and recently in solo-concert at the Sarov Festival
in Russia.
Zelotes
Edmund Toliver is not only a guest in many of the European and American
opera and concert stages. Dr. Toliver has been a member of other
college music faculties in Europe and the United States. He is currently
active as a voice-teacher with the Music College in Muenster, Germany.
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