Born on Long Island, New York, Zelotes Edmund Toliver, D.M.A., focuses his opera career on Europe

Sergio Mims alerts us to the website of Zelotes Edmund Toliver, which presents a Biography of the singer:

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.