Maurice Stern, also known by his early stage name Mauro Lampi, is an American operatic tenor and sculptor. He graduated from the Eastman School of Music. He made his debut at the New York City Opera as The Emperor Altuom in Giacomo Puccini's Turandot, and received a laudatory solo review by Eric Salzman of The New York Times for that small role.
Stern progressed from small character parts to the lyric tenor roles of Don Ottavio, Belmonte, the Duke in Rigoletto, Roméo, Rodolfo, Pinkerton, and Cavaradossi. He then played great dramatic tenor roles, including Otello, Radamès, Canio, Don José, Calàf, Manrico, Don Alvaro, Andrea Chénier, Samson, Dick Johnson, Bacchus, Lohengrin and Tannhäuser. During his international career, he also studied with Franco Corelli in New York City.
Stern performed in opera houses in the United States, Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe and China. He received critical acclaim for his singing, his acting and character delineation, and his portrait sculpture and works on paper.
Stern now performs as a duo with his third wife, Molly, and continues his work in the visual arts.
Stern is the father of singer Jennifer Rush.
Contents
Life and career
Early studies
Stern's vocal training began at age 14 in New York City with Eduardo Battente, a tenor graduate of the Naples Conservatory. Stern learned the roles of The Duke in Rigoletto; Nemorino in Don Pasquale and Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor.
Stern attended the High School of Music and Art, now known as Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. During his years there, he performed regularly as a super (non-singing extra) at the Metropolitan Opera.
At 18, Stern performed the leading role of Mr. Scratch (The Devil) in the High School of Music and Art's production of The Devil and Daniel Webster at Hunter College's Sylvia and Danny Kaye Playhouse, with composer Douglas Moore attending. Moore expressed his astonishment that such a young singer could interpret the role so powerfully. Stern received the Voice Award upon graduating.
While at Eastman School of Music in Rochester NY Stern married fellow vocal student Barbara Cagnazzo, an aspiring soul singer. He lived with his young wife's Cagnazzo family for 5 years in East Rochester before moving to NYC. During and after the Korean War, when he was drafted into the U.S. Army and stationed in Germany, On returning to the U.S., he continued his studies at the Eastman School of Music During his 5 years in Rochester, NY Stern became a father to 2 of his 4 children.
He received the McCurdy Scholarship for Juniors. He also won the "You Can Be a Star Series" Contest sponsored by WHAM-TV in Rochester, whose prize was an automobile, a screen test in Hollywood, and the opportunity to meet celebrity personalities Jack Benny, Jimmy Durante and Betty White.
Stern's parents were European emigrants of varied ethnicity. He speaks five languages.
Stern received a scholarship from the Henry Street Settlement to study with the Metropolitan Opera soprano Rose Bampton and her husband, conductor Wilfrid Pelletier. Stern performed the role of Spoleta in an NBC production of Puccini's Tosca with Pelletier conducting. An audition for the New York City Opera, arranged by Bampton, began Stern's operatic career.
International career
In 1979 Stern moved back to Europe using his earlier stage name, Mauro Lampi, to sing the role of Calaf in Turandot and the title role of Tannhäuser at the Landestheater Linz in Linz, Austria. The next season, as Maurice Stern, he became a member of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, Germany (Opernhaus Düsseldorf) where he premiered the title role of Otello in a new production under the baton of Maestro Alberto Erede. He also performed the role in Theater Duisburg. The Neue Ruhr Zeitung Duisburg noted that "Maurice Stern gives OTELLO greatness and stature, in combination with excitement and expressive singability of his dark-toned tenor voice". Otello became a staple of Stern's repertoire. He also performed it in the German theaters of Musiktheater im Revier, Theater Lübeck and Theater Augsburg.
Stern appeared in a production of Otello in Montréal. He sang "Dio, mi potevi scagliar," which resulted in L'Ôpèra de Montréal engaging Stern to sing seven performances of Otello in a televised production with Alfredo Silipigni conducting and Antoine Vitez directing.
Stern was called upon to sing Otello at The Kentucky Opera, replacing James King who withdrew because of illness. Sir Alexander Gibson conducted the performances. The critical response to Stern's portrayal of Otello was enthusiastic: "He managed Otello's progress through jealousy to the edge of madness movingly, and his entire performance was heightened by his eager attention to every possibility for emotional nuance."
Additional roles that Stern performed at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein included: Don Alvaro in La Forza del Destino, Canio in Pagliacci, Porcus in Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher by Arthur Honegger and Alfred in Die Fledermaus under the stage direction of Otto Schenk.
Stern sang the role of Canio at the Frankfurt Opera in Germany and in Belgium at De Vlaamse Opera in Antwerp, which then toured the production to Ghent and Brugges. In America, he portrayed Canio at the Michigan Opera Theatre opposite the Nedda of Diana Soviero, again with the Dayton Opera, National Grand Opera, Brevard Festival and in Charleston, West Virginia.
Stern's repertoire included Radames in Aida, which he performed in several productions of the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin opposite Anna Tomowa-Sintow as Aida; at De Vlaamse Opera in Antwerp, Belgium opposite Livia Budai as Amneris; followed by performances at the Norwegian National Opera, with Giancarlo del Monaco directing. Other engagements with Stern as Radames followed at the Austin Lyric Opera, Taipei National Opera; Opera/Columbus and the Miami Greater Opera Association with the Aida of Alessandra Marc.
Sculptor and graphic artist
On the long bus tours around the country with New York City Opera, Stern started sculpting busts of fellow singers. Gradually, his repertoire expanded to include other personalities, such as the former director of New York City Opera, John Simon White, and conductor Felix Popper.
Between his graduation from Eastman School of Music and after divorcing his first wife Stern's roommates were Dustin Hoffman and Robert Duvall. Stern sculpted portraits of both. Hoffman's sculpture was displayed at the opening of The Graduate and also featured in Life magazine. Stern sculpted continuously and prolifically throughout his career as an opera singer. He sculpted family and friends. His sculpting provided the Stern family with a second income, as Stern was commissioned for portrait work in Flensburg, Germany.
Stern has received awards both for his portrait sculptures and his works on paper. He is a member of Audubon Artists, Allied Artists of America, The American Artists Professional League, The National Sculpture Society, and his work has been featured in "The Signature" magazine of The American Society of Portrait Artists. He has presented one-man shows at the Cornish Gallery in Seattle; in Germany at the Flensburger Stadtstheater in Flensburg and at the Atelier Moering in Wiesbaden.