The bass-baritone, whose appearance at the concert celebration marked his debut with Opera Colorado, is Ellie Caulkins' favorite Wotan, the dominant figure in her favorite opera, Die Walküre, the second opera in Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle. It is of course a role Morris has made his very own. If you're familiar with the Ring Cycle productions of the past two decades, whose image will likely flash in your mind when you think of Wotan? But of course, James Morris with the patch over his left eye!

Morris filled the hall with the sound of his resonant bass-baritone as he sang his first number for the evening - the dark, ominous 11-minute monologue from another Wagner opera, Die fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman), also a Morris signature role. CLICK HERE to hear an excerpt from "Die Frist ist um." [From Die fliegende Hollander Sony Classical S2K 66342]

In the second half of the program, he delighted the audience with a more sanguine selection of songs - a medley from "Man of La Mancha," his moving rendition of the popular song "The Impossible Dream" earning him a thunderous ovation. "That was the most beautiful 'Impossible Dream' I've ever heard!" was overheard quite a few times as the audience streamed out of the hall after the concert. If it hadn't been announced before the concert began, one would never have thought that Morris that very evening had just recovered from a bout with bronchitis and almost didn't make it to the event.  But he did, and his making such an effort to be there made it all the more memorable. [Photo courtesy of Opera Colorado]

There's more on James Morris and Richard Wagner in FanFaire.

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