James Milligan (singer)

Milligan's first public concerts were given in a series of recitals sponsored by the Ontario Department of Education in 1949.^[10][11] On March 21, 1951, he made his first significant appearance as an oratorio singer as the bass soloist in Johann Sebastian Bach's St Matthew Passion with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO), the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir (TMC), tenor William Morton, soprano Lois Marshall, contralto Margaret Stilwell, and harpsichordist Greta Kraus; a performance recorded live for broadcast on CBC Radio.^[12] He later recorded the work for a LP record with the same orchestra and choir in 1953, and that same year performed the title role in Felix Mendelssohn's Elijah.^[1] In 1952 he was the baritone soloist for a radio broadcast of Godfrey Ridout's Esther with the CBC Symphony Orchestra under conductor Ettore Mazzoleni.^[13] In 1954 he appeared at Carnegie Hall as the bass soloist in performances of both the St Matthew Passion and George Frideric Handel's Messiah.^[1] He recorded the latter work in 1952 for Beaver Records; also with the TSO and TMC.^[8]

Milligan made his professional opera debut in 1951 with Herman Geiger-Torel's Opera Festival Company of Toronto (now the Canadian Opera Company) where he initially appeared in smaller supporting roles for the next several seasons.^[14] By 1954 he had progressed to larger parts with the company; and that year he was heard as Marcello in La bohème, Monterone in Rigoletto, and Cancian in I quatro rusteghi.^[8] In 1955 he performed the part of Germont in La Traviata with the company, and he returned once more in 1959 to portray Don Carlo in La Forza del Destino.^[1] In 1958 he portrayed Scarpia in television film version of Giacomo Puccini's opera Tosca made for CBC Television.^[1]

Milligan made a number of recordings with Sir Malcolm Sargent, including Handel's Messiah^[15] and William Walton's Belshazzar's Feast^[16]

In 1956 Milligan made his European debut at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera as Arbace in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Idomeneo.^[1] In 1959 he made his debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden as Escamillo in Georges Bizet's Carmen.^[1] After this he became a resident artist at Theater Basel.^[1] In 1961, just four months prior to his death, he gave a critically lauded performance at the Bayreuth Festival as Wotan disguised as The Wanderer in Richard Wagner's Siegfried^[17] which brought him international recognition as a top Wagnerian singer.^[2][1][8] As a result of this success, he was signed to a continuing contract with the Bayreuth Festival.

James Milligan died at the age of 33 in Basel Switzerland from a heart attack during a rehearsal for an opera being staged by Theater Basel on November 28, 1961.^[8][1][3] The English conductor Malcolm Sargent in coordination with the Musicians Benevolent Fund organized the collection of funds to financially support Milligan's wife and young son following his death.^[18]

• Edward Greenfield (1972). Ivan March (ed.). The third Penguin guide to bargain records. Penguin Books. ISBN 9780140034547.
• Paul Jackson (2006). Start-up at the New Met: The Metropolitan Opera Broadcasts, 1966-1976. Amadeus Press. ISBN 9781574671476.
• Kenyon C. Rosenberg (1990). A Basic Classical and Operatic Recordings Collection on Compact Discs for Libraries: A Buying Guide. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810823228.