Glynn Ross

Glynn Ross (December 15, 1914, Omaha, Nebraska – July 21, 2005, Tucson, Arizona) was an American opera impresario. Ross was the first general director of the Seattle Opera, serving that company from 1963 to 1983, and the second general director of the Arizona Opera, from 1983 to 1998.

Born Glynn W. Aus to a Norwegian immigrant father and a mother of Swedish descent, he attended the local schools and, upon graduation from high school, managed his family's farm for five years. After his father's death, and with the encouragement of his mother, Ross left Nebraska to pursue his dream of a career in theatre, attending the Leland Powers School of the Theatre, the alma mater of his high school drama teacher, in Boston from 1937 to 1939.

After early involvement in theatre and opera, Ross was drafted into the U.S. Army and served for the duration of World War II. After recovering from a wound received in North Africa, he was sent back to Europe by the Army, charged with operating a rest camp for soldiers on the Italian island of Ischia. During this time and with the Army's encouragement, he staged operas in Naples for the entertainment of U.S. troops there. He met Angelamaria Solimene in Naples and married her on November 15, 1946.

During the 1950s Ross staged operas for various companies in the United States, but in 1959 moved to Naples, where he became the first American to stage an opera for the Teatro San Carlo.

In 1964 Ross relocated to Seattle, having been offered the directorship in late 1963 of the new opera company being formed there. During his tenure with the Seattle Opera, he gained notice for his attention-grabbing promotional efforts and earned the nickname "the P. T. Barnum of opera." In 1975, he oversaw Seattle Opera's production of the Ring Cycle, making Seattle the first American company, other than the Metropolitan Opera, to attempt Richard Wagner's masterwork in its entirety. In Seattle, Ross was also noted for his ability to pare administrative expenses and keep the company on a sound financial footing.

In 1970 Ross was a cofounder of Opera America, an industry trade association for North American opera companies, with the goal of enabling companies to share resources, information, and expertise.

Upon Ross's departure from the Seattle Opera, he was offered the top post at the struggling Arizona Opera in 1983, where he both expanded the company's offerings and restored it to financial health. He oversaw production of two Ring Cycles as summer festivals in Flagstaff, Arizona in 1996 and 1998, bold undertakings for a middle-sized opera company. His 1996 cycle, in particular, gained favorable notice.

Ross retired from Arizona Opera in 1998, and died from a stroke on July 21, 2005.

References

*Ben Sisario, "Glynn Ross, 90, Put Seattle On the Map for Opera Lovers," "New York Times", July 26, 2005, p. C16 (obituary).
*"Glynn Ross, 90 — Director Debuted in L.A. in 1940, Founded Seattle Opera," "Los Angeles Times", July 22, 2005, p. B13 (obituary).
*"Glynn Ross," "Opera News", Oct. 2005, Vol. 70, No. 4, p. 84 (obituary).
*Bill Zakariasen, "Stagecoach to Valhalla," "Opera News", June 1996, Vol. 60, No. 17, p. 26.

External links

* [http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=7186 Biographical article at Washington HistoryLink]
* [http://www.azooma.org/GlynnRoss.html His history with Arizona Opera]