Nolan Van Way
{{Short description|American operatic baritone and tenor (1931–2016)}}
{{sources|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Nolan Van Way
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| image_size =
| background = solo_singer
| birth_name =
| alias =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1931|01|31}}
| birth_place = Bethel, Posey, Indiana, U.S.
| origin = St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2016|04|03|1931|01|31}}
| death_place = Burbank, California, U.S.
| instrument = Singing (Baritone, Tenor)
| genre = Opera, Broadway musicals
| occupation = Musician, actor, vocal coach
| years_active = 1956–2016
| label =
| associated_acts =
| website = {{URL|nolanvanway.com}}
}}
Nolan Royce Van Way (January 31, 1931 – April 3, 2016) was an American operatic baritone and tenor whose stage career, in opera and Broadway musicals, spanned half a century. He sang in many languages including French, German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish. After retiring from the stage, Van Way became a vocal coach.
Early life and musical training
While attending Indiana University, Van Way studied opera, theater, and television production. Having trained under bass-baritone Carl Van Buskerk, Nolan Van Way started his career as a baritone. He performed the role of Figaro in the Indiana University production of the opera The Barber of Seville.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}}
Van Way began his professional career in 1956 as a resident baritone at the St. Louis Municipal Opera.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}}
Baritone career
After university, Van Way moved to New York City. His first job was at the Radio City Music Hall, performing in the Glee Club. In 1958, he appeared in various roles in the Broadway production of Oh, Captain!{{cite web
| url = http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=87848
| title = Nolan Van Way
| work = Internet Broadway Database
| publisher = The Broadway League
| accessdate = January 16, 2011
}} He continued his studies in opera at the Manhattan School of Music.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}}
The following year, Van Way appeared in Destry Rides Again, co-starring with Andy Griffith and Dolores Gray. He left Destry to play the lead role in Redhead.
Van Way was based in New York City for the next 15 years, and performed with various opera companies throughout the United States. He toured with many Broadway shows and sang in summer stock theatres. While working for the Metropolitan Opera Studio Company in 1962, he was awarded a Ford Foundation grant.{{cite web|title=Ford Foundation |url=http://www.fordfound.org/archives/item/1962/text/84 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081112032153/http://www.fordfound.org/archives/item/1962/text/84 |archivedate=November 12, 2008 }}
In February 1962, at a White House performance of Mozart's Così fan tutte for children from Washington embassies hosted by Jacqueline Kennedy in the State Dining Room, Van Way was signing autographs when he accidentally tilted the three-foot-long ostrich feather attached to his costume's turban into some lighted candles, causing the headdress to catch on fire. Rudolf Bing, the manager of the Metropolitan Opera who was acting as the master of ceremonies, snatched the flaming turban off of Van Way's head; it was extinguished quickly.{{cite news
| title = Fire Adds Zest To White House Party
| agency = Associated Press
| newspaper = Daytona Beach Morning Journal
| location = Daytona Beach, Florida
| date = February 8, 1962
| page = 1
| volume = 37
| number = 34
| accessdate = January 16, 2011
| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fXApAAAAIBAJ&pg=6175%2C1195191
}}
Van Way made his European opera début at the Nuremberg Opera as Escamillo in Carmen.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}} He also appeared as the Don in Don Giovanni in Braunschweig.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}}
Van Way returned to the United States to sing in Die Fledermaus with the Stadium Symphony Orchestra,{{cite news
| title = Music Notes
| work = The New York Times
| location = New York
| date = July 25, 1964
| url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00F15F63E591A728DDDAC0A94DF405B848AF1D3&scp=3&sq=nolan+van+way+fledermaus&st=p
}}
and then played the King in Carl Orf's Die Kluge{{cite news
| title = Music: Opera by Orff at Caramoor; Die Kluge' Presented in Local Premiere
| work = The New York Times
| location = New York
| date = June 28, 1965
| page = 35
}} Van Way worked for the Metropolitan Opera's national company before returning to Barcelona to sing the part of Zar in Lortzing's Zar und Zimmerman.{{citation needed|date=January 2011}} Returning to the United States, he sang in many productions including Show Boat and Carmen, and played the King in Levy's Escorial. At the New York City Opera, he played the Don in Don Giovanni, Escamillo in Carmen, and the Count in The Marriage of Figaro.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}} In 1967, at the Seattle Opera, he played Mercutio opposite Franco Corelli in Romeo and Juliet. Shortly afterwards, he returned to the East Coast to receive a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. The grant enabled him to train to become a tenor.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}}
Tenor career
Van Way's first role as a tenor was Rodolfo in La bohème with the Opera Orchestra of New York. He then moved to Lyon, France, for two years while singing in operas throughout Europe, including Macbeth, Carmen, Lucia, and Falstaff. Upon his return to the United States, he sang the title role in the Seattle Opera's production of Faust. He also sang in Die Fledermaus, Beggar's Opera, Annie Get Your Gun, Bitter Sweet, The Merry Widow, Carmen, Kiss Me Kate, and Show Boat. He performed with Beverly Sills,{{cite news
| title = Beverly Sills Stars in English 'Merry Widow'
| newspaper = The Ledger
| date = November 27, 1977
| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=S11OAAAAIBAJ&pg=4621%2C8210408
| location = Lakeland, FL
| publisher = New York Times Company
| accessdate = January 16, 2011
}} Florence Henderson,{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}} Mary Costa,{{cite news
| title = Mary Costa Heads Cast for 'Faust'
| page = 16
| newspaper = Beaver County Times
| date = February 22, 1963
| accessdate = January 16, 2011
| volume = 87
| number = 275
| location = Beaver County, PA
| publisher = Beaver Newspapers
| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UMMuAAAAIBAJ&pg=2482%2C3053109
}}
and Roberta Peters.{{cite news
| title = 'Bitter Sweet' Musical Treat—High-toned Entertainment Opens
| last = Nery
| first = Margaret
| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=n4xIAAAAIBAJ&pg=683%2C4588109
| newspaper = Youngstown Vindicator
| date = July 30, 1975
| accessdate = January 17, 2011
| page = 42
| location = Youngstown, OH
| volume = 86
| number = 333
}}
Teaching
In 1976, Van Way moved to California, where he headed the vocal department at San Diego State University for seven years. He worked also as a private vocal coach to many music and film stars over the next 16 years. He sang in the 1987 film Slam Dance.{{cite web
|url = http://www.hollywood.com/movie/Slam_Dance/238065
|title = Slam Dance (1987)
|work = Hollywood.com
|accessdate = January 16, 2011
|archiveurl = https://archive.today/20130125214012/http://www.hollywood.com/movie/Slam_Dance/238065
|archivedate = January 25, 2013
|url-status = dead
}}{{Failed verification|date=January 2011}}
Van Way moved to Mexico in 1992 but continued to perform in the United States until 2006. He sang in La Cage Aux Folles, Kismet, Annie Get Your Gun,{{cite news
| title = She Doesn't Miss a Belt
| last = Ivry
| first = Bob
| newspaper = The Record
| location = Bergen County, NJ
| date = February 21, 1997
| page = 17
| publisher = Bergen Record Corp.
}} Die Fledermaus, and Show Boat, as well as performing with philharmonic orchestras and at community concerts. In Mexico, he trained Fernando Figueroa and Reynaldo Ruiz to create the Three Tenors of Mexico. They toured Mexico from 2002 to 2006. Van Way later lived with his wife Maria in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, where he was a realtor and continued to teach singing.{{cite web
| url = http://www.soldelacosta.com/index.php?title=article&id=4
| title = From The Editor
| work = El Sol de la Costa
| last = Sharpe
| first = Warren
| date = December 1, 2010
| accessdate = January 16, 2011
| at = Don't Forget About the Three Tenors Contest Friday
}} His students included Reynaldo Ruiz Larrea and Fernando Figueroa Méndez.
Death
Nolan Van Way died in Burbank, California on April 3, 2016, at the age of 85.{{cite web |title=Nolan Van Way |url=https://www.forevermissed.com/nolan-vanway/about |website=Forever Missed |access-date=21 August 2023}}
Notes and references
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080827225704/http://www.nolanvanway.com/ Official website]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Way, Nolan}}
Category:20th-century American male opera singers
Category:American male musical theatre actors
Category:American operatic tenors
Category:Classical musicians from Missouri
Category:Indiana University alumni
Category:Musicians from St. Louis