Michael Langdon

Physically imposing and endowed with a large, somewhat saturnine bass voice, Michael Langdon achieved excellence in a narrow, but flavorful repertory. He was, at the same time, both a ripe (but never overdrawn) Baron Ochs and a John Claggart (Billy Budd) chilling in malicious intent. Although lacking the luxurious nap of the best basses, Langdon's instrument was both weighty and well-controlled with sepulchral low notes that set him apart from most of his contemporaries. His career, though it carried him to America and many other parts of Europe, remained centered in London, s...