Samuel Ramey has been one of the most celebrated and versatile basses of the post WWII era. He is a prolific recording artist, opera star, concert singer and recitalist.

He has been favoured with a handsome appearance and has developed a formidable acting ability and stage presence that has put him at the top of his profession for more than three decades.

With all of this, when you meet Ramey, you are surprised perhaps to find a modest, even shy man who is one of the most hardworking people in the music profession.

It is a bit of a cliché (but that is also why they are true) that this is a particularly Midwestern American approach to 'work.' And so it is. Ramey studied in his home state at Wichita and earned his early 'stripes' with a variety of roles at the New York City Opera in the 1970's.

Like many Americans, his first real fame was in Europe where he quickly became indispensable to the Rossini Festival at Pesaro and the other major European houses for the major Verdi and Mozart roles for his voice. His belated Metropolitan debut in 1985 was however worth the wait. His entrance, astride a chariot in Handel's Rinaldo will not soon be forgotten!