Opera Singer. He shall be remembered for numerous bass roles both comic and serious. Raised in Queensland, he learned to sing in church choirs, made his professional bow in a 1964 Opera Australia production of Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Mikado", then was to remain with that Sydney-based company throughout his 40-year career. Shanks' signature pieces were to be comedic, Dr. Bartolo from Rossini's "The Barber of Seville" and the title lead of Donizetti's "Don Pasquale" though he portrayed a wide variety of other characters including Oroveso in Vincenzo Bellini's "Norma", Pimen from Modest Mussorgsky's "Boris Godunov" (he was also occasionally Csar Boris), Baron Ochs of Richard Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier", The Commendatore from Mozart's "Don Giovanni", and Colline in Puccini's "La Boheme". He was to sing several Verdi roles including Banquo in "Macbeth", Zaccharia from "Nabuccho", Pistol in "Falstaff" and Ramphis in "Aida", and was also to assume the bass leads of Richard Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde", "Tannhauser", and "Lohengrin". Besides Opera Australia, Shanks was a regular at Lyric Opera of Queensland, gave performances at Covent Garden, London, was heard at the Paris Opera in the late 1970s, and earned praise with the Canadian Opera during the mid 1980s. He retired in 2004, singing his final performance as "The Mikado". Shanks was designated Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1975 and was named Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1987; he died of a heart attack. Some of his characterizations are preserved on DVD.
Opera Singer. He shall be remembered for numerous bass roles both comic and serious. Raised in Queensland, he learned to sing in church choirs, made his professional bow in a 1964 Opera Australia production of Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Mikado", then was to remain with that Sydney-based company throughout his 40-year career. Shanks' signature pieces were to be comedic, Dr. Bartolo from Rossini's "The Barber of Seville" and the title lead of Donizetti's "Don Pasquale" though he portrayed a wide variety of other characters including Oroveso in Vincenzo Bellini's "Norma", Pimen from Modest Mussorgsky's "Boris Godunov" (he was also occasionally Csar Boris), Baron Ochs of Richard Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier", The Commendatore from Mozart's "Don Giovanni", and Colline in Puccini's "La Boheme". He was to sing several Verdi roles including Banquo in "Macbeth", Zaccharia from "Nabuccho", Pistol in "Falstaff" and Ramphis in "Aida", and was also to assume the bass leads of Richard Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde", "Tannhauser", and "Lohengrin". Besides Opera Australia, Shanks was a regular at Lyric Opera of Queensland, gave performances at Covent Garden, London, was heard at the Paris Opera in the late 1970s, and earned praise with the Canadian Opera during the mid 1980s. He retired in 2004, singing his final performance as "The Mikado". Shanks was designated Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1975 and was named Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1987; he died of a heart attack. Some of his characterizations are preserved on DVD.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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