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Jos Van DamBaron Jos van Dam (August 25, 1940) is one of the most prominent and sought-after interpreters of the baritone-bass repertoire. Christened Joseph van Damme, he was born in Brussels, Belgium, on August 25, 1940. At the age of 17, he entered the Brussels Royal Conservatory and studied with Frederic Anspach. A year later, he graduated with diplomas and first prizes in voice and opera performance. Jos van Dam made his opera dbut as the music teacher Don Basilio in Gioacchino Rossinis Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Paris Opera in 1961, and remained in the company until 1965, when he sang his first major role, Escamillo from Bizet's Carmen. He then sang for two seasons at Geneva, La Scala, Covent Garden, and in Paris. At Geneva, Van Dam sung in the premire of Milhaud's La mre coupable in 1966. Lorin Maazel soon heard Jos van Dam and invited him to record Ravels LHeure espagnole with him for Deutsche Grammophon. In 1967, Maazel asked him to join the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. Jos van Dam performs regularly at LOpra de Paris, Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala in Milan, Vienna State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Thtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, Teatro Coln in Buenos Aires, the Salzburg Festival, and festivals in Aix-en-Provence and Orange, France. Jos van Dam is also celebrated as a concert, oratorio, and Lieder singer and has won many international awards for his extraordinary performances both on stage and in recordings. Berlin conferred on him the title of "Kammersnger" in 1974, and the same year he received the German Music Critics Prize. Other awards include the Gold Medal of the Belgian Press (1976), Grand Prix de lAcademie Franaise du Disque (1979), Orphe dOr de lAcademie Lyrique Franaise (1980), the European Critics Prize, (1985), Diapason dOr and Prix de la Nouvelle Academie du Disque (1993), and the Orphe dOr de lAcademie du Disque Lyrique (1994). In August of 1998, His Majesty King Albert II of Belgium made Jos van Dam a baron, recognizing him as one of the finest classical singers who ever lived. On December 4, 1999 Van Dam was one of the performers at the marriage of Belgium's Crown Prince Philippe and Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz. Jos van Dam starred in the movies The Music Teacher (1988) as Joachim Dallayrac and in Don Giovanni, (1976) as Leporello, conducted by Lorin Maazel.
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