About Norman Bailey (bass-baritone)
Norman Stanley Bailey was a British operatic bass-baritone who appeared in leading roles in major opera venues. After an early career in Austria and Germany, he settled in England and was associated with the English National Opera. One of his signature roles was Hans Sachs in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, which he performed at La Scala in Milan in 1968 and at the Bayreuth Festival the following year. Later that year he was called upon at the last minute to play the part at the Royal Opera House in London when Hubert Hoffman had to pull out with a sore throat. He also played this part in his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in 1976. In 1967, he first performed at La Scala in Milan, in the title role of Dallapiccola's Job, followed by Hans Sachs in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg the following year. He first performed in the UK in Manchester in 1967, in the title role of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, appearing the same year in London in the same role at Sadler's Wells (later English National Opera or ENO).
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