Alan Crofoot (June 2, 1929 - March 5, 1979) was a
Canadian operatic
Heldentenor and character
tenor specialist, as well as
actor, who is best remembered as the host of
Mr Piper, a children's television series made in 1963. It was originally shown by the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and also became well-known in the
United Kingdom. Crofoot hosted the show dressed as a
Pied Piper, with a flower in his hat.
Crofoot was born in
Toronto, Canada. He appeared in stage productions of musicals such as
Man of La Mancha, in London's West End, and
Oliver! on
Broadway.
His operatic career began at the Canadian Opera, as Spoletta in
Tosca, in 1956, and included creating the role of Josiah Creach in the world premiere of
Carlisle Floyd's
Markheim, with
Norman Treigle and
Audrey Schuh, in New Orleans (1966), as well as appearances at the
New York City Opera (Herod in
Salome, opposite
Maralin Niska, in 1975) and the
Metropolitan Opera (
The Bartered Bride, directed by
John Dexter, in 1978).
He committed suicide in
Dayton, Ohio, at the age of forty-nine, while preparing a production of
Salome.
Discography
- Offenbach: Orphée aux enfers (Faris, 1960) EMI
- Floyd: Markheim (Schuh, Treigle; Andersson, 1966) VAI
- Strauss: Elektra (Borkh, Schuh, Resnik, Rayson; Andersson, 1966) VAI
Videography
- Smetana: The Bartered Bride (Stratas, Gedda, Vickers, Talvela; Levine, Dexter, 1978)
External links
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