Bass-baritone Edward Pierson
An error was made in the previous publication of this article. It has now been rectified:
Bass-baritone Edward Pierson, a stalwart of the New York City Opera for fifteen years, was born in Chicago. A scholarship basketball player, he worked for a while as a public school music teacher before pursuing his operatic career.His performance of “Ol’ Man River” in several civic productions of SHOWBOAT in the mid-West put Mr. Pierson on the map. By chance, he stepped into a small role in PORGY AND BESS, and soon after made the jump to the role of Porgy himself. At the New York City Opera, his roles included Scarpia, Jochanaan, and Wagner’s Dutchman. I’ll never forget hearing him in the title-role of the Company’s English-language production of Borodin’s PRINCE IGOR.
He also made a memorable impression as Dr. Kolenaty in Frank Corsaro’s multi-media setting of Janacek’s MAKROPOULOS AFFAIR, and he appears on the Deutsche Grammophon recording of Scott Joplin’s TREEMONISHA.
(An earlier version of this article stated that Mr. Pierson sang with New York City Opera for 12 years. He in fact sang with that illustrious company for 15 years.)