A native of Alabama, tenor Jean Cox studied with Marie Sundelius at the New England Conservatory and made his operatic debut at Spoleto as Rodolfo in LA BOHEME. In the early 1950s, Cox built his repertory and reputation at Kiel and Mannheim.
The tenor made his Bayreuth debut in 1956 as the Steersman in FLIEGENDE HOLLANDER; he returned to the Festival as Lohengrin in 1967 and went on to sing there until 1984, taking on the Siegfrieds, Erik in HOLLANDER, Parsifal, and Walther in MEISTERSINGER.
At other major opera houses, Cox sang Otello, Herod in SALOME, Bacchus in ARIADNE AUF NAXOS, Max in DER FREISCHUTZ, Gherman in PIQUE-DAME, and Captain Vere in BILLY BUDD. In 1976, Jean Cox made his Met debut as Walther von Stoltzing in a series of performances of DIE MEISTERSINGER in New York City and on tour. This was the sum total of his Met career.
Jean Cox was married to the British mezzo-soprano Anna Reynolds, a noted interpreter of Bach and Wagner, and one of my very favorite singers. Following their retirement from the stage, the couple opened a vocal academy where they trained singers from all over the world. While I was working at Tower Records in the early 2000s, I met two students from this academy. I asked them to give Ms. Reynolds a message from me; I wonder if they ever did.
Jean Cox passed away in 2012 at Bayreuth; he was 90 years old. Ms. Reynolds died two years later.
Enjoy this rare film clip of Jean Cox and the great basso Gottlob Frick in excerpts from Smetana's BARTERED BRIDE and Weinberger's SCHWANDA THE BAGPIPER.
And here are some audio samplings of Jean Cox singing at the Bayreuth Festival.
Jean Cox - Die Meistersinger ~ Prize Song
Jean Cox as Parsifal - finale of the opera - Bayreuth 1973
~ Oberon