Joseph, Baron Van Damme (25 August 1940 – 17 February 2026), known as José van Dam (French:[ʒo.ze.van.dam]), was a Belgian bass-baritone, described as having "a magnificent resonant and expressive voice" and being "an excellent actor".[1] Beginning at the Paris Opera, he made an international career, especially in the French repertoire; Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen was an early signature role that he took to La Scala in Milan and the Royal Opera House in London. He performed the title role of Messiaen's Saint François d'Assise in the 1983 world premiere at the Paris Opera. He performed regularly at the Salzburg Festival and made several recordings with Herbert von Karajan that are regarded as reference recordings. In film, he portrayed Leporello in the 1979 opera film Don Giovanni, directed by Joseph Losey and conducted by Lorin Maazel. He served as master of the singing section at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel from 2004 to 2023.
Van Dam was also a concert, oratorio, and lieder singer.[6] He served as Master in Residence of the singing section at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel from 2004 to 2023, remaining active as a mentor after retirement.[4][5]
Van Dam died at his home in Croatia on 17 February 2026, at the age of 85.[4][8]
Awards
Van Dam won international awards for his performances on stage and in recordings. Berlin conferred on him the title of Kammersänger in 1974, and he was a Commandeur des Arts et Lettres in France.[6]
In August 1998, King Albert II of Belgium made Van Dam a baron, recognizing him as one of the finest classical singers.[5]
He is featured as one of the three interviewees in Sylvie Milhau's book Doucement les Basses, with Gabriel Bacquier and Claudio Desderi, discussing their approach to roles in the bass-baritone repertoire.[9]
With Karajan, he took part in twelve recordings,[7] Beethoven's Fidelio (1970), the title role in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro (1978),[7] Jochanaan in Salome by R. Strauss (1978), Golaud in Pelléas et Mélisande (1978), Parsifal (1979–1980), Die Zauberflöte (1980), and the title role in Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer (1983).[7] His recorded interpretations of Leporello, the Holländer, Amfortas and Joachanaan are regarded as reference recordings.[7]
Malisch, Kurt (2001). "Dam, José van". In Lütteken, Laurenz. (ed.). MGG (in German). Bärenreiter. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
Milhau, Sylvie (2010). Doucement les basses: ossia; dîner avec Gabriel Bacquier, José van Dam et Claudio Desderi (in French). Orléans, France: Canaïma. OCLC706993497.
Warrack, John; West, Ewan (1992). "Dam, José van". Oxford Dictionary of Opera. ISBN0-19-869164-5.
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