José van Dam
Born: 25th August 1940, Brussels
Died: 17th February 2026
Nationality: Belgian
The Belgian bass-baritone Jose van Dam was born in Brussels in 1940 and began his career at the Paris Opera (where early roles included Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Escamillo in Carmen, a role he would go on to record under Karajan, Solti and Maazel) following studies at the Brussels Royal Conservatory. His international career took off shortly afterwards, and in 1966 he sang in the first performance of Milhaud’s La mère coupable; Van Dam would go on to be involved in the world premieres of several significant French works, most notably Olivier Messiaen’s Saint François d’Assise in 1983 (recorded for Deutsche Grammophon several years later). He is particularly acclaimed in French song, and in roles including the villains in Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann, Massenet’s Don Quichotte, Filippo in Verdi’s Don Carlo, and (earlier in his career) Mozart’s Leporello, which he sang on Joseph Losey’s landmark film of Don Giovanni in the 1970s. He was made a Kämmersanger in 1974, and a baron in 1998 for services to music.
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José van Dam (1940-2026)
20th Feb 2026
The elegant Belgian bass-baritone, who created the title-role in Messiaen’s Saint François d’Assise and excelled in repertoire from Mozart to Wagner, died on Tuesday aged 85.
Recent Best Sellers: José van Dam
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Special offer. Debussy: The Complete Works
Artists include Martha Argerich, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Samson François, Renaud Capuçon, Natalie Dessay, André Cluytens, François-Xavier Roth, Jean Martinon, Michel Plasson, Kent Nagano and Carlo Maria Giulini
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Diapason d’Or de l’Année, 2018, Winner - Archive
33 CDs: Original price $100.25 Reduced $90.22Download from $45.00 -
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Strauss, R: Salome, Op. 54
Gerd Nienstedt (bass), Heljä Angervo (contralto), Kurt Rydl (bass), Wiesław Ochman (tenor), Helge von Bömches (bass), José van Dam (bass-baritone), Hildegard Behrens (soprano), Horst Nitsche (tenor), Agnes Baltsa (mezzo-soprano), Karl-Walter Böhm (tenor), David Knutson (tenor), Erich Kunz (baritone), Gerhard Unger (tenor), Heinz Zednik (tenor), Jules Bastin (bass), Martin Vantin (tenor), Dieter Ellenbeck (tenor), Wiener Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan
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Bernstein: Mahler
Christa Ludwig (contralto), Barbara Hendricks (soprano), Joseph Flummerfelt (chorus master), James McCarthy (chorus master), Jaap van Zweden (violin), Helmut Wittek (boy soprano), Friedrich Pfeiffer (horn), Dame Margaret Price (soprano), Rudolf Scholz (organ), Kenneth Riegel (tenor), José van Dam (bass (vocal)), Hermann Prey (baritone), Agnes Baltsa (contralto), Walter Hagen-Groll (chorus master), Trudeliese Schmidt (contralto), Helmut Froschauer (chorus master), Judith Blegen (soprano), Uwe Theimer (chorus master), Gerti Zeumer (soprano), James King (tenor), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone), Lucia Popp (soprano), Andreas Schmidt (baritone), Thomas Hampson (baritone), Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, The Westminster Choir, New York Choral Artists, Brooklyn Boys Chorus, Wiener Philharmoniker, Chor der Wiener Staatsoper, Wiener Singverein, Wiener Sängerknaben, Berliner Philharmoniker, Leonard Bernstein
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Herbert von Karajan - The Legend (A Memorial Release)
Christian Ferras (Violin), Gottfried Hornik (Baritone), Francisco Araiza (Tenor), Edith Mathis (Soprano), José van Dam (Bass-Baritone), Walter Hagen-Groll, Karin Ott (Soprano), Agnes Baltsa (Mezzo-Soprano), José Carreras (Tenor), Christine Barbaux (Soprano), Jane Berbié (Mezzo-Soprano), Michel Marinpouille (Tenor), Alexander Malta (Bass), José van Dam (Bass) Berliner Philharmoniker, Wiener Philharmoniker, Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Choeur du Théatre National de l'Opéra de Paris, Choeur de l'Opéra de Paris, Herbert von Karajan
2 Presto CDs: $18.75Download from $16.75
