Estes, Simon (1938- )

American bass-baritone. He studied at Juilliard, New York, and engagements in Berlin and Hamburg soon followed. He appeared in the USA from 1966, making his Metropolitan Opera House debut in 1976, as Oroveso. Later New York roles were Boris, Philip II, and Amonasro. He sang the Dutchman at the 1978 Bayreuth festival, and returned as Amfortas, but was rejected for the 1983 Solti-Hall Ring, allegedly because he is black: he sang Wotan with great success in a Ring produced at Berlin, 1984-85, and was also heard in Die Walküre at the New York Metropolitan Opera House in 1986. He made his debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, in 1986, as the Dutchman. He has also been heard as a concert singer. He sang Porgy at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1985, and Macbeth for the Greater Miami Opera in 1992.