Alexander Sved (also known as Svéd Sándor)
Born 1906, Budapest, Hungary
Died 1949, Vienna, Austria
If you were making your Met debut and sharing the stage with Zinka Milanov, Jussi Bjoerling, and Bruna Castagna, you might justifiably be intimidated by that glittering cast — and perhaps ultimately overshadowed. However, in 1940 a Hungarian baritone named Svéd Sándor (or Alexander Svéd, as he chose to be called in the U.S.), did just that, singing Renato in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera and impressing audience and critics. That complete performance is available from Myto Records, so you can check it out for yourself. From that recording, let’s listen to “Eri tu.”
Sved had studied in Milan with the famous baritones Mario Sammarco and Riccardo Stracciari and had sung professionally for twelve years at the time of his Met debut. From the beginning, his dark, powerful dramatic baritone, flowing legato, beautiful piano, brilliant top, and masterful technique made him a favorite with his operatic public. Svéd remained at the Met for the next 10 years, singing Italian roles in addition to Bizet’s Escamillo in Carmen, and Wagner’s Telramund in Lohengrin and Wolfram in Tannhäuser. In 1950, he sang his final role, as Baron Scarpia, while on tour to Chicago.
During the escalating Cold War in the 1950s, travel restrictions and entry requirements for citizens of Eastern Bloc countries made singing in the USA difficult to impossible. Svéd left the Met and scheduled European performances, including the Bayreuth Festival, for the remainder of his career. He sang a final concert in America in 1974, after which he retired to Lugano, Vienna, and then Budapest, where he died in 1979.
Here is Svéd singing “Pari siamo” from Verdi’s Rigoletto, which shows off his dark, dramatic voice and excellent top to best advantage.