Norman Paige - the man, the myth, the legend.
Norman Paige was a man who made a lasting impression on everyone he met. He was a kind-hearted, brilliant, and talented man with a voracious appetite for learning, especially about the lives of influential people, history, languages and religions. He was an avid reader for the entirety of his life. Even in the last moments, he was surrounded by his books, The New York Times, his favorite magazines, and Mozart playing in the background. Norman had a wonderful sense of humor and an infectious laugh. He had the ability to capture attention in any room with complete comfort in being the entertainment. Yet, he had a way of making everyone feel special through his sweet nature and curiosity. He truly wanted to know about the people he met, and would listen intently to the answers he invoked.
Norman Paige was born on June 29th, 1929 in Brooklyn, New York to Rose and Joe Seltzer with the given name, Norman Seltzer, but lovingly nick-named "Buddy" by friends and family. He and his older sister, Naomi shared a wonderfully close relationship their entire lives. Although he was not a religious man, he was very interested and proud of his Jewish heritage. His grandfather was an Orthodox Jewish cantor with a beautiful voice. Norman’s love for music and the arts was cultivated throughout his life. His family would spend many Saturday afternoons listening to The Metropolitan Opera broadcasts, and would occasionally go into Manhattan for live performances.
He went to public grade school in Brooklyn. When it came time for high school, his parents decided it would be better to go to a higher ranked school which was out of their district, so they borrowed the address of a relative and Norman enrolled in James Madison High School. It was there that Norman found encouragement through his choir director, who saw his great talent for singing and his intellectual capacity. Later, the authorities would discover that Norman was not living within the district boundaries and would instruct him to go back to his assigned school. Upon hearing of this, that same teacher threatened them with her resignation, which enabled Norman to continue his studies at James Madison. The encouragement of that teacher was the catalyst to his pursuance in the entertainment business. While still in high school, Norman took a job at NBC as a page. This was the birth of what would become his last name. Because he answered the phone "fourth floor page speaking," people began to think his name was "Page." He decided to keep the name once he began his career in show biz. The spelling of "Paige" came later when he joined an Equity Theatre, where another actor had the name Page. Norman took every opportunity to sing for people, and the people at NBC soon realized he was a singer. Upon hearing of Norman's ability, Perry Como and Milton Berl each invited him to sing on their shows. During that time, he also sang with the Robert Shaw Chorale with Arturo Toscanini conducting the NBC Symphony in the recordings of Verdi's Aida, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, and Schubert's Songs for Male Chorus.
Norman graduated from high school at the age of 16, and enrolled in New York University as a Speech major. He attended for a year (1946-1947) until he decided he would like to train his voice. In 1947, he enrolled in Julliard School of Music, where he studied voice for 3 years (1947-1949). Norman was drafted into the Army at the Age of 20.
Appropriately, one of his jobs was reading current events to the troops after studying the newspapers each day. He continued to perform, singing to his mates and even entering and winning The Second Army Singing Contest in 1952, whose final round was judged at the Pentagon. He left the Army as a Corporal in 1953, and joined the Gilbert and Sullivan Equity touring company, American Savoyards, where he performed leading roles, touring the United States. He would later leave that company and take advantage of the G.I. Bill to go back into training, this time through the esteemed American Theatre Wing professional training program, known for having created the Tony Awards. Norman loved his time with American Theatre Wing.
In 1957, Norman attracted the attention of agent, William Stein, who recommended he direct his career to Germany and Austria. He soon sang for the German agent, Pasch, who arranged a German audition tour, for which he learned 10 opera arias. This tour was a great success, which secured him a three-year contract singing leading roles in Linz. They were looking for a Rodolfo (Puccini's La Boheme) with a high C, which Norman gladly provided. Upon completion of his contract in Linz, he was offered another contract, by Wolfgang Sawallisch, the famous conductor, singing leading and character roles in Cologne, a much bigger company. Among many opportunities through Cologne, he sang the world premiere (February 15, 1965) of the opera Die Soldaten by Bernd Alois Zimmermann.
Also while in Cologne, Norman became acquainted with a lovely, young Turkish mezzo soprano, Inci Basarir (Bashar), who was also singing with Cologne Opera. Norman often said when he saw her for the first time, he knew he would marry her. By 1964, the two were married and then Norman immediately had to go to fulfill a singing contract in Barcelona, Spain. Their daughter, Peri, was born in 1965. During that time, The Metropolitan Opera National Touring Company was travelling Europe to find young, experienced singers. Rise Stevens, the famous mezzo soprano and movie star, was the Director at the time, and heard Norman sing in Rossini's Barber of Seville. She offered him a two-year contract singing leading and secondary roles, which brought him, Inci and their newborn daughter, Peri, back to the US, where they settled in New York City, first, with his sister Naomi in Long Island, and later in their own sublet on the Upper West Side.
Norman toured with The Metropolitan Opera National Touring Company for two years, until the company folded. However, he had been very clever while on tour, and auditioned for the major companies in every city he visited. This led to numerous contracts with companies, such as New York City Opera, San Francisco, Houston Grand, Dallas, Tulsa, Hawaii, Cincinnati, San Diego, Boston Lyric, Chicago Lyric, Seattle and Portland Operas. Among the many renowned singers with which he shared the stage, were Joan Sutherland, Monseratt Caballe, Alfredo Kraus, Nicolai Gedda, Geraint Llewellyn Evans, Riri Grist, and Placido Domingo. He sang the role of Beppe to Placido Domingo's debut performance of Canio in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci on the New York City Opera stage.
In 1968, Norman's agent, Jim Scovotti, informed him that the University of Kansas was looking for an actively performing tenor to join their faculty, so he decided to audition for the faculty, which consisted of Kenneth Smith, who was Chairman of the voice department and a wonderful support to Norman, Miriam Green, Irene Peabody, and Joseph Wilkins. After interviews with Tom Gorton, Dean of the School of Fine Arts, and Clarke Wescoe, Chancellor, and renegotiating opera contracts which would delay his arrival too much, Norman was offered an Associate Professorship. After completing singing contracts in Dortmund, Germany, Inci and 4-year-old Peri also arrived in Lawrence to a newly built Meadow Brook townhouse full of trunks and furniture. Thus, a world-traveling family settled into the life they came to treasure in Lawrence, Kansas.
Norman went on to teach at KU for 33 years, retiring as full professor in 2002. During his tenure there, he taught private voice, English literature, German literature, German and English diction, opera workshop and doctoral courses. He served on many committees, and staged operas. In addition to the contracts he continued to fulfill with opera companies throughout the US, including 14 years with Chicago Lyric and 7 years with Portland, he managed to perform a great deal at KU. Among his numerous performances were 12 with the KU Symphony and Symphonic Band in Hoch Auditorium, over 32 joint recitals with the incredible Inci Bashar, mezzo soprano, and the illustrious Richard Angeletti on piano, and roles in KU student productions, which always delighted audiences.
Norman was a gifted teacher who left an undeniable impression on his students, many of whose relationships continued throughout his lifetime. He was a wonderful husband to Inci, father to Peri, and grandfather to his granddaughters, Shayla and Miranda. He was very proud of his family.
After retirement in 2002, Norman continued his life with his usual curiosity, love for travel and adventure, interest in people, and appetite for learning. Among his many trips in retirement, he traveled to China, Germany, Holland, Czech Republic, France, and Turkey, which was his very favorite place of all. He also took many trips to visit his beloved big sister, Naomi, and her loving family in Atlanta. He loved accompanying Inci to summer programs in which she was engaged to teach, and would assist with teaching movement and diction classes. He enjoyed volunteering at St. Luke's Hospital, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, and Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. He also enjoyed collaborating with Jim Seaver on a series they developed on "Great Singers," and delighted partaking in his well-known preperformance discussions, which would educate its audiences about a performance they would later attend.
After issues with his heart, Norman enrolled in cardiac rehabilitation, where he made many friends. He enjoyed his time there. In the later years, he was diagnosed with dementia, and would attend events and classes through an Alzheimer's program, which he very much loved. Among his favorite classes were art and music. He also sang with the men's chorus. His favorite TV programs were Jeopardy, 60 Minutes, Saturday Night Live, and the Sunday news.
Norman's final years were as full and vibrant as every other part of his glorious life. He was a man who loved unconditionally, laughed heartily, welcomed openly, and always sought to know more about everything. He never lost the great pleasure he found in merely holding a book, but was one of the arguably rare few who actually read the countless books which surrounded him. He loved his life, friends and family immensely, and they loved him immensely in return. He will live on in their hearts, but will be sorely missed nonetheless.