George London (born George Burnstein; May 30, 1920 – March 24, 1985) was an American concert and operatic bass-baritone. Biography George Burnstein was born to U.S. naturalized parents of Russian origin in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and grew up in Los Angeles, California. His operatic debut was in 1941 as George Burnson, singing Dr Grenvil in La traviata at the Hollywood Bowl. In the summer of 1945 Antal Doráti invited his longtime friend, the Hungarian bass Mihály Székely, to sing at the first concert of the newly reorganized Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Due to travel difficulties, Székely was unable to arrive in time, so Doráti called upon young George London as a substitute. After performing widely with tenor Mario Lanza and soprano Frances Yeend as part of the Bel Canto Trio in 1947–48, London was engaged by the Vienna State Opera, where he scored his first major success in 1949. In 1950, he sang the role of Pater Profundis in Mahler's Eighth Symphony, conducted by Leopold Stokowski. He was among the most famous exponents of his five signature roles: Don Giovanni, Boris Godunov, Wotan, Scarpia and Amfortas. He never recorded any role in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, although recital performances of Hans Sachs' monologues exist on record. In 1951 he sang at the Bayreuth Festival as Amfortas in Parsifal, and reappeared frequently in the 1950s and early 1960s as Amfortas and in the title role of The Flying Dutchman. He made his debut with the Metropolitan Opera in 1951 as Amonasro in Aida, and sang over 270 performances, both baritone and bass roles, such as Figaro and Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro, The Speaker in The Magic Flute, Mandryka in Arabella, Scarpia in Tosca, the title role in Don Giovanni, Boris in Boris Godunov, Escamillo in Carmen, Iago in Otello, Amfortas in Parsifal, Wolfram in Tannhäuser, the four villains in The Tales of Hoffmann, Golaud in Pelléas et Mélisande, and Mephistopheles in Faust. In 1964, he created the role of Abdul in the American premiere of Gian Carlo Menotti's The Last Savage. He was the first North American to sing the title role of Boris Godunov at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, at the height of the Cold War in 1960. He frequently performed in English: Broadway show tunes and negro spirituals. He recorded many of his roles for RCA Victor, Columbia Records, and Decca. He recorded Verdi's Requiem with