Name: Norman Frizzle.
Comment: I worked for the classical division of Harlequin Records situated above a popular music division on the north or west side of Waterloo Station. I live in Canada now, but on returning once I attempted in vain to locate where it used to be.
Does anyone know if Harlequin Records had a pension plan? I was with Harlequin Records from September or October 1974 to the end of January 1975. (I was visiting from Canada and from February, I took an extended trip to the continent.)
It seems to me the shop manager's name was Michael, but I don't recall his last name. I remember we carried 'bootleg' opera records (as many respectable classical record stores did in those days), and one was of a new artist with a lot of buzz who made his debut soon after at Covent Garden. His name was Jose Carreras.
I've just completed a feature-length memorial/documentary on Irving Guttman of Vancouver, founder of several opera companies here in Canada who directed Carreras, Caballe, Domingo, Sutherland, Horne and a staggering array of the greatest opera stars of the mid-to-late 20th Century before they were well-known. He was also instrumental in making the first Sutherland recording of Norma happen, since it was his production here in Vancouver that was ported with its entire original cast to the Decca/RCA recording studio. This resulted in one of the most famous complete opera LP albums of the century.
(15 July 2015)
