American operatic baritone and musical theatre actor who had an active career from the 1940s through the 1970s. After beginning his career entertaining American troops as a part of the Special Services during World War II, his first critical success was as the baritone soloist in the American premiere of Frederick Delius’s Requiem in 1950. He was one of the founding members of the NBC Opera Theatre, a company he performed with throughout the 1950s in such productions as Benjamin Britten’s Billy Budd and the world premiere of Norman Dello Joio’s The Trial at Rouen.
Ukena also enjoyed a lengthy association with the New York City Opera (NYCO) from 1958 to 1979. At the NYCO he notably appeared in a number of world premieres including Hugo Weisgall’s Six Characters in Search of an Author (1959), Robert Ward’s The Crucible (1961), and Dominick Argento’s Miss Havisham’s Fire (1979). At the NYCO he also starred in the United States premiere of Josef Tal’s Ashmedai in 1976. He also served as musical director and conductor for the 1953 Broadway musical Maggie. He starred in the Off-Broadway musicals Sandhog (1954), and Hotel for Criminals (1974), and appeared in the Broadway musical Cry for Us All (1970).
After the 1970s, Ukena’s performance appearances became rarer as he devoted his time to teaching at Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers, New York where he was a professor from 1961 until his retirement in 1989. He also was a faculty member at the Mannes College of Music in the 1970s.
Ukena’s wife, Meta Ukena, was a music teacher for Pelham Public Schools in Pelham, New York where the couple resided for thirty-five years. They had five children. Paul Ukena died of heart failure on 10 March 1991 at age 69 at Hunterdon Medical Center in New Jersey.
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