Description

REINALD WERRENRATH (BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, AUGUST 7, 1883 – PLATTSBURGH, NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 12, 1953)

 

 

 

 

Reinald Werrenrath was an American baritone and opera singer who also recorded popular songs and appeared regularly on radio during the early decades of the twentieth century. He often used the pseudonym Edward Hamilton.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, he was the son of George Werrenrath, a Danish-born operatic tenor. Reinald studied at New York University and made his operatic debut in 1907 in Die Meistersinger. That same year, he began recording for Edison Records before embarking on a long association with the Victor Talking Machine Company. Between 1906 and 1929, he made several hundred recordings for Victor, both as a soloist and as a member of ensembles such as the Orpheus Quartet and the Victor Opera Quartet. Among his most successful recordings were “As Long as the World Rolls On” (1907), “Hello Frisco!” (from Ziegfeld Follies of 1915), and “Smilin’ Through” (1919).

Werrenrath made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1919 in Pagliacci, in a cast that included Enrico Caruso. He toured extensively and gave more than 3,000 concert performances. He was also one of the earliest singing stars to appear regularly on radio, notably on station WEAF in New York. In 1930, he made a private recording of Christmas greetings accompanied by Harpo Marx and others. Two years later, he joined the music staff of NBC, and in his later years devoted himself mainly to teaching, primarily at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland. He also operated a summer music school at Chazy Lake, New York.

Werrenrath was married three times. He died on September 12, 1953, in Plattsburgh, New York, after suffering a heart attack while at Chazy Lake. His residence there, Werrenrath Camp, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

A brown bird singing (Wood) Victor 984 B-28894 11-14-1923

A khaki lad (Aylward) Victor 45154 B-21964 6-4-1918

After all (Robers) Victor 45162 B-22599 2-25-1919

Among My Souvenirs (Leslie) Victor 1310-A 1310A 1928

Angelus (Herbert) (w. Christie MacDonald) Victor 70099 C-13201 4-25-1913

Asthore (Trotère) Victor 31803 C-9605 11-4-1910

Battle Hymn of the Republic (Ward Howe) Victor 45121-A B-19377 3-15-1917

Boheme (Puccini) Ah! Mimi tu piu (w. Murphy) Victor 60108 B-14037 11-5-1913

Boots (Kipling-Felman) Victor 6583B 6583-B 3-24-1926

Brown October ale (De Koven) Victor 945 B-28152 6-27-1923

By the waters of Babylon (Howell) Victor 55076 C-15078 7-23-1914

Calm as the night (Bohm) Victor 31743 C-8086 7-1-1909

Can’t yo’ heah me callin’ Caroline (Roma) Victor 991 B-25563 9-16-1921

Carmen (Bizet) Chanson du toréador Victor 55068 C-16869 12-8-1915

Caro mio ben (Giordani) Victor 17718-B B-15218 9-24-1914

Colleen o’ my heart (Penn) Victor 64931 B-24683 11-5-1920

Crucifix (Faure) (w. McCormack) Victor 64712 64712 1917

Danny Deever (Damrosch) Victor 31738 C-7021 4-29-1909

Dear delightful women (Rubens) Victor 16872 B-10003 2-24-1911

Don Giovanni (Mozart) Là ci darem la mano Victor 87569 B-23741 2-18-1920