Description

ROBERT MERRILL (BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, JUNE 4, 1917 – NEW ROCHELLE, NEW YORK, OCTOBER 23, 2004)

 

 

 

 

His real name was Morris Miller. He was initially a professional baseball player, and his earnings enabled him to finance his vocal studies. His first vocal training came from his mother, Lillian Miller-Merrill, a concert singer. He later continued his studies in New York, where his teachers included Renato Bellini, Armando Agnini, and Samuel Margolis. He then appeared on various American radio programs, among them Frank Black’s Radio Program.

His first stage appearance took place in 1944 in Trenton, New Jersey, as Amonasro in Aida. In 1945, he won the Metropolitan Opera’s Auditions of the Air competition and was immediately engaged by the Metropolitan Opera in New York. He made his debut there the same year as Germont-père in La Traviata, partnered by Licia Albanese and Jan Peerce—a role he would go on to sing 85 more times at the house.

He subsequently enjoyed a distinguished career as principal baritone at the Metropolitan Opera, where he performed for thirty seasons until 1975. In 1950, he achieved particular success as Posa in Verdi’s Don Carlos. His total number of Metropolitan Opera performances amounted to 772, 551 of them at the New York theater itself.

Guest appearances in Chicago (debut in 1960 as Amonasro), San Francisco (debut in 1957 as Germont-père), in Europe—especially in Italy (1960–61 in Milan and Venice)—and in South America secured his reputation as one of the leading American baritones of his generation. In 1945, he sang before both Houses of Congress at the memorial service for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Arturo Toscanini entrusted him with the roles of Germont-père and Renato for his celebrated radio and recording performances of Verdi’s La Traviata and Un ballo in maschera.

In 1967, he appeared as Germont-père in La Traviata at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in London. He was briefly married to the soprano Roberta Peters (born 1930). He also appeared in several motion pictures. When he withdrew from a Metropolitan Opera tour in 1951 due to Hollywood filming commitments, his contract was terminated; however, he was re-engaged for the 1953 season and remained with the company until 1975.

Between 1970 and 1974, he sang the role of Tevye in more than 500 performances of the Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof in New York. His baritone was praised for the warmth of its timbre, richness of tone, and the intensity of his interpretation; his signature repertoire lay especially in Italian and French opera. His memoirs were published under the title Once More from the Beginning (New York, 1965).

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

Africana (Meyerbeer) Adamastor, re dell’onde profonde (Meyerbeer) Recorded 28. 5. 1946 RCA Victor 11-9384 (D6-RC-5921-2)

Africana (Meyerbeer) Adamastor, re dell’onde profonde (Meyerbeer) Recorded in 1956 RCA Victor LM-2086

Andrea Chenier (Giordano) Nemico della patria (Giordano) Recorded 28. 5. 1946 RCA Victor 11-9384 (D6-RC-5922-2)

Andrea Chenier (Giordano) Nemico della patria (Giordano) Recorded in 1956 RCA Victor LM-2086

Ballo in maschera (Verdi) Alla vita che t’arride Recorded in 1954 RCA Victor LM-6112

Ballo in maschera (Verdi) Alzati… Eri tu che macchiavi (Verdi) Recorded in 1954 RCA Victor LM-6112

Ballo in Maschera (Verdi) Eri tu che macchiavi (Verdi) Recorded in 1950 RCA Victor from set DM 1351

Barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini) Largo al factotum (Rossini) Recorded 3. 12. 1947 RCA Victor 12-0450 (D7-RC-8051-1)

Barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini) Largo al factotum (Rossini) Recorded in 1956 RCA Victor LM-2086

Bohème (Puccini) In un coupè… O Mimi tu più non torni (Puccini) with Jussi Björling Recorded in 1956 RCA Victor LM-6042

Bohème (Puccini) Mimi! Sperato di trovarvi qui (Puccini) with Victoria de los Angeles Recorded in 1956 RCA Victor LM-6042

Carmen (Bizet) Je suis Escamillo, toréro de Grenade! (Bizet) with Jan Peerce, Rise Stevens, George Cehanovsky Recorded in 1951 RCA Victor LM-6102

Carmen (Bizet) Si tu m’aimes, Carmen (Bizet) Recorded in 1951 RCA Victor LM-6102

Carmen (Bizet) Votre toast je peux vous le rendre (Bizet) with Rise Stevens, Margaret Roggero, Paula Lenchner Recorded in 1951 RCA Victor LM-6102

Carmen (Bizet) Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre (Bizet) Recorded 29. 5. 1946 RCA Victor 11-9794 (D6-RC-5898)

Cavalleria rusticana (Mascagni) Il cavallo scalpita (Mascagni) Recorded in 1950 RCA Victor from set DM 1351

Cavalleria rusticana (Mascagni) Il cavallo scalpita (Mascagni) Recorded January 1953 RCA Victor LM-6106 (E3RP-5114)

Contes d’Hoffmann (Offenbach) Scintille diamant (Offenbach) Recorded in 1949 RCA Victor 12-1354

Don Carlo (Verdi) Io t’ho perduto (Verdi) with Jussi Björling, Emil Markow Recorded in 1950 RCA Victor from set WDM 1495

Don Carlo (Verdi) Per me giunto (Verdi) Recorded in 1950 RCA Victor from set WDM 1495