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

 

 

Faust (Gounod) Avant de quitter ces lieux (Gounod) Recorded in 1949 RCA Victor 12-1354

Hamlet (Thomas) O vin dissipe la tristesse (Thomas) Recorded 21. 5. 1946 RCA Victor 11-9291 (D6-RC-5885-2)

Hamlet (Thomas) O vin dissipe la tristesse (Thomas) Recorded in 1956 RCA Victor LM-2086

Hérodiade (Massenet) Vision fugitive Recorded 21. 5. 1946 RCA Victor 11-9291 (D6-RC-5887-1)

Hérodiade (Massenet) Vision fugitive (Massenet) Recorded in 1956 RCA Victor LM-2086

Otello (Verdi) Credo in un Dio crudel (Verdi) Recorded in 1950 RCA Victor from set DM 1351

Otello (Verdi) Credo in un Dio crudel (Verdi) Recorded in 1956 RCA Victor LM-2086

Pagliacci (Leoncavallo) Nedda! Silvio! A quest’ora with Licia Albanese Recorded in 1950 RCA Victor from set DM 1433

Pagliacci (Leoncavallo) Si può? Recorded in 1950 RCA Victor from set DM 1351

Rigoletto (Verdi) Cortigiani, vil razza dannata (Verdi) Recorded in 1950 RCA Victor from set DM 1351

Rigoletto (Verdi) Cortigiani, vil razza dannata (Verdi) Recorded in 1956 RCA Victor LM-6051

Rigoletto (Verdi) Pari siamo (Verdi) Recorded in 1956 RCA Victor LM-6051

Thais (Massenet) Te souvient-il du lumineux voyage (Massenet) with Dorothy Kirsten Recorded 14. 1. 1947 RCA Victor 11-9792 (D7-RC-7124)

Traviata (Verdi) Ah! dite alla giovine (Verdi) with Licia Albanese Recorded 8. 2. 1946 RCA Victor 11-9175

Traviata (Verdi) Di Provenza il mar (Verdi) Recorded 21. 5. 1946 RCA Victor 11-9794 (D6-RC-5886)

Traviata (Verdi) Di provenza il mar (Verdi) Recorded in 1956 RCA Victor LM-2086

Trovatore (Verdi) Il balen del suo sorriso (Verdi) Recorded in 1950 RCA Victor from set DM 1351

Trovatore (Verdi) Tutto è deserto… Il balen (Verdi) with Franco Calabrese Recorded in 1956 RCA Victor LM-2086

Zazà (Leoncavallo) Zazá, piccola zingara (Leoncavallo) Recorded 3. 12. 1947 RCA Victor 12-0450 (D7-RC-8050-1)

Zazà (Leoncavallo) Zazà, piccola zingara (Leoncavallo) Recorded in 1956 RCA Victor LM-2086