Description

RICHARD ALEXANDER CROOKS (TRENTON, NEW JERSEY, JUNE 26, 1900 – PORTOLA VALLEY, CALIFORNIA SEPTEMBER 29, 1972)

 

 

 

 

He first gained attention as a boy soprano in a church choir and later served in the American Air Corps during World War I. After the war, he studied with Frank La Forge, Léon Rothier, and Sidney Bourne in New York. He became a soloist at the Presbyterian church in New York and, despite financial difficulties, declined to appear in the musical The Student Prince on Broadway.

His career took off in 1923 when he achieved sensational success by performing in nine concerts with the New York Symphony Orchestra under Walter Damrosch. In 1926, he embarked on a European concert tour, and in 1927 he made his operatic stage debut at the Stadttheater in Hamburg as Cavaradossi in Tosca. That same year, he performed the tenor solo in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony under Toscanini in New York and in 1928 took part in the American premiere of Gustav Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde under Willem Mengelberg.

Following guest appearances in Berlin, Riga (1928), Warsaw, Prague, Stockholm, Copenhagen, and various venues in Holland, Belgium, and England, he joined the Philadelphia Opera in 1930, debuting once again as Cavaradossi in Tosca. His career continued with great success at the Metropolitan Opera in New York from 1933 to 1946, where he debuted as Des Grieux in Massenet’s Manon. During his time at the Met, he appeared in 51 performances across nine roles, including Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Faust, Alfredo in La Traviata, Wilhelm Meister in Mignon, and Carlo in Linda di Chamounix.

In addition to his Met career, he performed at the opera houses of Chicago (1940-1943) and San Francisco (1934), and made guest appearances in Australia in 1936 and 1938. He even embarked on concert tours in Africa. He retired from the stage in 1946, after a distinguished and far-reaching career.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

Naughty Marietta (Herbert) I’m falling in love with someone 1371 Victor

Nazareth (Gounod) DA1288 0B3442-4 HMV, London 1932-10-03

O Dry Those Tears (Del Riego) CVE34281-5 Cat 9008 Victor, 19 January 1926

Oh Susanah (Foster) 1827 BS010349-2 Victor, 27 May 1937

Old Black Joe (Foster) 1827 BS010353-2 Victor, 27 May 1937

Old Folks at Home (Foster) 1825 BS010352-3 Victor, 27 May 1937

Only a Rose (Brian Hooker – Rudolf Friml) 1448-B Victor 1 10 1930

Only My Song (Lehár) 1619-B Victor

Panis Angelicus (Franck) 11-8490-A Victor

Pêcheurs de Perles (Bizet) Mi par d’udir ancora 15544 1939 a Victor

Red, Red Rose (Fred Rath) Love theme in the Motion Picture Production, Monsieur Beaucaire 45481-A Victor 10 8 1924

Rigoletto (Verdi) O wie so trügerisch E.W. 76 Electrola

Rio Rita (Joseph McCarthy) From the RADIO picture, Rio Rita 1448-A Victor 1 10 1930

Romeo et Juliette (Gounod) Ah! Lève-toi, soleil 15542 1939 a Victor

Sadko (Rimsky-Korsakov) Chanson hindoue 10-1093 1939 a Victor

Schwanengesang, D. 957 – Standchen (Serenade) (Schubert) 2177 BS066779-1 Victor, 12 September 1941