Among the names of famous opera singers, it’s tenors that are most likely to be mentioned. Luciano Pavarotti remains one of the most recognized names and voices in opera. Most people recognize him from his participation with Plácido Domingo and José Carreras in the classical singing group, The Three Tenors.
The singer who deserves the credit for popularizing opera music in the United States, however, is Mario Lanza (1921–1959), an Italian tenor whose short life was marked by stardom on the silver screen instead of on the opera stage. Lanza was considered the successor of Enrico Caruso, the first international recording star. All these tenors are of a Romantic national background, either Italian or Spanish. Their specialty was the Italian verismo genre.
Often overlooked are tenors who specialized in operas by Richard Wagner and his German contemporaries, like Richard Strauss. Their repertoire could define them as a heldentenor.
Tenor ‘With the Lid On’
Lauritz Melchior was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, on March 20, 1890. Although he was an amateur soprano as a lad, he didn’t start formal classical vocal training until age 18. He studied with Paul Bang at Copenhagen’s Royal Opera School and was classified as a baritone, a male voice type which is lower than tenor but higher than bass. In 1913, he made his operatic debut at Det Kongelige Teater in Copenhagen as Silvio in the Ruggiero Leoncavallo opera “Pagliacci.” He continued singing minor baritone and bass roles with the Royal Danish Opera and smaller Scandinavian opera companies for the next few years but made little professional headway.All this changed with a fateful performance of Giuseppi Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” on tour, when Melchior helped a struggling soprano during a climactic duet by singing her high C for her. It’s unclear if the lady appreciated the gesture, but American contralto Sara Cahier, who was playing Azuneca, was very impressed with the young man’s high note. She told Melchior that he wasn’t a baritone but a tenor “with the lid on.”
Believing strongly in the young man’s ability, Madame Cahier persuaded the company to give him a sabbatical and a stipend for retraining as a tenor. He studied with Danish heldentenor Vilhelm Herold in 1917 and 1918. By October 1918, he was ready to make his tenor debut as the title character in Wagner’s “Tannhäuser,” an impressive feat for a 28-year-old.
Lauritz Melchior’s Heldentenor career was off. In 1920, he traveled to England, where he made friends with British novelist Hugh Walpole. This passionate Wagner fan encouraged and supported his young friend’s singing career, helping him make the connections he needed to gain fame throughout Europe.
Opera at the Movies
The opera stage was not the only performing sphere Lauritz Melchior conquered with his powerful voice, imposing figure, and dominating personality. In the 1940s and 1950s, he made five feature films as a great singing star on the silver screen, as well as an actor. The first four films were MGM musicals, all produced by Hungarian music lover Joe Pasternak, while the fifth was a Paramount musical.During his MGM tenure, Melchoir made one film per year. In each movie, he played a famous opera singer with a different Nordic name and a career history similar to his own. He wasn’t just a musical guest in these movies; he was an important supporting character in each storyline who interacted with the main characters. He always sang a combination of opera arias and original movie compositions, with an occasional popular song thrown in.
Melchior burst onto the screen in “Thrill of a Romance” in 1945, a Technicolor wartime romance starring Esther Williams and Van Johnson. During the opening credits, Melchior was introduced with a clip of singing and an announcement that he was a Metropolitan Opera star. His character, Nils Knudsen, was introduced by singing “Vesti la giubba,” the dramatic aria from “Pagliacci,” on his hotel balcony.
His character was a Metropolitan Opera star who was spending the offseason at the film’s main location, a popular mountain resort, to lose weight. He ended up befriending Williams’s and Johnson’s characters and becoming their close companion. He was compassionate, wise, and kind in this part, as well as providing comic relief.
His role of turn-of-the-century opera star Olstrom in “Two Sisters From Boston” (1946) was less nuanced, since the main emotion he displayed was rage when Kathryn Grayson’s character tried to steal his limelight during a performance. After Jimmy Durante’s character blackmailed him with a made-up story about his past, the tenor enjoyed singing a duet with Grayson.
Melchoir played the overbearing father Richard Herald of leading man Dick Johnson’s (Johnnie Johnston) in “This Time for Keeps” (1947). This was a dramatic role where Melchoir struck an excellent balance between a loving and domineering father regarding his son’s reluctance to follow in his operatic footsteps.
In “Luxury Liner” (1948), he plays Olaf Eriksen, a singer who takes a cruise for a South American tour. In one of his most tender roles, he befriends and mentors the captain’s daughter, a 16-year-old soprano Polly Bradford (Jane Powell), who idolizes him. He also comically spars with his singing partner, an obnoxious soprano (Maria Koshetz).
A Singing Star
Melchior is remembered as one of the greatest operatic tenors of the Wagnerian genre. Opera singers, especially of generations past, have been criticized for being stiff and awkward, with far greater emphasis on singing than acting.Melchior broke this stereotype, since he was an excellent actor. He brought unique roles to life in movies with very different casts and plots. Rather than appearing in a few films as a guest singer, he brought humanity to the roles he played, showing the multifaceted experience of being an opera singer.
His movies are not only entertaining but an excellent opportunity for opera fans and students to see his amazing technique and talent closer than you could from even the front row of an opera house.
Melchior made his first movie at 54, and age 62 when he made his last. He clearly took care of his voice with excellent training. Well into middle age, his voice was powerful, strong, and fresh in all his movies.
