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William Martin (tenor)

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American opera singer

William Martin
In The Boston Globe in 1923
BornWilliam Bosworth Martin
(1898-04-13)April 13, 1898
Lowell, Massachusetts, US
DiedJuly 31, 1960(1960-07-31) (aged 62)
Westport, Connecticut, US
EducationHarvard University
OccupationSinger

William Bosworth Martin (April 13, 1898 – July 31, 1960) was an American classical tenor.

Biography

Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, he studied singing with Leveret Merrill, A Sujol, and Florence Holtzman. A graduate of Harvard University, he was for many years a member of the Harvard Glee Club. He was trained as an opera singer by Estelle Liebling, the teacher of Beverly Sills, in New York City. He made his professional opera debut in 1923 in the title role of Jules Massenet's Werther.

He was committed to the Opéra-Comique in Paris from 1925 to 1929 where he notably sang the role of Philipp in the world premiere of Lucien Chevaillier's Le poème du soir. In 1927 he and Mary McCormic became the first two Americans to appear in leading roles at the Opéra National de Paris, respectively portraying the title role and the role of Marguerite in Charles Gounod's Faust. In 1929 he had a major success at the Palais Garnier as the Duke of Mantua in Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto. In 1930 he sang Romeo to Grace Moore's Juliette in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie. Martin is best remembered today for creating the role of Amelia's lover in the world premiere of Gian Carlo Menotti's Amelia Goes to the Ball on April 1, 1937 at the Philadelphia Academy of Music.

He died at his home in Westport, Connecticut on July 31, 1960.

References

  1. "Harvard Glee Singer Tenor in Paris Opera; William Martin, 25, Hailed as a Phenomenon, Engaged for Two Years By Paris Opera Comique". The New York Times. Paris (published February 26, 1923). February 25, 1923. p. 14. Retrieved December 3, 2024 – via Internet Archive.
  2. Dean Fowler, Alandra (1994). Estelle Liebling: An exploration of her pedagogical principles as an extension and elaboration of the Marchesi method, including a survey of her music and editing for coloratura soprano and other voices (PhD). University of Arizona.
  3. "Harvard Glee Club Tenor to Sing Leads at Opera Comique". The Boston Globe. February 27, 1923. p. 3. Retrieved December 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Music: In Paris", Time, August 1, 1927
  5. Moore, Grace (1944). You're Only Human Once. Garden City Publishing Company. p. 146. Retrieved December 3, 2024 – via Internet Archive.
  6. "William Martin Dies; Former Opera Singer". The Bridgeport Post. Westport, Connecticut. August 2, 1960. p. 38. Retrieved December 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.


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