John Charles Thomas

John Charles Thomas (Meyersdale, Pennsylvania, September 6, 1891 - Apple Valley, California, December 13, 1960) was an American opera baritone known for his exuberant singing style and powerful voice. (The year of his birth is not quite certain. Some sources give it as 1889.)

After leaving the Peabody Institution in 1912, Thomas traveled briefly with a touring musical company, then settled in New York where he performed with a Gilbert & Sullivan company before being signed by the Shubert Brothers in The Peasant Girl which opened in March, 1913. For the next nine years, he starred in a series of hit Broadway musicals including Her Soldier Boy, Maytime, Naughty Marietta and Apple Blossoms (with Fred and Adele Astaire).His opera debut was in Aida as Amonasro in Washington DC in 1924.

Thomas made a great deal of money on Broadway, but wanted to get more experience in opera. From 1922-1928, he spent much of the year in Europe, singing under contract at La Monnaie opera house in Brussels for the seasons of 1925-1927. He returned to La Monnaie for 25 performances in 1928, 8 in 1930, and 4 in 1931. He appeared with Chaliapin in performances of Faust at Covent Garden in July, 1928.

Thomas continued to appear on the concert stage in the United States in these years, starred in the silent film Under the Red Robe in 1923, and recorded for the Vocalion label (1920-1924) and Brunswick (1924-1929), before signing with RCA Victor in 1931. He was also a pioneer of radio broadcasts, in both New York and Florida.

Upon returning to the United States, he accepted engagements with the San Francisco, Chicago, and Philadelphia Opera companies, and in 1934, after something like a public demand, was signed by the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

In these Depression years, John Charles Thomas was one of the most popular singers in the United States, with both a classical or operatic following, and a very large popular audience. His concerts offered selections from both repertoires: classical and operatic to begin, and American art songs and humorous “character” songs to close. He alos appeared regularly on the Vince Radio Program (1934-1936), Ford, General Motors and RCA Magic Key (1937-1940), and Coca Cola (1940-1941).

During these years he divided his time between Easton, Maryland and Palm Beach, Florida, pursuing an avid life as a sportsman, golfing, yachting, racing speedboats, and deep sea fishing.

The Second World War made concert touring inconvenient, and very high taxes made it non-remunerative. Thomas was engaged to star on the Westinghouse Radio Program from 1943-1946 with the Victor Young Orchestra. He probably reached his widest audience during this period. 1943 marked his last season with the Metropolitan Opera.

Thomas's advocacy of songs in his native English, particularly American songs, has left him less well-remembered than perhaps he should be. Nevertheless many songs written for him to sing have gone on to become standards, such as "The Lord's Prayer" by Albert Hay Malotte and "Home on the Range" by D. Guion.

John Charles Thomas gradually retired from the concert stage after 1950, and settled in Apple Valley California in 1955 with his wife Dorothy. He died there in December,1960.

Recordings

He left a great many recordings, several of which sold extremely well in their day and have been transferred in recent times to compact disc.Thomas’s operatic voice is best appreciated in recordings such as Nemico della patria from Andrea Chenier, and C’en est fait… Salomé demande from Herodiade, broadcast recordings of Per me giunto from Don Carlos, Vien Leonora from La Favorita, or Il Balen from Il Trovatore display his masterful bel canto technique, and brilliant top notes. He sang hymns, art songs, cowboy songs and sea shanties with equal facility. He was less effective in German lieder because they did not suit his buoyant personality as well as other material.

ources

"Thomas, John Charles" by Richard LeSueur and Elizabeth Forbes, in 'The New Grove Dictionary of Opera', ed. Stanley Sadie (London, 1992) ISBN 0-333-73432-7

"John Charles Thomas Beloved Baritone of American Opera and Popular Music" by Michael J. Maher, McFarland Press, 2006 ISBN 0-7864-2668-3

External links

[http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:gjfixqwhldfe Allmusic.com]