- Riccardo Martin
Riccardo Martin (
November 18 ,1874 –August 11 ,1952 ) was an Americantenor .Born Hugh Whitfield Martin in
Hopkinsville, Kentucky , Martin was granted an endowment which allowed him, in 1901, to go toParis to study withGiovanni Sbriglia andJean de Reszke ; he later completed his studies withVincenzo Lombardi in Florence. He debuted as Faust inNantes in 1904. Two years later he made his American debut inNew Orleans , singing with the visitingSan Carlo Opera . Martin bowed at theMetropolitan Opera on November 20, 1907 in "Mefistofele "; the performance also marked the American debut ofFyodor Chaliapin .Martin remained with the Metropolitan through the 1914-15 season, appearing in numerous leading tenor roles; he was among the first American-born leading men the company employed. He returned for the 1917-18 season. During his tenure at the Met, he created the lead tenor roles in three American operas:
Walter Damrosch 's "Cyrano de Bergerac",Horatio Parker 's "Mona", andFrederick Shepherd Converse 's "The Pipe of Desire ". After leaving the company he appeared with numerous companies throughout America andEurope , and spent three seasons with theChicago Civic Opera . Martin died inNew York City in 1952.References
*David Ewen, "Encyclopedia of the Opera: New Enlarged Edition". New York; Hill and Wang, 1963.
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