"Di Provenza il mar, il suol" – Robert Merrill
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Brief video of baritone Robert Merrill singing an aria from Giuseppe Verdi’s opera, La Traviata, on The Ed Sullivan Show in Dec. 1967. I’d recommend skipping Sullivan’s introductory remarks and starting the video at 0:26.
Merrill sang with New York’s Metropolitan Opera for thirty years and was considered one of the greatest operatic baritones of his generation. The singer also performed at Carnegie Hall and in radio and TV broadcasts and other venues. He made at least 25 studio recordings during his lifetime.
He was also a lifelong baseball fan, and relatively late in his career, it became a tradition for him to sing the national anthem at Yankee Stadium on Opening Day. Merrill took a straightforward approach to the anthem, eschewing the sorts of embellishments and flourishes common to other performers.
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Robert Merrill passed away at his home in New Rochelle, New York while watching Game 1 of the 2004 World Series between the Red Sox and the Cardinals. He was 87.
Brief video of baritone Robert Merrill singing an aria from Giuseppe Verdi’s opera, La Traviata, on The Ed Sullivan Show in Dec. 1967. I’d recommend skipping Sullivan’s introductory remarks and starting the video at 0:26.
Merrill sang with New York’s Metropolitan Opera for thirty years and was considered one of the greatest operatic baritones of his generation. The singer also performed at Carnegie Hall and in radio and TV broadcasts and other venues. He made at least 25 studio recordings during his lifetime.
He was also a lifelong baseball fan, and relatively late in his career, it became a tradition for him to sing the national anthem at Yankee Stadium on Opening Day. Merrill took a straightforward approach to the anthem, eschewing the sorts of embellishments and flourishes common to other performers.
[media=https://youtu.be/7ZQ7HWS_2y4]
Robert Merrill passed away at his home in New Rochelle, New York while watching Game 1 of the 2004 World Series between the Red Sox and the Cardinals. He was 87.
