Media History Digital Library (1944)

c tauJiii% cyybdchioJi TETROPOLITAN .Opera star, L a u r i t z Mel¬ chior today enjoys the distinction of be¬ ing the world's num|fM ber one Wagnerian ■ H acclaimed as I W 'v such by internation ■ ally competent musi ■ «V cal critics and opera devotees. Born on March 20, in Copenhagen, Den¬ mark, his father and mother, Jorgen Conradt and Julie Melchior were school teachers. When very young, the future opera star began earn¬ ing his own living as a clerk in a music pub¬ lishing firm in Copenhagen, meanwhile study¬ ing singing and dramatics. Like most opera singers, Melchior struggled and studied for years before he received recognition. Start¬ ing his career as a baritone, it was not until eight years later that he won his first con¬ tract in Copenhagen's Royal Opera, at an annual salary of 1000 kroner. It was while he was singing at the Royal Opera that Charles Ganier, world famous vocal authority, heard him and told the direc¬ tor of the opera that Melchior was actually a tenor. After the switch had been painstak¬ ingly accomplished in his voice, he sang his initial tenor role in Tannhauser. Melchior's first fame came in 1919, with his singing of Wagnerian roles in London's Covent Garden. Six years later he sang in Munich and Bayreuth, where he was acclaimed one of the finest German-style tenors of the day. In 1926 he made his debut at New York's Metropolitan Opera House. American operagoers immediately became aware of the great¬ ness of his voice. When Wagner's operas became the Metropolitan's specialty, Melchior broke the world's record for Wagnerian per¬ formances, also shattering box-office records. Melchior is an authentic example of a very rare type of singer: the true Wagnerian Helden-tenor (heroic tenor.) Most tenors have fairly light voices that must be heard against a soft accompaniment. But Wagner had no use for such lightweight voices. The true Helden tenor (heroic tenor). Most tenors have heard above a phalanx of trombones. A deer-skin costume he wears as Siegfridd is from a deer that he shot while on a hunt¬ ing trip in Germany. The opera star is an enthusiastic hunter. When he can manage a week off from the opera, he makes for the woods of Maine or North Dakota. He has shot panthers in South America and once bagged a 1,600-lb. bison in North Dakota. Melchior is the father of two grown children by his first wife, Danish-born Inger Nathansen, who died in 1927. His present wife is Maria Hacker, who was originally a cinema actress in UFA films. Maria has learned how to keep her husband well-fed and amused. One of the things about her that amuses him most is the way they met. Frau Melchior landed in her future husband's garden in a parachute during the filming of a picture. Since their marriage in 1925, she has never missed one of his performances. She accompanies him on all his tours, entertains his guests, manages his business affairs, passes upon his contracts, writes his letters, and helps with his press interviews and stories. Melchior has received decorations from many countries — notably, the Knight's Cross of Dannebrog, the treasured Danish medal of "Ingenio et Arti," the French Legion d'Honneur and Officier destruction Publique, Com¬ mander of the White Rose of Finland, the Duke Edward Medal for his services at the Bayreuth Festivals, Bulgarian and Saxonian Knighthoods, and a gold medal from Vassar College for his contribution to music in the United States. His long service in the concert and operatic fields of this country have made him an out¬ standing figure in its musical life. Recently he bought a home in California, but still main¬ tains his New York apartment. He is doing his bit for the U. S. Treasury Department and the soldiers, and loves it — singing on patriotic radio hours and aiding war bond sales. Melchior has been blessed with phenomenal health, due to the fact, so he asserts, that he never permits singing to interfere with the fine art of living. His health and stamina is best illustrated by amazing statistics: Since 1925 Melchior has sung over 500 concerts and missed only one. Furthermore, from 1920 to date records reveal that he has sung the fan¬ tastic total of over 1000 operatic performances. LIFELINES Born, Lauritz Melchior, March 20, Copen¬ hagen, Denmark, son of Jorgen Conradt and Julie Moller Melchior; Educated Copenhagen schools; Married to the late Inger Nathansen (died 1927); now married to Maria Hacker; Height, 6 feet, 4 inches; Weight, 225 pounds. Hair, gray; Eyes, blue; Occupation, Metropolitan Opera singer. Stage: From 1920 to 1944, 1000 operatic performances. Pictures: Thrill of a Romance, 1944. 96 ]