tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post5812986489632046057..comments2024-03-05T22:44:45.962-05:00Comments on Great Opera Singers: Rediscovering James Melton By James A. DrakeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-44839208814900362202014-03-21T08:50:17.155-04:002014-03-21T08:50:17.155-04:00I found this content engaging and informative. Tha...I found this content engaging and informative. Thank you for the hard work you put into researching this article. Thanks dear Edmund! GOD BLESS!Gerhard Santoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03407517517439439662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-1836399823588420382014-01-04T03:39:20.830-05:002014-01-04T03:39:20.830-05:00Darren, Your insightful, astute observations and a...Darren, Your insightful, astute observations and assessments are always welcome here, and I will try to respond to those that I may be equipped to address knowledgeably. "I'm not saying [Melton] can't sing emotionally and passionately," you commented, "but I feel that his biggest problem was he lacked vocal color." Yet during the prime of his career, he was regularly commended for the full-bodied timbre of his voice, which seemed slightly larger and seeingly more passionate and "Italianate" than Crooks's voice was. <br /><br />"There's 1 thing I don't quite understand about the article," you went on to say "I read that Melton only turned to the Met because the rise of American baritone pop singers like Bing Crosby etc. forced him to turn to the Met as a means of salvaging his flagging career. This article seems to say the opposite, that the Met was all along his ultimate goal."<br /><br />In fact, none of the Crosby-Columbo-Vallee "crooner" phenomenon of the years 1927-1937 (to which I must add Gene Austin, whom Vallee said launched the crooner phenomenon) had any discernible effects on Melton's ultimate aspirations. Actually, Melton resolved early in his lessons with Gaetano de Luca to pursue an operatic caeer to the exclusion of the operetta and popular-music repertoire he wanted to leave behind. <br /><br />You also commented, "When I listen to the 'Donkey Serenade' and the 'Oklahoma!' song, I can't help thinking that perhaps what Melton was best suited for are operetta and Broadway." <br /><br />"Judging by the 'Donkey Serenade,'", you added, "I feel Melton not only had the voice for operetta, he also had a gift for comedy. He's so much better than Lanza who makes the 'Donkey Serenade' sound like a serenade rather than a serenade in jest. It's a pity he wasn't in Europe. Both singers had charm but I feel Lanza was more successful because the pop music of the time suited his talents better. He had a more evocative voice. If Melton had been born earlier or gone to Europe, things would have been quite different. He had more humor and wit, which would have suited those early American operettas and vaudeville numbers more."<br /><br />I find myself in full agreement with you about the rightful venue for the sum total of James Melton's abilities as a tenor, actor, Broadway musical performer, and a creator of memorable characters. I will go so far as to venture that Richard Crooks would have similarly been immortalized in operetta: his Victor "Gems" excerpts from The Student Prince (especially his singing of the Serenade) and from The Desert Song (I would invite any comparison to Crooks' stunning singing of "One Flower Grows Alone in Your Garden") are where his voice really lay, at least to my ears. <br /><br />In that same vein, I think that Melton would have been a phenomenal operetta tenor. His voice had the drive, the carrying quality, and the ease of production to have sung the operettas of Herbert, Friml, and Romberg in particular. And as you say, had he lived to return to Broadway at the height of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Melton's refined voice, physical size and handsome features would have put him at the head of the class that included John Raitt, Alfred Drake and Arthur Kent, Drake's older brother.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09614617311017393051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-34674947199962195792014-01-03T09:11:46.014-05:002014-01-03T09:11:46.014-05:00Thank you for a very interesting comment, Darren. ...Thank you for a very interesting comment, Darren. You raise important issues, which I'm sure Dr. Drake will address when he checks in again. In the meantime, many thanks, and please permit me to wish you a Happy New Year, and to congratulate you on your own fine article on Arthur Endreze, which many of our readers have by now have read. EdmundEdmund St. Austellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14490721790447218365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-30237579617315697402014-01-03T08:46:20.123-05:002014-01-03T08:46:20.123-05:00I feel that we shouldn't think too badly of Ja...I feel that we shouldn't think too badly of James Melton's descent into alcoholism. As they say the higher one climbs, the harder one falls. Even if he did have the self-discipline and the patience to weather a decline in his career, it must have been horrible for Melton to watch his career slipping away from him not long after he made it to the top. This truly reminds me of what happened to Buster Keaton. Unlike Keaton, it's a pity that Melton wasn't able to live long enough to get back the fame he once had. <br /><br />There's 1 thing I don't quite understand about the article. I read that Melton only turned to the Met because the rise of American baritone pop singers like Bing Crosby etc. forced him to turn to the Met as a means of salvaging his flagging career. This article seems to say the opposite, that the Met was all along his ultimate goal. <br /><br />Honestly, after listening to Melton's operatic work, I can see why he was described as a tenor whom the Met can count on instead of a tenor that can draw an audience. His renditions of Edgardo's, Lionel's and Pinkerton's arias were good, but there are tenors whose voices are more beautiful than his or who can imbue more passion and emotion into their singing. I'm not saying he can't sing emotionally and passionately but I feel that his biggest problem was he lacked vocal color. Did he undergo sufficient vocal training? Such a tenor shouldn't have come this much short if he had enough instruction. He was ill-advised to perform Turiddu's and Radames' arias. I feel Dr. Drake was too harsh on him. Those 2 roles were simply not suitable for him at all. You can't blame him for exposing all his weaknesses with these performances. <br /><br />To be honest, I prefer Melton's to McCormack's performances of the Irish ballad. I can make out more of Melton's words than McCormack's. I'd rather have a crooning tenor than a purring one. <br /><br />When I listen to the Donkey Serenade and the Oklahoma song, I can't help thinking that perhaps what Melton was best suited for are operetta and Broadway. <br /><br />If Melton had lived long enough to see the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals take the US by storm, I feel things would have turned out quite differently for him. He might be an opera tenor but he really knew how to dish out a good musical number. He didn't sing the musical number as though it was an aria like several opera singers are inclined to do. It's a pity we don't have such singers anymore. <br /><br />Judging by the Donkey Serenade, I feel Melton not only had the voice for operetta, he also had a gift for comedy. He's so much better than Lanza who makes the Donkey Serenade sound like a serenade rather than a serenade in jest. It's a pity he wasn't in Europe. Both singers had charm but I feel Lanza was more successful because the pop music of the time suited his talents better. He had a more evocative voice. If Melton had been born earlier or gone to Europe, things would have been quite different. He had more humor and wit, which would have suited those early American operettas and vaudeville numbers more. <br /><br />A great article on a sadly under-appreciated tenor who deserves to be better remembered. I look forward to seeing another of Dr. Drake's articles on a male American opera singer.Darren Seacliffehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14067833026696460418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-23566312955249882222014-01-02T20:51:43.566-05:002014-01-02T20:51:43.566-05:00The evidence for your comment that "once ther...The evidence for your comment that "once there [Melton] could not, in the face of changing times and inner demons, navigate a path to stay there," lies in the number of venues in which he quickly rose to the top and then, after a relatively brief time, moved into another entertainment medium. <br /><br />The impression I gleaned from Gustave Haenschen, was that Melton was almost terminally restless--a trait that was ill-served by his obsessive-compulsive inclinations. Haenschen said that Melton seemed the happiest when the two of them were working together on the vintage cars that Melton avidly collected and restored. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09614617311017393051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-34178449377491461362014-01-02T11:45:57.839-05:002014-01-02T11:45:57.839-05:00"What's the weather in Moscow at the mome..."What's the weather in Moscow at the moment? "<br /><br />It's warm in Moscow now. Yesterday the temperature was +2, today is -2:)<br /><br />n.a. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-35251703882634281692014-01-02T10:50:46.843-05:002014-01-02T10:50:46.843-05:00Thank you JING, great comment! Very much apprecia...Thank you JING, great comment! Very much appreciated!<br /><br />Thank you NATALIE! The view from Moscow is always interesting and most informative. We all admire and appreciate the Russian singers we know, and yearn to know more!! (What's the weather in Moscow at the moment? I'm buried in snow in Indiana!<br /><br />EdmundEdmund St. Austellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14490721790447218365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-23983388983079688592014-01-02T10:12:44.120-05:002014-01-02T10:12:44.120-05:00Thanks to Dr. Drake for the re-discovery. The most...Thanks to Dr. Drake for the re-discovery. The most interesting article. If a singer like Melton appeared in the modern Bolshoi, our opera lovers would have been happy. There are no tenors of his caliber in the theater now. He couldn’t compete to McCormack, but his recordings are impressive, and his timbre was beautiful.( By the way, this recording of ‘Macushla’ represents McCormack's voice better than many of his operatic recordings. His skills and timbre were extraordinary). Definitely Melton was a great lyric tenor. Perhaps if it was not for his drinking, he would have been known well now, like other singers, who were not in the ‘major league’ . For example, Orfenov, Bolshakov, Khromchenko were second to Lemeshev, Kozlovsky and Nellep in the Bolshoi, however, they are well known now, they had big careers on the radio, left a lot of recordings and they didn’t drink. Of course, it’s not easy to be an artist, whose fame is not so big – everyone wants to become a great star, and non-star career perhaps requires more discipline. <br /><br />n.a.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-24324836194030112482014-01-02T10:01:20.177-05:002014-01-02T10:01:20.177-05:00Thank you, Dr. Drake, for a genuinely masterful an...Thank you, Dr. Drake, for a genuinely masterful and comprehensive picture of the career of James Melton. Your use of recordings other than Melton’s to draw comparisons was very enlightening and entertaining. (I followed your lead in pulling up Alan Jones’ rendition of “Donkey Serenade” – a song I’m sure Jones felt he “owned.”) Your exploration of some of the cultural and personal factors that led, both to Melton’s early success and eventual professional decline, ring very true. Regarding his eight seasons at the Met, I wonder if, in another time, his opera career could have been that of a respectable journeyman; that is, not electrifying or vividly memorable, but “getting the job done” on a dependable basis. (I think of the tenors Barry Morrell, recently shown on a post by Edmund, and Frank Lopardo, for example.) But, perhaps ironically, Melton was too talented and ambitious to settle for that. <br />Like so many of Edmund’s contributions as well as your own, the placing of an opera singer’s fame in a cultural context continues to fascinate me. I think you show that attempts to portray Melton as a dilettante or “gentleman jockey” are off the mark. He really did make it big in records, radio, television, concerts, Hollywood, and at the Met. He seems to me an example of the dangers of an unbridled pursuit of the “American Dream” where effort, self-confidence and optimism yield early success, a success that, over time, changes to a delight in fame itself. Melton seems to me a genuine American type for whom the dangers of fame (hubris as you suggest, or simply the appeal of glamour) are the seeds of eventual disaster. Based on what you have written, Dr. Drake, I wonder if Melton’s ambition and diligence combined with his gifts and determination to find a way to the “top” in all these fields. But once there he could not, in the face of changing times and inner demons, navigate a path to stay there. I think the nature of fame itself carries with it an almost inevitable downward spiral that is often precipitous and cruel. What works to get us to the top are the very qualities (especially if we are uncritical of them) that bring us down. Still, it is interesting to me that, after reading what you have given us, I am left with an appreciation for Melton as a quite wonderful, if flawed, human being and artist; one deserving of appreciation and understanding, even pity. In contrast, I find myself in genuine awe of the artistry of John McCormack, but repelled by his ruthless careerism and the man himself. <br />Jingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-49678338206472868862014-01-02T09:05:19.459-05:002014-01-02T09:05:19.459-05:00Thank you, Mr. Modesti. I suspect there are a fai...Thank you, Mr. Modesti. I suspect there are a fair number of people out there with similar memories. Dr. Drake has performed a real service here, bringing back to memory a singer who was very popular indeed in his day! Your comment is appreciated!Edmund St. Austellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14490721790447218365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-19027350755935678302014-01-01T20:18:33.176-05:002014-01-01T20:18:33.176-05:00May I thank you, first, for your fine compliment a...May I thank you, first, for your fine compliment about my article. Without drawing any attention away from its subject, the great American tenor James Melton, I would like to note that Melton and Lanza shared the same voice teacher in Italy (Enrico Rosati, Gigli's and Lauri-Volpi's principal teacher), and also that Licia Albanese consistently maintained that Mario Lanza, in terms of the quality of his voice and the security of his technique, had all of of the prerequisites for an operatic career as a lyric tenor. (Additionally, Milton Cross, who heard Lanza at the Hollywood Bowl, held the popular tenor in the same regard in which Albanese held Lanza.) But the essential point of your comment, namely, the diminishing attention paid to light lyric-tenor singing at the Metropolitan Opera during the Bing years, might be viewed differently today if the great Fritz Wunderlich, whom Bing had engaged in 1965, had lived to make his debut as Don Ottavio on October 8, 1966. Tragically, he died in an accident a mere three weeks before his highly-anticipated debut. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09614617311017393051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-83441058643846162632014-01-01T19:31:04.766-05:002014-01-01T19:31:04.766-05:00Dear Ms. Nutt, In addition to thanking you for you...Dear Ms. Nutt, In addition to thanking you for your much-appreciated compliment about the article, may I also recommend to our readers your personal blog:<br />http://jamesmeltonmusicalcareerantiquecars.blogspot.comAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09614617311017393051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-80245024867600898662014-01-01T17:28:17.953-05:002014-01-01T17:28:17.953-05:00Thank you so very much for writing, Mrs. Nutt! I ...Thank you so very much for writing, Mrs. Nutt! I am honored that you read and enjoyed Dr. Drake's superb article on your father's career. You have of course yourself rendered great service to his memory with your own excellent book "The Tenor of His Times." I am happy to have helped provide a cyber-platform for the further perpetuation of your father's memory. He was a very fine singer, no doubt about it! Again, my thanks, Edmund StAustellEdmund St. Austellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14490721790447218365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-40196182224904711122014-01-01T17:05:37.837-05:002014-01-01T17:05:37.837-05:00I am simply delighted to come across this wonderfu...I am simply delighted to come across this wonderful post about my father, James Melton. Especially delighted as this is the eve of his 110th birthday, January 2nd.<br /><br />Thank you Dr. Drake and Mr. St. Austell!<br /><br />Margo Melton Nutt<br /><br />Margo.Nutt@Dartmouth.eduMargo Melton Nuttnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-21778268892806109342014-01-01T15:31:30.884-05:002014-01-01T15:31:30.884-05:00Thank you, Mr. di Angelo. I greatly appreciate yo...Thank you, Mr. di Angelo. I greatly appreciate your comment. I imagine others might have different opinions about Lanza, but hey!...it's your opinion, and that's what matters. I'm prepared to admit there were some serious weak spots there, especially musically speaking! Thanks again for writing in, and welcome to Great Opera Singers. You're always welcome here.Edmund St. Austellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14490721790447218365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-87815517243166814232014-01-01T15:28:18.450-05:002014-01-01T15:28:18.450-05:00This is a really great article! It is so nice to ...This is a really great article! It is so nice to read about Melton again. I always admired him. That was a genuinely beautiful voice, and I still prefer it to some of the bellowing that took over when Bing came on board. A lot was lost when the elegant light lyric tenors were driven out. As for pop singers with big voice like Lanza.....well, the less said the better as far as I'm concerned. Thanks for a GREAT article!<br /><br />G. di AngeloAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-50414691612059405672014-01-01T10:43:28.681-05:002014-01-01T10:43:28.681-05:00And Happy New Year to you Martha! I always know w...And Happy New Year to you Martha! I always know we are up and running when you and Mr. Hobbes write in. No blogger has ever been blessed by a better regular group of readers, and boy do I appreciate it! Thanks for your comment, and here's wishing you a wonderful 2014!Edmund St. Austellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14490721790447218365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-29390313920632954802014-01-01T10:40:12.338-05:002014-01-01T10:40:12.338-05:00Happy New Year to you, Edmund, and thanks for this...Happy New Year to you, Edmund, and thanks for this article by Dr. Drake. I agree absolutely with Mr. Hobbes, who pointed out how easy it is to read, while at the same telling a fascinating, if rather sad story. Thanks to you both!<br /><br />MarthaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-30742315701908375712014-01-01T10:37:24.984-05:002014-01-01T10:37:24.984-05:00Happy New Year, Mr. Hobbes! Always a pleasure to ...Happy New Year, Mr. Hobbes! Always a pleasure to hear from you, such a loyal long-time reader! Yours is a great comment, and hits the high spots of this wonderful article perfectly! Yes, a masterpiece of writing that flows like a stream, and as you say, is full of information. Thanks again, always a pleasure!Edmund St. Austellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14490721790447218365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-19424310471009488952014-01-01T10:29:32.196-05:002014-01-01T10:29:32.196-05:00What a nice way to welcome in the New Year with an...What a nice way to welcome in the New Year with an article that is clear, easy to follow, well written, full of information, and one that contains good selections of Melton's singing abilities. My first thought was that he sounded a bit like McCormack. Then I was surprised to hear him singing "Oklahoma" much the way that Gordon MacRae did--pleasant but not "overdone," as many opera singers would have sung it. Sad to hear about his ultimate demise. It reminds us again of how many great talents were destroyed by excess, alcohol, etc.JD Hobbeshttp://cinci.rr.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-5072469403113174102014-01-01T10:07:30.352-05:002014-01-01T10:07:30.352-05:00Caro amico! Che piacere! Grazie mille per il bel c...Caro amico! Che piacere! Grazie mille per il bel commento,molto apprezzato! It is always a pleasure to hear from you, and you are quite right that the acknowledgement of Melton's star quality by great singers such as Albanese tells the story! Thank you again; we are all fortunate to have so distinguished an author as Dr. Drake illuminate this matter, and we also all look forward to soon hearing again from you, another very distinguished critic! The New Year is off to a very good start! CIA,<br />Edmund.Edmund St. Austellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14490721790447218365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-67114888125862642802014-01-01T09:42:15.584-05:002014-01-01T09:42:15.584-05:00What a pleasure once again to read of the acclaime...What a pleasure once again to read of the acclaimed Dott Drake on Great Opera Singers! <br /><br />It seems that notwithstanding the sad undertone of unfulfilled promise shown by Melton, he was plainly, in his own domain, a great one, for the acknowledgment of such colleagues as Licia Albanese can bear no other meaning. <br /><br />Kind thanks once again to the Dott Drake and the Prof St Austell.<br /><br />G. Fiurezi-Maragioglionoreply@blogger.com