Lauritz Melchior

Lauritz Melchior (1890–1973) was a Danish-American opera singer celebrated for his powerful, sustained tenor voice and leading performances in Richard Wagner’s music dramas.

Richard Wagner: A German composer and dramatist whose music dramas transformed nineteenth-century opera. Melchior became especially renowned for singing Wagner’s demanding tenor roles.
Tristan: The title character of Wagner’s opera Tristan und Isolde, a knight whose love for Isolde ends in death. Melchior’s Tristan became one of his most celebrated interpretations.
Heldentenor: A dramatic tenor voice suited to the demanding heroic roles of German opera, especially Wagner. This voice category is the defining classification of Melchior’s operatic achievement.
Gramophone record: A disc recording that stores sound as grooves for playback by a stylus. Commercial discs preserved Melchior’s voice and made selected performances widely available.
Arturo Toscanini: An Italian conductor known for forceful interpretations of opera and orchestral music. Toscanini conducted Melchior in performances that helped establish his international stature.
Siegfried: The fearless hero of Wagner’s Ring cycle, raised by the dwarf Mime and destined to wield Nothung. This role demanded the sustained power that made Melchior a leading heldentenor.
Tenor: The highest standard adult male voice type in classical singing. Melchior’s heldentenor is a specialized form of tenor.
Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts: Radio transmissions of Metropolitan Opera performances, begun regularly in 1931. Broadcasts extended Melchior’s performances to listeners beyond New York’s opera house.
Kirsten Flagstad: A Norwegian soprano celebrated for her Wagner roles and association with the Metropolitan Opera. Flagstad and Melchior became a celebrated soprano-and-heldentenor pairing in Wagner.
Siegmund: A hero in Wagner’s Die Walküre and the father of Siegfried. Melchior’s Siegmund displayed the lyric intensity within his powerful tenor voice.

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