Lauritz Melchior & Frank Sinatra - The Great Operatic Debate (Frank Sinatra Show, March 29, 1944)

Lauritz Melchior (1890-1973) was a legendary Heldentenor, whose 50 year career encompassed stage, screen, radio and television. He was born in Copenhagen, the last of six children of a schoolmaster and his wife. Melchior’s parents enjoyed singing and despite his mother’s death when Lauritz was only a few weeks old, the household was quite musical. He enjoyed attending performances at the Royal Theater and became interested in singing at an early age. Melchior joined the choir of St. Alban’s Church as a treble and, when his voice changed at 14, began singing as a bass. At 18, he began studies with Poul Bang, who opined that he was a lyric baritone. Melchior made quick progress and enrolled in a private opera school, where he honed his diction and stage deportment. On February 15, 1911, Melchior, not yet 21, made his unofficial debut as Antonio in a school production of Le Nozze di Figaro. In September of the following year, he made another “unofficial” debut as Germont in La Traviata with a small touring company. One reviewer referred to the youthful Melchior, ridiculously adorned with grey wig and beard, as resembling Barnum & Bailey’s dog-faced boy!

By this time, Melchior was an apprentice artist with Copenhagen’s Royal Opera. It was here that the 23 year old singer made his official debut as Silvio in Pagliacci on April 2, 1913. Other roles followed, most of them comprimario parts, including Morales in Carmen, Baron Douphol in La Traviata, and Brander in Faust. It was while singing di Luna during a 1916 tour of Il Trovatore, however, that Melchior gave a hint of his capabilities. To accommodate an anxious soprano, Melchior interpolated a high C at the end of the Leonora/di Luna duet. Celebrated contralto Sarah Cahier, who was singing Azucena, pulled the young man aside after the performance and quipped, “You’re no baritone. You’re a tenor with the lid on!” With Cahier’s help, Melchior received a paid sabbatical from the Royal Opera and began retraining his voice with famed Danish tenor Vilhelm Herold. On October 8, 1918, Melchior made his tenor debut as Tannhäuser with the Royal Opera. After this single performance, however, the young tenor was sent back to the comprimario ranks. Luckily, Melchior’s fortunes would soon change in a big way.

During a series of London performances in the fall of 1920, Melchior was introduced to the British novelist, Hugh Walpole. So impressed was Walpole that he agreed to underwrite the tenor’s career. Melchior relocated to London in 1922 and began working toward developing into a genuine Heldentenor. Things moved rather quickly after that, with Melchior contracted to sing Siegmund in Die Walküre at Covent Garden. Upon arriving in London on the day of the performance, the tenor revealed to conductor Bruno Walter that he had never sung the role with orchestra! So, in spite of no rehearsal and only having sung the role with piano, Melchior scored a tremendous success in his Covent Garden debut on May 14, 1924. On July 23 of the same year, he made his Bayreuth debut as Parsifal. Melchior’s Met debut took place on February 17, 1926 as Tannhäuser. During his 24 year tenure there, the tenor sang 519 performances of only seven roles…all of them Wagner.

During the 1940s, Melchior embarked on a second career as a film star. The tenor’s screen appearances were delightful and demonstrated his comic prowess. Although Melchior bade farewell to the stage as Lohengrin at the Met on February 2, 1950, he continued appearing on radio and TV, as well as giving concerts well into the 1960s. By now, he was an American citizen and had settled in California. Remembering the assistance he received as a fledgling artist, he founded the Lauritz Melchior Heldentenor Foundation to help guide the careers of young Heldentenors. As he entered his 80s, Melchior’s health began to fail. In March 1973, during gall bladder surgery, it was discovered that the octogenarian tenor was suffering from cancer. On March 18, two days before his 83rd birthday, Melchior passed away.

The popular belief that Melchior could only sing Wagner is simply untrue. Melchior was a versatile artist who sang more than 30 roles in such works as Cavalleria Rusticana, Pagliacci, Fidelio, Le Prophète, Samson et Dalila, Aïda and Otello, and appeared in the major theaters of Berlin, Hamburg, Leipzig, Vienna, Lyons, Paris, Brussels, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston and Chicago. Melchior’s recorded legacy made for Odeon, HMV, Victor, Columbia, Polydor, Brunswick, Parlophone, MGM and Decca between 1913 and 1954 (as well as a plethora of live and private recordings), showcases an extraordinary voice, extending from the bass D up to high C, with a rich, robust texture throughout the entire range. Here, Melchior and Frank Sinatra face off in “The Great Operatic Debate”, moderated by comedian Jerry Lester. This very silly competition was recorded during a broadcast of The Frank Sinatra Show on March 29, 1944.