Jan Peerce

Jan Peerce (actually Jacob Pincus Perelmuth, born June 3, 1904 in New York City; † December 15, 1984 ) was an American opera singer (tenor ).

Biography

The son of a New York Jewish family first studied at Columbia University in medicine and in 1920 was a violinist in an orchestra entertainment.

His singing career began in 1932 with a concert at Radio City Music Hall, where he was first hired permanently as a radio and concert singer. This led to a certain reputation, and which enabled him in 1938 his first opera engagement was as the Duke of Mantua in Verdi's Rigoletto in Philadelphia.

Due to strong anti-Semitic tendencies in the U.S. he changed - just like many other artists ( Roberta Peters, Robert Merrill and Richard Tucker Peerces brother ) his Jewish-sounding names in Jan Peerce, so as not to hurt his career.

1941 finally the singer at the Metropolitan Opera was engaged in his hometown of New York, to which he belonged until 1966 as a member of the ensemble.

Arturo Toscanini set the tone in the sequence frequently in his concerts and recordings with the NBC Symphony Orchestra one, such as in Beethoven's Fidelio and as tenor soloist in the 9th Symphony, Verdi's La Traviata and Un ballo in maschera, Puccini's La Bohème and in the legendary film hymn of the Nations, in which Verdi's hymn of the Nations was performed. The conductor praised repeatedly Peerces professionalism as well as his musicianship.

In the 50s Peerce joined together with other stars of the Met as Eileen Farrell, Richard Tucker and Robert Merrill frequently in open-air concerts at Lewisohn Stadium in New York on what his popularity did not increase marginally.

Concert tours with the ensemble of Met alone and led the singer in the whole world. 1956 Peerce was the first American who appeared as " cultural ambassadors " at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

In 1966 he retired from the ensemble, although from the Metropolitan Opera, but continued to perform as a guest. However, he reduced his performances and began to give master classes.

In 1971 he joined on Broadway as Tevye on in the musical Fiddler on the Roof. His final stage took leave of the singer in 1982 with 78 years without his voice had taken serious damage.

Two years later he died in his hometown.

He leaves a large amount of important opera and concert recordings, especially those under Toscanini.

• Opera singer
• Tenor
• American musician
• Americans
• Born in 1904
• Died in 1984
• Man