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Sherrill Milnes




Sherrill Milnes (born January 10 , 1935 ) is an American Baritone who has carried on the great tradition of American baritones that began in the 1920's with Lawrence Tibbet. He is most famous for his Verdi roles. From the mid-1960s until 1997 he was associated with the Metropolitan Opera .

Sherill Milnes' predecessors include such illustrious names as Robert Merrill and Leonard Warren.

Critics and audiences quickly recognized Milnes' gifts. He has a brilliant, high baritone, a sumptuous legato and incisive rhythmic style, allied with a commanding and handsome stage presence. He quickly graduated to the major opera houses and by 1965 had made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera. His international debuts followed soon thereafter and Milnes became THE Verdi baritone of the 1970's and 80's.

He has been a prolific recording artist with scores of opera recordings to his credit. He has often been partnered by two of the famous Three Tenors in all of the major operatic repertoire stretching from Mozart to the Moderns. Many of his finest studio performances are available on the Universal labels, particularly his frequent collaborations with Joan Sutherland and Luciano Pavarotti.

Milnes was born in Downers Grove, Illinois to a dairy farmer and his wife. As a child, he exhibited strong and varied musical talents; in addition to singing he also played Piano , Violin , Viola , Double Bass , Clarinet , and Tuba . Although his interests did not always lean towards opera, he spent many hours singing to his father's cows, and once was found on a tractor practicing an operatic laugh.

While in high school, Milnes planned to be an anaethesiologist, but later returned to music, studying music education at Drake University and Northwestern University , with the idea of becoming a teacher, but after graduating spent a summer as an apprentice at the Santa Fe Opera and thereafter dedicated himself to becoming an opera singer, studying briefly with the famed soprano Rosa Ponselle . Milnes began his career with the Boston Opera Company in 1960 , joining Boris Goldovsky's Opera Theater, and debuting as Masetto in '' Don Giovanni ''. In 1961 , he made his debut at Ponselle's Baltimore Opera as Gérard in '' André Chénier ''.

In 1964 , Milnes made his first major breakthrough singing the role of Valentin in Gounod 's '' Faust '' at the New York City Opera , the role with which he also made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1965 .

In 1964 , Milnes also made his European debut singing Figaro from The Barber Of Seville at the Teatro Nuovo in Milan . However, it was his performance as Miller in Verdi's '' Luisa Miller '' in 1968 which catapulted him into international fame.

In the early 1980s, Milnes experienced vocal health problems, but he eventually surmounted them.

In 1998 , Milnes published a memoir, ''American Aria'' (ISBN ).

Starting in 2001 , Milnes has been bringing his experience and expertise to young rising operatic talent through V.O.I.C.E. (Vocal and Operatic Intensive Creative Experience), which he founded in 2001 with his third wife, Maria Zouves. Their workshops allow educators and performers to share their knowledge through master classes, private coachings, presentations, one-on-one consultations, lectures, and performances. They strive to create a realistic view of the many challenges that singers face throughout their career. The auditor program allows both opera lovers and singers a unique interaction in the creative process.

Mr. Milnes is currently a member of the voice faculty as a teacher and coach at Northwestern University .


DISCOGRAPHY - CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

Audiocassettes
  • Essential Opera

  • A Grand Night for Singing (Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Columbia Symphony -- Ottley, cond.)

  • Opera's Greatest Duets

  • Sherrill Milnes at the Met



Compact Discs
- 1967 -
  • Mozart's Cosi fan tutte (with L. Price, Troyanos, Raskin, Shirley, Flagello -- Leinsdorf, cond.)

  • Verdi's La Traviata (with Caballe, Bergonzi -- Pretre, cond.)


- 1968 -
  • R. Strauss's Salome (with Caballe, R. Lewis, Resnik, J. King -- Leinsdorf, cond.)


- 1969 -
  • Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, "Choral" (with J. Marsh, Veasey, Domingo -- Leinsdorf, cond.)

  • Verdi's Il Trovatore (with L. Price, Domingo, Cossotto -- Mehta, cond.)


- 1970 -
  • Verdi's Aida (with L. Price, Domingo, Bumbry, Raimondi -- Leinsdorf, cond.)

  • Verdi's Macbeth (with Ludwig, Cossutta -- Boehm, cond.) Live recording


- 1971 -
  • Great Opera Duets (with Domingo)

  • Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera (with Tebaldi, Pavarotti -- Bartoletti, cond.)

  • Verdi's Don Carlos (with Domingo, Caballe, Raimondi, Verrett -- Giulini, cond.)

  • Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor (with Sutherland, Pavarotti, Ghiaurov -- Bonynge, cond.)

  • Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci / Puccini's Il Tabarro (Pagliacci: with Caballe, Domingo -- Santi, cond.

  • Tabarro: with L. Price, Domingo -- Leinsdorf, cond.)

  • Verdi's Rigoletto (with Sutherland, Pavarotti, Tourangeau -- Bonynge, cond.)


- 1972 -
  • Verdi's Attila (with Raimondi, Deutekom, Bergonzi -- Gardelli, cond.)

  • Verdi's Giovanna d'Arco (with Caballe, Domingo -- Levine, cond.)


- 1973 -
  • Domingo Conducts Milnes -- Milnes Conducts Domingo

  • Puccini's Tosca (with L. Price, Domingo -- Mehta, cond.)


- 1974 -
  • Puccini's La Boheme (with Caballe, Domingo, Blegen, Sardinero, Raimondi -- Solti, cond.)

  • Verdi's I Vespri Siciliani (with Arroyo, Domingo, Raimondi -- Levine, cond.)


- 1975 -
  • Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia (with Sills, Gedda, Capecchi, Raimondi, Barbieri -- Levine, cond.)

  • Verdi's Luisa Miller (with Pavarotti, Caballe -- Maag, cond.)

  • Massenet's La Navarraise (with Horne, Domingo, Bacquier -- H. Lewis, cond.)

  • Verdi's Il Trovatore bonus tracks from a 1968 recording of Act II with Richard Tucker (with Caballe, Cossutta, Arkhipova -- Guadagno, cond.)


- 1976 -
  • Giordano's Andrea Chenier (with Scotto, Domingo -- Levine, cond.)

  • Verdi's Macbeth (with Cossotto, Carreras, Raimondi -- Muti, cond.)

  • Massenet's Thais (with Sills, Gedda, van Allan -- Maazel, cond.)


- 1977 -
  • Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur (with Scotto, Domingo, Obraztsova -- Levine, cond.)

  • Bizet's Carmen (with Berganza, Domingo, Cotrubas -- C. Abbado, cond.)

  • Puccini's La Fanciulla del West (with Neblett, Domingo -- Mehta, cond.)

  • Verdi's La Forza del Destino (with L. Price, Domingo, Cossotto, Giaiotti, Bacquier -- Levine, cond.)

  • Verdi's La Traviata (with Cotrubas, Domingo -- Kleiber, cond.)


- 1978 -
  • Bravissimo, Domingo! Arias and Duets with Leontyne Price and Sherrill Milnes

  • Rossini's Guglielmo Tell (with Freni, Pavarotti, Mazzoli, Jones, Ghiaurov -- Chailly, cond.)

  • Verdi's Otello (with Scotto, Domingo -- Levine, cond.)

  • Verdi's Rigoletto (with Sills, Kraus, M. Dunn, Ramey -- Rudel, cond.)

  • Puccini's Tosca (with Freni, Pavarotti -- Rescigno, cond.)


- 1980 -
  • Massenet's Le Roi de Lahore (with Sutherland, Lima, Giaurov, Morris, Tourangeau -- Bonynge, cond.)


- 1981 -
  • Ponchielli's La Gioconda (with Caballe, Baltsa, Pavarotti, Ghiaurov -- Bartoletti, cond.)


- 1990 -
  • Faure's Requiem (with Te Kanawa -- Dutoit, cond.)


- 1992 -
  • Orff's Carmina Burana (with Mandac, Kolk -- Ozawa, cond.)


- 2001 -
  • Wolf-Ferrari's Sly (with Carreras, Kabatu -- Gimenez, cond.)



Recital Discs

  • Sherrill Milnes in Recital, Volume 1, "There but for You Go I" (Jon Spong, piano)

  • Sherrill Milnes in Recital, Volume 2, "Kingdom by the Sea" (Jon Spong, piano)

  • Met Legends: Sherrill Milnes

  • Grandi Voci: Arias (de la Fuente, cond.)

  • The Baritone Voice

  • Copland: Old American Songs

  • Griffes: Four German Songs; Songs of the Dagger (Ozawa, cond.)



Videos

- 1976 -
  • Puccini's Tosca (with Kabaivanska, Domingo -- Bartoletti, cond.)


- 1983 -
  • Verdi's Ernani (with L. Mitchell, Pavarotti, Raimondi -- Levine, cond.)


- 1984 -
  • Verdi's Simon Boccanegra (with Tomowa-Sintow, Moldoveanu, Plishka -- Levine, cond.)


- 1985 -
  • Verdi's Nabucco (with Bumbry, Cortez, Raimondi -- Santi, cond.)

  • Sherrill Milnes: An All-Star Gala (various artists)


- 1986 -
  • Sherrill Milnes at Julliard: An Operatic Masterclass


- 1988 -
  • Verdi's Il Trovatore (with Marton, Zajick, Pavarotti -- Levine, cond.)


- 1989 -
  • Verdi's Aida (with Millo, Zajick, Domingo -- Levine, cond.)


- 1991 -
  • Met's 25th Anniversary Gala at Lincoln Center (various artists)


- 1996 -
  • James Levine 25th Anniversary Gala (various artists)



RECOMMENDED RECORDINGS

  • Puccini

  • Title: Tosca (2CDs)

Catalogue number: 414 036-2
Artists: Freni/Pavarotti/Milnes etc., Nicola Rescigno, National Philharmonic Orchestra
International release date: April 1988
Label: Decca

  • Verdi

  • Title: Rigoletto (2 CDs)

Catalogue number: 414 269-2 (2CDs)
Artists: Sutherland/Pavarotti/Milnes/Talvela etc., Richard Bonynge, London Symphony Orchestra
International release date: January 1985
Label: Decca

  • Rossini

  • Title: Guglielmo Tell

Catalogue number: 417 154-2 (4CDs)


OTHER RECORDINGS FEATURING SHERRILL MILNES

  • Title: Atilla (2 CDs)

  • Artists: Raimondi/Deutekom/Bergonzi/Milnes etc., Lamberto Gardelli, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

International release: September 1989
Label: Philips

  • Title: Gugliemo Tell (4 CDs)

  • Artists: Pavarotti/Freni/Milnes/Ghiaurov etc., Riccardo Chailly, National Philharmonic Orchestra

International release: October 1986
Label: Decca

  • Title: La Gioconda (3 CDs)

  • Artists: Caball‚/Pavarotti/Baltsa/Milnes etc., Bruno Bartoletti, London Opera Chorus/National Philharmonic Orchestra

International release: February 1985
Label: Decca

  • Title: Lucia di Lammermoor (3 CDs)

  • Artists: Sutherland/Milnes/Pavarotti/Ghiaurov etc., Richard Bonynge, Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent

Garden
International release: April 1985
Label: Decca

  • Title: Luisa Miller (2 CDs)

  • Artists: Caball‚/Pavarotti/Milnes etc., Peter Maag, National Philharmonic Orchestra

International release: March 2003
Series: Compact Opera Collection
Label: Decca

  • Title: Requiem/Pell‚as et M‚lisande/Pavane for Orchestra and Choir

  • Artists: Kiri Te Kanawa/Sherrill Milnes, Charles Dutoit, Le Choeur et L'Orchestre Symphonique de Montr‚al

International release: August 1988
Label: Decca

  • Title: Rigoletto (2 CDs)

  • Artists: Sutherland/Pavarotti/Milnes/Talvela etc., Richard Bonynge, London Symphony Orchestra

International release: January 1985
Label: Decca

  • Title: Tosca (DVD)

  • Artists: Raina Kabaivanska/Placido Domingo/Sherrill Milnes, Bruno Bartoletti, New Phiharmonia Orchestra

International release:
Label: Decca


EXTERNAL LINKS