Conrad Thibault (November 13, 1903 – August 1, 1987) was an American

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

vocalist who frequently appeared on radio, recordings, and concert tours.

Early years

Thibault was born and raised in

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence and Leeds) was 29,571. Northampton is known as an acade ...

, where he was involved with the church choir. Local resident

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...

took notice of him and encouraged him to apply for a scholarship at the

Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...

, from which he later graduated. He also graduated from the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

and was a student of Emilio de Gogorza, who became his

mentor Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

Career

Thibault's professional career began in the late 1920s with the

Philadelphia Grand Opera Company The Philadelphia Grand Opera Company was the name of four different American opera companies active at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the twentieth century. The last and best known of the four was founded in November 195 ...

. His operatic debut came in 1928 in Puccini's ''Manon''. By the early 1930s, he was a regular performer on

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

, appearing on such shows as ''His Master's Voice of the Air'', ''The Maxwell House Showboat'', ''The

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

Show'', ''Music in the Air'', and as featured soloist with the orchestras of

Ferde Grofé Ferdinand Rudolph von Grofé, known as Ferde Grofé (March 27, 1892 April 3, 1972) (pronounced FUR-dee GROW-fay) was an American composer, arrangement, arranger, pianist and instrumentalist. He is best known for his 1931 five-movement tone poem, ...

and Gustave Haenschen among others. In 1934-1935, he had the singing role of Jack Hamilton on ''

The Gibson Family ''The Gibson Family'' is an American old-time radio program — the first original musical comedy on radio. It was broadcast on NBC from September 15, 1934, until June 23, 1935, when the format was revamped and the title was changed to ''Uncle Char ...

'' on NBC radio. In 1946-1947, he was a singer on ''

The American Melody Hour ''The American Melody Hour'' was an American old-time radio program. ''The American Melody Hour'' was designed as a musical variety show. The program showcased a half-hour playing and singing "the tunes of yesterday and tomorrow..." mostly sung by ...

'' radio program on the

Blue Network The Blue Network (previously known as the NBC Blue Network) was the on-air name of a now defunct American Commercial broadcasting, radio network, which broadcast from 1927 through 1945. Beginning as one of the two radio networks owned by the N ...

. He also was heard regularly on ''The Chicago Theater of the Air'', ''The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra'' broadcasts, ''The Joe Cook Show'', and ''The Packard Hour''. He made several 78 rpm recordings for the RCA Victor Red Seal label. He was also heard on numerous radio transcriptions produced and recorded by the World Broadcasting Company.

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

released several 78 rpm sides by Conrad Thibault in the 1940s. In 1949 he became emcee for the

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

show ''The Jacques Fray Music Room'', holding that position from August through October. In the 1950s he sang for the inauguration of President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

. Thibault's repertoire was varied, including baroque arias, spirituals,

Wagnerian opera Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

, art songs,

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tunes, and patriotic songs. He was known to be personable in concerts, and was expressive with his hands.

Later years

In his later years, Thibault taught voice in New York at the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

and in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Palm Beach Atlantic College Palm Beach Atlantic University (PBA) is a private Christian university in West Palm Beach, Florida. The university's nine colleges focus on the liberal arts with a select collection of professional studies. In 2019, its undergraduate enrollm ...

Personal life

Thibault's first wife was Madeleine Gagne, whom he met when they both acted in an amateur production in Northampton, Massachusetts. They married when he was 20, and she died seven years later. He married Eleanor Kendall in 1935. The couple divorced in 1939. In 1942, he married Mary Clare West, a marriage which also ended in divorce in 1950. His fourth wife, Dee Thibault, died in 1986.

Death

In 1987, Thibault died at St. John's Hospital in

Far Rockaway, Queens Far Rockaway is a neighborhood on the eastern part of the Rockaway peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It is the easternmost section of the Rockaways. The neighborhood extends from Beach 32nd Street east to the Nassau County line ...

, New York at the age of 83. He was survived by a son, William.

Partial discography

;Decca Records: * 23346 - The House I Live In / I Spoke to Jefferson at Guadalcanal (1944) * 24126 - Suzanne, Suzanne, Pretty One / Ah, Suzette Dear (1946) * 24127 - Marianne's Loves / Pity Poor Mam'selle Zizi (1946) * 24128 - Come Dance, Codaine / When Your Potato's Done (1946) ;Montgomery Ward Records: * 6059 - You Alone / Shortnin' Bread (1933) ;(RCA) Victor Records: * 1583 - De Captaine Of De Marguerite / Sea Fever * 1626 - Less than Dust / The Temple Bells * 1636 - Kashmiri Song / 'Till I Wake * 1677 - Novembre / Plaisir d'Amour * 1679 - The Shepherdess / Passing By * 11829 - Where'er You Walk / Dedication; Our Native Land; Marie (1935) * 24404 - Last Roundup / Shortnin' Bread (1933) * 24423 - Love Is the Sweetest Thing / Day You Came Along (1933) * 24424 -

It's Only a Paper Moon "It's Only a Paper Moon" is a popular song published in 1933 with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by Yip Harburg and Billy Rose. Background It was originally titled "If You Believed in Me", but later went by the more popular title "It's On ...

/ This Is Romance (1933) * 24465 - Yesterdays / You Alone (1933)

References

Sources

* ''

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'', vol. 56, no. 32, Aug 5, 1944 page 21. * BroadwayWorld.co
"Conrad Thibault"
Retrieved June 10, 2010. * Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle (2007). ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–Present''. Ballantine, New York. . * Curtis Institute of Music,'' Overtones'', 1929, volume 2, page 44. *

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

"Conrad Thibault"
Retrieved June 10, 2010. * Nauck, Kurt. Catalogue: Vintage Record Auction Number 38. * ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''
"Mrs. Thibault Gets Divorce From Singer"
October 21, 1939, page 7. * ''The New York Times''

August 4, 1987. * Settlemier, Tyrone and Abrams, Steven

Retrieved June 10, 2010 * Settlemier, Tyrone and Abrams, Steven

Retrieved June 10, 2010 * Settlemier, Tyrone and Abrams, Steven

Retrieved June 10, 2010 * Settlemier, Tyrone and Abrams, Steven

Retrieved June 10, 2010 * Upton, Charlotte
"Thibault Wins Huge Audience"
''

The Spokesman-Review ''The Spokesman-Review'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Spokane, Washington, the city's sole remaining daily publication. It has the third-highest readership among daily newspapers in the state, with most of its readership base in ...

'' (Spokane, WA), April 1, 1955, page 5.

External links

List of Thibault's recordings provided by Discography Of American Historical Recordings, University of California, Santa Barbara, Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thibault, Conrad 1903 births 1987 deaths People from Northampton, Massachusetts American operatic baritones Decca Records artists RCA Victor artists Curtis Institute of Music alumni Juilliard School alumni 20th-century American male opera singers