Robert Weede (February 22, 1903 – July 9, 1972) was an American operatic baritone.

Life and career

Born Robert Wiedefeld in Baltimore, Maryland, Weede studied voice at the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman. It offers Bachelor of Music ...

and in Milan. He made his

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...

debut in 1937, as Tonio in '' Pagliacci''. His other roles at the Metropolitan included the name part in ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had co ...

'' (opposite

Jussi Björling Johan Jonatan "Jussi" Björling ( , ; 5 February 19119 September 1960) was a Swedish tenor. One of the leading operatic singers of the 20th century, Björling appeared for many years at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and less frequentl ...

), Amonasro ('' Aïda''), Manfredo (''

L'amore dei tre re (''The Love of the Three Kings'') is an opera in three acts by Italo Montemezzi. Its Italian-language libretto was written by playwright Sem Benelli who based it on his play of the same title. Performance history ''L'amore de tre re'' premiere ...

''), Shaklovity (''

Khovanshchina ''Khovanshchina'' ( rus, Хованщина, , xɐˈvanʲɕːɪnə, Ru-Khovanshchina_version.ogg, sometimes rendered ''The Khovansky Affair'') is an opera (subtitled a 'national music drama') in five acts by Modest Mussorgsky. The work was writt ...

'') and Baron Scarpia (''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French-language drama ...

''). It was with ''Rigoletto'' that he made his debuts in Chicago (1939), San Francisco (1940), and at the

New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, du ...

(1948). At the New York City Opera, Weede also sang in '' Pagliacci'' and in the world premiere of William Grant Still's ''

Troubled Island ''Troubled Island'' is an American opera in three acts composed by William Grant Still, with a libretto begun by poet Langston Hughes and completed by Verna Arvey. She married the composer following their collaboration. Set in Haiti in 179 ...

'', opposite

Marie Powers Marie Powers (1902–1973) was an American contralto who was best known for her performance as Madame Flora in Gian Carlo Menotti’s ''The Medium'', a role that she played on stage, screen and television. Early life On June 20, 1902, Powers w ...

Marguerite Piazza Marguerite Piazza (May 6, 1920 – August 2, 2012) was an American soprano, entertainer and philanthropist from New Orleans, Louisiana. Early life In 1920, Piazza was born as Marguerite Clair Lucille Luft. Piazza's parents were Albert William ...

and

Robert McFerrin Robert Keith McFerrin Sr. (March 19, 1921 – November 24, 2006) was an American operatic baritone and the first African-American man to sing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. His voice was described by critic Albert Goldberg in the '' ...

. In Mexico City, the baritone appeared with Maria Callas in 1950, in '' Aïda'' and ''

''. Later, he sang again with Callas in Chicago, in ''

Il trovatore ''Il trovatore'' ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''El trovador'' (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez. It was García Gutiérrez's mos ...

'' and '' Madama Butterfly''. In 1956, he scored a great success on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

as Tony Esposito in the original production of

Frank Loesser Frank Henry Loesser (; June 29, 1910 – July 28, 1969) was an American songwriter who wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musicals ''Guys and Dolls'' and ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'', among others. He won a Tony ...

's ''

The Most Happy Fella ''The Most Happy Fella'' is a 1956 musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Frank Loesser. The story, about a romance between an older man and younger woman, is based on the 1924 play '' They Knew What They Wanted'' by Sidney Howard. The show i ...

'', which was recorded by Columbia Records. He was also seen on Broadway in '' Milk and Honey'' (1961–63, also recorded) and '' Cry for Us All'' (1970). Weede's operatic recordings include excerpts from Bizet's ''Carmen'', for Columbia in 1946, with

Risë Stevens Risë Stevens (; June 11, 1913 – March 20, 2013) was an American operatic mezzo-soprano and actress. Beginning in 1938, she sang for the Metropolitan Opera in New York City for more than two decades during the 1940s and 1950s. She was most ...

conducted by Georges Sébastian; and an album of arias by Verdi for Capitol Records in 1953, conducted by Nicola Rescigno. In 2006, Lebendige Vergangenheit published a Compact Disc of excerpts from his Bizet and Verdi recordings, as well as various live performances from 1948 through 1954. Weede often gave assistance to younger singers, especially John Alexander, Dominic Cossa,

Mario Lanza Mario Lanza (, ; born Alfredo Arnold Cocozza ; January 31, 1921 – October 7, 1959) was an American tenor and actor. He was a Hollywood film star popular in the late 1940s and the 1950s. Lanza began studying to be a professional singer at ...

, Jan Peerce,

Seymour Schwartzman Seymour Schwartzman (December 7, 1930 – January 18, 2009) was an American cantor and opera singer. He was a principal baritone at New York City Opera where he sang over thirty roles and also performed internationally in opera houses and on the ...

and

Norman Treigle Norman Treigle (né Adanelle Wilfred Treigle (March 6, 1927February 16, 1975) was an American operatic bass-baritone, who was acclaimed for his great abilities as a singing-actor, and specialized in roles that evoked villainy and terror. Biograp ...

.''Strange Child of Chaos: Norman Treigle'' (page 217), by Brian Morgan, iUniverse, 2006. He died in

Walnut Creek, California Walnut Creek is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, about east of the city of Oakland. With a total population of 70,127 per the 2020 census, Walnut Creek s ...

, in 1972.

Videography

* Spielman: ''The Stingiest Man In Town'' (Munsel, Rathbone; Camarata, Petrie, 1956) iveVAI

References

* ''The Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia'', edited by David Hamilton, Simon and Schuster, 1987.

External links

*
Robert Weede in an excerpt from ''The Most Happy Fella''.
*
Weede sings "The Caissons Go Rolling Along" in a World War II propaganda film
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weede, Robert 1903 births 1972 deaths American male musical theatre actors American operatic baritones Musicians from Baltimore Eastman School of Music alumni 20th-century American male opera singers Singers from Maryland