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Notes 58.1 (2001) 104-105



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Book Review

Leonard Warren:
American Baritone


Leonard Warren: American Baritone. By Mary Jane Phillips-Matz. (Opera Biography Series, 13.) Portland, Ore.: Amadeus Press, 2000. [471 p. ISBN 1-57467-053-0. $39.95.]

At last, we have a biography of one of the greatest American baritones of the twentieth century. From his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1939 until his untimely death on that stage in 1960, Leonard Warren was the premier Verdi baritone, rivaled only by Robert Merrill. Author Mary Jane Phillips-Matz had the assistance of the baritone's sister, Vivian Warren, in writing this book, and the Leonard Warren Foundation has issued a set of two compact discs (Leonard Warren Commemorative, Leonard Warren Foundation, distr. VAI Distribution, LWC 1-2, 2000) in conjunction with its publication.

Warren's life is put forth here in a straightforward chronological line, from his Russian-Jewish ancestry to his conversion to Catholicism, and from his years at Radio City Music Hall to the Metropolitan Opera. Somewhere in the process, the man behind the legend is lost, and we are left with the feeling that there is much that has been left unwritten. Though not as problematic as the collection of periodical articles the same publisher brought out as a [End Page 104] biography of Lily Pons, this volume is certainly not a critical biography. The recollections of Warren's sister are of great interest, but they should not be the base on which this biography stands.

Therein lies the problem. Because of the author's heavy reliance on the comments of Vivian Warren, the reader gets a one-sided view of the singer. There are a few negative criticisms quoted in the text, but for the most part, Warren is shown moving from triumph to triumph. One reads of the singer as a family man who is the consummate professional at the opera house, but prefers to play with his electric trains or sail his boat as soon as he leaves. There are almost no comments or quotes on his artistry from his colleagues, but we do learn of the reaction of several associates regarding his conversion. Another question that is not answered concerns the conductor Arturo Toscanini. He and Warren performed a highly successful concert version of the final act of Rigoletto, and yet that single concert was the only time they collaborated. Since they were both under contract to the same record company (RCA), it would have made sense for Warren to be the first choice for several of Toscanini's complete opera broadcasts, but Robert Merrill and Giuseppe Valdengo became his favored baritones. Also, was ego involved in Warren's decision not to sing in Verdi's Don Carlo, since Merrill was given the premiere? We know only that Warren never sang this very important role.

The text itself requires only 297 pages, with the volume's final 173 containing the bibliography, a discography with filmography, a chronology, and an index. The discography is in seven parts that could have been cut to three or four with a good index. It is complete, including information on many unpublished titles, but it does not cover the compact disc reissues with the same detail as the original recordings; important reissues on Romophone, Minerva, and Myto are inexplicably ignored. The chronology is in two parts. Part 1 is a complete list of all of the performances with the Metropolitan Opera, both in New York and on its annual tour, and part 2 is a complete list of all the performances at other opera houses; consequently, the researcher must look in two places to see what was performed in any particular season. There are many references to Warren's recital appearances in the text of the book, but none in the chronology; perhaps their sheer number made inclusion there impossible, but it would have been helpful to indicate that they were an important part of his performing career. There is an index of names, but the reader who wishes to know about Rigoletto, for example, is forced to look at all of...

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