Milnes, Sherrill (Eustace)

Milnes, Sherrill (Eustace), distinguished American baritone; b. Downers Grove, Ill., Jan. 10, 1935. He studied at Drake Univ. (B.Mus.Ed., 1957; M.Mus.Ed., 1958), pursued postgraduate studies at Northwestern Univ. (1958–61), and received training from Rosa Ponselle. In 1960 he made his formal operatic debut as Masetto with the touring Boston Opera, and then sang Gérard in Andrea Chénier with the Baltimore Civic Opera in 1961. On Sept. 23, 1964, he made his European debut as Rossini’s Figaro at the Teatro Nuovo in Milan. He made his first appearance with the N.Y.C. Opera as Valentin on Oct. 18, 1964, and continued on its roster until 1966. On Dec. 22, 1965, he made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Valentin, making regular appearances there during the next 25 years during which he was honored with 16 new productions, 7 opening nights, and 10 national telecasts. In 1971 he sang Posa at his debut with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the same year that he made his debut as Renato at London’s Covent Garden. His guest engagements also took him to Vienna, Paris, San Francisco, Buenos Aires, Barcelona, and Moscow. In later years, he made appearances as a conductor. He led master classes at the Yale Univ. School of Music from 1990, and also around the world. His autobiography was publ. as American Aria: From Farm Boy to Opera Star (N.Y., 1998). Milnes was especially admired for his Verdi roles, which formed the central core of his 70 roles. He also sang with orchs., gave lieder recitals, and appeared on Broadway.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire