Tucker, Richard (real name, Reuben Ticker)
Tucker, Richard (real name, Reuben Ticker)
Tucker, Richard (real name, Reuben Ticker), brilliant American tenor; b. N.Y., Aug. 28, 1913; d. Kalamazoo, Mich., Jan. 8, 1975. He sang in a synagogue choir in N.Y. as a child; studied voice with Paul Althouse; subsequently sang on the radio. His first public appearance in opera was as Alfredo in La Traviatain 1943 with the Salmaggi Co. in N.Y. On Jan. 25, 1945, he made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Enzo in La Gioconda;he remained on its roster until his death, specializing in the Italian repertoire. In 1947 he made his European debut at the Verona Arena as Enzo (Maria Callas made her Italian debut as Gioconda in the same performance); he also sang at Covent Garden in London (debut as Cavaradossi, 1958), at La Scala in Milan (1969), in Vienna, and in other major music centers abroad. He died while on a concert tour. He was the brother-in-law of Jan Peerce.
Bibliography
J. Drake, R. T: A Biography (N.Y., 1984).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire