It's his birthday...Sherrill Milnes

Sherrill Milnes - Scarpia

Another living treasure of Opera celebrates today, Sherrill Milnes.  Long a favourite at the Met and in the recording studio, he remains today a benchmark in the Great Verdi Baritone fach, and long will be.

He was prolific in his career, and still alive by the way, continuing to teach through his V.O.I.C.E. (Vocal and Operatic Intensive Creative Experience) program for young and upcoming singers, founded in 2001.

Sherrill Milnes -  Rigoletto

Known famously for Verdian roles like Rigoletto, Iago, Di Luna, Roderigo, Macbeth, Germont Pere, and Amonasro, he also shone in Puccini, as a particularly nasty Scarpia, and equally so as Jack Rance and Michele.

Widely recorded both in the Studio and Live, including the occasional movie and televised performance, it's difficult to choose something to showcase his talent.  He has long been a part of my record collection.  I have all of the above on disc (and many more!) and his Scarpia, Jack Rance, Amonasro are a fond part of my DVD collection.

This time I'm going for Baron von Scarpia from Puccini's Tosca, a role which he recorded twice and filmed at least once.  The video below comes from the amazing Tosca from 1976, conducted by Bruno Bartoletti, and featuring Raina Kabavanska with Placido Domingo.

Enjoy this tribute to a great singer, happy birthday Sherrill Milnes.