Death of a trailblazing American tenor, 96
mainLong before American singers were staples of the European circuit, Louis Roney was singing major roles at Italian and German opera houses. He prided himself on being the first Yank to sing at the Maggio Musicale in Florence*.
Before that, he served five years as a gunnery officer in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
Back home he made his debut at 27 as Cavaradossi in Tosca with Dmitri Mitropoulos and the New York Philharmonic. He also sang at the Met.
He died in Florida on November 5.
UPDATE: The first US singer at Maggio Musicale was, apparently, David Poleri.
RIP. According to the archives, he sang exactly one Met performance, a concert at Lewisohn Stadium on August 3, 1966. This was also the occasion of Kenneth Riegel’s Met debut.
The most shameless and narcissistic self-promoter I ever had the misfortune to work with.