NY City Opera tenor dies, at 75
mainThe tenor Melvyn Poll, who sang at City Opera from 1974 to 1978 after early successes in Germany and Israel, has died in Seattle at the age of 75.
He was regional chair for the Metropolitan National Council Auditions and sang often with the Seattle Opera and Seattle Symphony. He also ran a law practice.
Melvyn was tough, smart, versatile, gregarious, generous, talented and kind. A real pro. He will be missed.
Martin Bernheimer is quite right (as usual). One postscript: In Melvyn’s later years, one of his great joys was singing the National Anthem at the University of Washington Husky Football home games — where he had bigger audiences at his beloved alma mater than in any opera house. He underwent cancer treatment for 10 years, and his last Anthem gig was eight weeks before his death. (You can find it on YouTube, and he still sounds terrific.)