| Leila Gencer and MacNeil in Rigoletto |
Cornell MacNeil born September 24, 1922 in Minneapolis, MN died this July 16, 2011. He was a baritone known for his exceptional voice and long career which spanned 642 performances in twenty-six roles. He debuted with various companies from 1953 at New York City, La Scala, and the Metropolitan Opera. MacNeil's voice was known for huge size with strong notes. Despite some vocal decline in the late 1970s, he maintained a high standard throughout his long career. MacNeil was a regular at the Metropolitan Opera. He debuted March 21, 1959, as Rigoletto. Rigoletto was also the role he sang the most at the Met, 104 times, including the Met's first telecast of that opera in 1977.
MacNeil was also well-known for the role of Baron Scarpia in Tosca (as above), a role he sang 92 times at the Met between November 2, 1959, and which was his last performance with the Met on December 5, 1987. But he also delivered some beautiful lyrical sounds as Pere Germont in La Traviata - from a Japanese performance below
His interpretation of Michele in Il Tabbaro must be counted as one of the most fascinating.
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