Robert Merrill

Robert Merrill (June 4, 1917 – October 23, 2004) was an American operatic baritone. He sang 769 performances at the Metropolitan opera in New York City in 21 different roles. Merrill's 1944 operatic debut was in Verdi's Aida at Newark, New Jersey, with the famous tenor Giovanni Martinelli, then in the later stages of his long operatic career. Merrill, who had continued his vocal studies under Samuel Margolis made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1945, as Germont in La Traviata.