Merle Alcock
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Merle Alcock, born Merle Tillotson, (February 6, 1884 - March 1, 1975) was an American
contralto A contralto () is a classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range is the lowest of their voice type, voice types. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare, similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to ...
who sang with the
Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
in 236 performances from 1919 to 1929, officially signing in with them in 1924.


Early life and education

Born Merle Tillotson in Andover, Missouri on February 6, 1884, Merle Alcock was the daughter of the Reverend Elijah Tillotson and his wife Zulina "Zula" Hannah Hiner. She spent much of her childhood in
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
. Her first musical experiences were as a child performing as a soloist in her father’s church. Her sister, Enid Tillotson, was a soprano who appeared on the concert stage. Tillotson studied first at
Dakota Wesleyan University Dakota Wesleyan University (DWU) is a private Methodist university in Mitchell, South Dakota. It was founded in 1885 and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The student body averages slightly fewer than 800 students. The campus of t ...
(then Dakota University) in
Mitchell, South Dakota Mitchell is a city in and the county seat of Davison County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 15,660 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census making it the List of cities in South Dakota, sixth most populous city in South Dako ...
where she was actively performing in school concerts in 1902, 1903, and 1904. Her voice teacher at the university was Grace Goodykoontz. She performed at many public events in Mitchell in 1903; including performing as a soloist in concerts given at the
Corn Palace The Corn Palace, commonly advertised as The World's Only Corn Palace and the Mitchell Corn Palace, is a multi-purpose arena/facility located in Mitchell, South Dakota, United States. The Moorish Revival building is decorated with crop art; the m ...
in May and August 1903. She continued to perform at public events and concerts in Mitchell in 1904 and 1905, and was a soloist of the Walter von Geltch Concert Company, a professional performing group in Mitchell. Tillotson trained further at the Drake Conservatory of Music at
Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, Legal education, law, and pharmacy. Drake U ...
in Des Moines, Iowa. where she began studies in the fall semester of 1905 after transferring to the school from Dakota University. Her voice teacher at Drake was the school’s dean, Frederick Howard. She graduated from the conservatory after one year of study in June 1906. She later studied singing in New York City with Bruno Huhn, and privately with William Wade Hinshaw, Paul Savage and
Herbert Witherspoon Herbert Witherspoon (July 21, 1873 – May 10, 1935) was an American bass singer and opera manager. Biography He was born on July 21, 1873, in Buffalo, New York. He graduated from Yale University in 1895 where he had performed as a member of ...
.


Early career as a concert and vaudeville singer

Tillotson began her performance career while a college student. In March 1906 she was the contralto soloist in the world premiere of Wilhelm Carl Ernst Seeboeck’s cantata ''As the Season's Come and Go'' which was given in Des Moines. In the summer of 1906 she was engaged as a concert soloist on the
Chautauqua Chautauqua ( ) is an adult education and social movement in the United States that peaked in popularity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Cha ...
circuit; touring as a member of the Elma Smith Concert Company. One of her fellow soloists in this troupe was her future husband, the tenor Bechtel Alcock. She continued to tour with the company through March 1907; performing in concerts in Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Illinois, and Virginia. After completing her 1906-1907 tour schedule, Tillotson went to New York City to study voice with Paul Savage, a professor of voice at the Metropolitan College of Music in Manhattan. She performed at that music conservatory’s commencement in June 1907. She was once again with the Elma Smith Company for the Fall of 1907, performing in Massachusetts and Illinois. In 1908 Tillotson joined the La Scala Sextet, a classical vocal group which toured in
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
. The group toured in the
Orpheum Circuit The Orpheum Circuit was a chain of vaudeville and movie theaters. It was founded in 1886, and operated through 1927 when it was merged into the Keith-Albee-Orpheum corporation, ultimately becoming part of the Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO) corporatio ...
and Alcock adopted the stage name of Merle Mayew while performing with this group. Some of the theaters where this group performed included the
Majestic Theatre Majestic Theatre or Majestic Theater may refer to: Australia * Majestic Theatre, Adelaide, former name of a theatre in King William Street, Adelaide, built 1916, now demolished *Majestic Theatre, Launceston, a former cinema in Tasmania designed by ...
in Chicago, B. F. Keiths Grand Opera House in Indianapolis, the Majestic Theatre in Boston, the Colonial Theatre in New York City, and the Columbia Theatre in Cincinnati. Tillotson returned to New York City where she worked as a paid church vocalist, first at Mount Morris Baptist Church on 126th st and then at
Madison Avenue Baptist Church The Madison Avenue Baptist Church is a Baptist church located in Manhattan, New York City. It is affiliated with the Alliance of Baptists, the American Baptist Churches USA, the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, and the Baptist Pe ...
. She was still singing with the latter church as late as 1915. In 1909 she made her first recording for
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...
, singing the songs “Sweet Genevieve” by Henry Tucker and “Bonnie Sweet Bessie” by James L. Gilbert. They were released by Columbia in January 1910. On March 8, 1910 Tillotson married tenor Isaac Bechtel Alcock in Manhattan. Merle and her husband would often perform together. By 1912, she was still referred to by her maiden name in some newspapers, but was also referred to as Merle Tillotson Alcock. By 1914 she was using the name Merle Alcock on the stage, and it is under this name that she became a famous singer.


Oratorio career

In February 1914 Alcock was a featured soloist in a concert of opera excerpts at the Century Opera House in New York City. The following June she made her European debut under the name Merle Tillotson Alcock singing a concert of German
lieder In the Western classical music tradition, ( , ; , ; ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German and Dutch, but among English and French speakers, is often used interchangea ...
with her husband at
Claridge's Claridge's is a 5-star hotels, 5-star hotel at the corner of Brook Street, London, Brook Street and Davies Street in Mayfair, London. The hotel is owned and managed by the Maybourne Hotel Group. History Founding Claridge's traces its origins to ...
in London as part of a concert series organized by soprano
Marta Cunningham Marta Cunningham CBE (December 1869 – June 25, 1937) was an American-born European-based soprano. Born in 1869 in Brazos County, Texas, United States, her parents were Albert Baxter and Martha Minerva Tharp Cunningham, both from DeSoto Parish, ...
. This performance was erroneously described as her “concert debut” in both her obituary in ''The New York Times'' and the ''
Großes Sängerlexikon ''Großes Sängerlexikon'' (''Biographical Dictionary of Singers'', literally: Large singers' lexicon) is a single-field dictionary of singers in classical music, edited by Karl-Josef Kutsch and Leo Riemens and first published in 1987. The fi ...
''. It was reported in the ''Mitchell Daily Republican'' that she performed in an opera in Milan in the summer of 1914. Alcock was engaged as the contralto soloist for the
New York Symphony Orchestra The New York Symphony Orchestra was founded as the New York Symphony Society in New York City by Leopold Damrosch in 1878. For many years it was a rival to the older Philharmonic Symphony Society of New York. It was supported by Andrew Carnegie, w ...
‘s 1915 national tour. From this point on she became a well known
oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...
soloist; and was particularly celebrated for her performances of music by
George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...
and
Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...
. In October 1915 she performed in concerts at the Worcester Music Festival. In December 1915 she was the contralto soloist in the New York premiere of
Walter Damrosch Walter Johannes Damrosch (January 30, 1862December 22, 1950) was a Prussian-born American conductor and composer. He was the director of the New York Symphony Orchestra and conducted the world premiere performances of various works, including Aa ...
’s ''Iphigenia in Aulis'' with the composer leading the New York Symphony Orchestra. In December 1917 she performed with the
Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five (orchestras), Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in ...
and the
Handel and Haydn Society The Handel and Haydn Society is an American chorus and period instrument orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. Known colloquially as 'H+H', the organization has been in continual performance since its founding in 1815, the longest serving suc ...
under conductor Emil Mollenhauer as the contralto soloist in performances of Handel’s ''
Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...
''. She found a patron in Mrs. Charles Schwab in 1916. Mrs. Schwab was herself a singer as a young woman.


Opera career

Alcock first sang at the Met in a performance of Verdi’s Requiem Mass on Dec. 14, 1919. Her opera debut was on Nov. 15, 1923, when she sang the role of the fiddler Beppe in ''L’amico Fritz''. At the Met she created the role of Ase in the world premiere of
Deems Taylor Joseph Deems Taylor (December 22, 1885 – July 3, 1966) was an American composer, radio commentator, music critic, and author. Nat Benchley, co-editor of ''The Lost Algonquin Roundtable'', referred to him as "the dean of American music." He was e ...
’s ''
The King's Henchman ''The King's Henchman'' is an opera in three acts composed by Deems Taylor to an English language libretto by Edna St. Vincent Millay. The libretto is based on both legend and historical figures documented in the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' includi ...
'' in 1927. She also performed roles in the United States premieres of several operas at the Met, including Laldomine in ''
La cena delle beffe ''La cena delle beffe'' (''The Jesters' Supper'') is an opera in four acts composed by Umberto Giordano to an Italian libretto by Sem Benelli adapted from his 1909 The Jester's Supper (play), play of the same name. The opera premiered on 20 Dece ...
'' (1926), Elf in ''
La Campana Sommersa (''The Sunken Bell'') is an opera in four acts by Italian composer Ottorino Respighi. Its libretto is by Claudio Guastalla, based on the play '' Die versunkene Glocke'' by German author Gerhart Hauptmann. The opera's premiere was on 18 November ...
'' (1928) and Mother in ''
Fra Gherardo ''Fra Gherardo'' is an opera in three acts composed by Ildebrando Pizzetti who also wrote the libretto. Set in Parma at the end of the 13th century, the opera's story is based on the life and death of Gherardino Segalello as chronicled by Salim ...
'' (1929). Other roles she performed at the Met included Amneris in ''
Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 De ...
'', Suzuki in ''
Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lu ...
'', Maddalena in ''
Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...
'', Cieca in ''
La Gioconda La Gioconda ( , ; "the joyful one" feminine_gender.html" ;"title="'feminine gender">f.'' may refer to: * ''Mona Lisa'' or ''La Gioconda'', a painting by Leonardo da Vinci * Lisa del Giocondo, the model depicted in da Vinci's painting * La Gioconda ...
'', the Shepherd in ''
Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...
'', Lola in ''
Cavalleria rusticana ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (; ) is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from an 1880 Cavalleria rusticana (short story), short story of the same name and subsequent ...
'', Kaled in ''
Le Roi de Lahore ''Le roi de Lahore'' ("The king of Lahore") is an opera in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Louis Gallet. It was first performed at the Palais Garnier in Paris on 27 April 1877 in costumes designed by Eugène Lacoste and sett ...
'', Amelfa in ''
Le Coq d'or ''The Golden Cockerel'' ( ) is an opera in three acts, with a short prologue and an even shorter epilogue, composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, his last complete opera, before his death in 1908. Its libretto written by Vladimir Belsky, is derived ...
'', Carmela in '' La Vida breve'', the shepherd boy in ''
L'amore dei tre re (''The Love of the Three Kings'') is an opera in three acts by Italo Montemezzi. Its Italian-language libretto was written by playwright Sem Benelli who based it on his play of the same title. Performance history ''L'amore dei tre re'' premie ...
'', Albine in ''
Thaïs Thaïs (; ; ) was a Greek who accompanied Alexander the Great on his military campaigns. Likely from Athens, she is most famous for having instigated the burning of Persepolis, the capital city of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, after it was con ...
'', the Nurse in ''
Boris Godunov Boris Feodorovich Godunov (; ; ) was the ''de facto'' regent of Russia from 1585 to 1598 and then tsar from 1598 to 1605 following the death of Feodor I, the last of the Rurik dynasty. After the end of Feodor's reign, Russia descended into t ...
'', the Goatherd in ''
Dinorah ''Dinorah'', originally ''Le pardon de Ploërmel'' (''The Pardon (ceremony), Pardon of Ploërmel''), is an 1859 French opéra comique in three acts with music by Giacomo Meyerbeer and a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. The story takes ...
'', the First Norn in ''
Götterdämmerung ' (; ''Twilight of the Gods''), Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis, WWV 86D, is the last of the four epic poetry, epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's Literary cycle, cycle ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). I ...
'', the Sandman in ''
Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; ) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 as part of ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). Hansel and Gretel are siblings who are abandoned in a forest and fall into the hands of a witch ...
'', and Mercédès in ''
Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...
''. In 1924 she portrayed Ortrud in ''
Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in German Arthurian literature. The son of Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which first appears in Wo ...
'' at the
Ravinia Festival Ravinia Festival is a primarily outdoor music venue in Highland Park, Illinois. It hosts a series of outdoor concerts and performances every summer from June to September in a wide variety of musical genres from classical to pop. The first orche ...
. In 1930 she toured America with the
San Carlo Opera Company The San Carlo Opera Company was the name of two different opera companies active in the United States during the first half of the twentieth century. Henry Russell's San Carlo Opera The first company was founded by impresario Henry Russell, initi ...
as Carmen.


Later life

After retiring from the stage, Alcock worked as a
voice teacher A voice teacher or singing teacher is a musical instructor who assists adults and children in the development of their abilities in singing. Typical work A voice teacher works with a student singer to improve the various skills involved in sing ...
in New York City. Some of her more well known pupils included sopranos
Isabel Bigley Isabel Bigley (February 23, 1926 – September 30, 2006) was an American actress. She originated the part of Sarah Brown in Frank Loesser's ''Guys and Dolls''. Biography The Bronx-born Bigley's mother, a concert singer, guided her early interes ...
,
Eileen Farrell Eileen Farrell (February 13, 1920 – March 23, 2002) was an American soprano who had a nearly 60-year-long career performing both classical and popular music in concerts, theatres, on radio and television, and on disc. NPR noted, "She possessed ...
,
Helen George Helen Elizabeth George (born 19 June 1984) is an English actress, best known for playing Trixie Franklin, later Trixie, Lady Aylward, on the BBC drama series ''Call the Midwife''. In 2015, she participated in the Strictly Come Dancing (series ...
, and Ethel Semser; tenor George Maran;
mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...
s Mary Davenport and Eleanor Wold; cabaret singer Page Morton; and actress
Betsy von Furstenberg Elizabeth Caroline Maria Agatha Felicitas Therese, Graf, Gräfin von Fürstenberg-Herdringen (August 16, 1931 – April 21, 2015), known as Betsy von Furstenberg, was a German-born American actress who starred in several Broadway theatre, Broadw ...
. Alcock moved to
Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...
in 1963. She died at her home in Phoenix on March 1, 1975. She is buried in Wooster Cemetery in
Wooster, Ohio Wooster ( ) is a city in Wayne County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Ohio, the city lies approximately south-southwest of Cleveland, southwest of Akron and west of Canton. The population was 27,232 at the ...
.


References


External links


MetOpera databaseMerle Alcock in Discography of American Historical Recordings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alcock, Merle 1884 births 1975 deaths American people of Irish descent American operatic contraltos Dakota Wesleyan University alumni Drake University alumni 20th-century American women opera singers Singers from Iowa