Myra Merritt (born January 12, 1949,

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

)Myra D Merritt in the U.S., Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 1 is an American operatic

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

. She earned a

Bachelor of Music A Bachelor of Music (BMus; sometimes conferred as Bachelor of Musical Arts) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. The degree may be awarded for performance, music ed ...

from the

Peabody Conservatory of Music The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is a private music and dance conservatory and preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1857, it became affiliated with Johns Hopkins in 1977. History Philanthropist and m ...

, and a

Master of Music The Master of Music (MM or MMus) is, as an academic title, the first graduate degree in music awarded by universities and conservatories. The MM combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization (usually performance in singing or i ...

from the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

. She made her debut 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 1982, as the Shepherd in ''Tannhäuser'', conducted by

James Levine James Lawrence Levine ( ; June 23, 1943 – March 9, 2021) was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera from 1976 to 2016. He was terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March ...

. She was to appear with that company many times through 1991, including appearances in ''L'enfant et les sortilèges'' (as the Fire, directed by

John Dexter John Dexter (2 August 1925 – 23 March 1990) was an English theatre, opera and film director. Theatre Born in Derby, Derbyshire, England, Dexter left school at the age of fourteen to serve in the British Army during the Second World War. F ...

), the Centennial Gala (the duet from ''Don Giovanni''), ''La bohème'' (as Musetta, opposite

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...

), ''Les contes d'Hoffmann'' (as Antonia, conducted by

Julius Rudel Julius Rudel (6 March 1921 – 26 June 2014) was an Austrian-born American opera and orchestra conductor. He was born in Vienna and was a student at the city's Academy of Music. He immigrated to the United States at the age of 17 in 1938 after th ...

), ''Porgy and Bess'' (as Clara), ''L'italiana in Algeri'' (as Elvira) and ''Don Giovanni'' (as Zerlina). Elsewhere, she has sung under

Sarah Caldwell Sarah Caldwell (March 6, 1924March 23, 2006) was an American opera conductor, impresario, and stage director. Early life Caldwell was born in Maryville, Missouri, and grew up in Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville ( ) is the List of cit ...

and

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well known for both inspiring and commissioning new works, which enl ...

. Merritt has performed in many capitals and cities throughout Europe and the United States. In 2007,

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

issued a

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

of her 1986 Met performance of ''L'italiana in Algeri'', with

Marilyn Horne Marilyn Berneice Horne (born January 16, 1934) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She specialized in roles requiring beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and the ability to execute difficult coloratura passages. She is a recipient ...

, and Levine conducting

Jean-Pierre Ponnelle Jean-Pierre Ponnelle (; 19 February 1932 – 11 August 1988) was a French opera director, set and costume designer. Biography Ponnelle was born in Paris. He studied philosophy, art, and history there and, in 1952, began his career in Germany ...

's production. Currently, the soprano is Professor of Voice at

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized progr ...

, in Ohio.

References

* ''The Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia'', edited by David Hamilton, Simon and Schuster, 1987.

External links

YouTube - Marilyn Horne - Ti presento di mia man 'L'Italiana in Algeri
YouTube: Myra Merritt in an excerpt from ''L'italiana in Algeri'', with Marilyn Horne (1986). {{DEFAULTSORT:Merritt, Myra 1949 births Living people 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women opera singers 21st-century African-American academics 21st-century American academics 21st-century American women academics African-American women academics African-American women opera singers American operatic sopranos Bowling Green State University faculty Catholic University of America alumni Classical musicians from Washington, D.C. Peabody Institute alumni Singers from Washington, D.C.