Robert Tuggle (April 17, 1932,

Martinsville, Virginia Martinsville is an Political subdivisions of Virginia#Independent cities, independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 13, ...

– January 21, 2016,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

) was an American writer on music and a long-time staff member at 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 ...

from 1961–2015. In 1987 he was nominated for the

Grammy Award for Best Album Notes The Grammy Award – Best Album Notes has been presented since 1964. From 1973 to 1976 (the 15th through 18th Awards), a second award was presented for Best Album Notes – Classical. Those awards are listed under those years below. The award reco ...

for the Met's recording of ''The Mapleson Cylinders''. His book ''The Golden Age of Opera'' was published by

Holt McDougal Holt McDougal is an American publishing company, a division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, that specializes in textbooks for use in high schools. The Holt name is derived from that of U.S. publisher Henry Holt (1840–1926), co-founder of the ...

in 1983.

Life and career

Born in Martinsville, Virginia, Tuggle was the son of Howard Irvine Tuggle, an executive at Coca-Cola, and Marguerite Tuggle (née Roper). He earned a degree in musicology from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1954 where his thesis was on Giuseppe Verdi. He then served in the Field Artillery Branch of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

for two years before joining the staff of the

in the education department in 1957. From 1961–77 Tuggle was the director of the education department at the Met; overseeing the company's goal to engage students and teachers with the artform of opera. He penned several teacher's guides to the opera and oversaw the first ever opera performance at the newly built Metropolitan Opera House on April 11, 1966; a student matinee performance of '' La Fanciulla del West'' that was a "sound test" prior to the theater's official opening. He was also responsible for commissioning

Al Carmines Reverend Alvin Allison "Al" Carmines Jr. (July 25, 1936 – August 9, 2005) was a key figure in the expansion of off-off-Broadway theatre in the 1960s. Carmines was born in Hampton, Virginia. Although his musical talent appeared early, he deci ...

's one act opera ''The Duel'' which premiered in Brooklyn in 1974. In 1981 Tuggle became Director of the Archives at the Metropolitan Opera; a post he held for the next thirty-four years. He was instrumental in the creation of the Met's digital database of performances, launched in 2005, which is available to the public for free online.

Personal life

Tuggle's long time life partner was writer Paul Jeromack.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuggle, Robert 1932 births 2016 deaths American writers about music Metropolitan Opera people Princeton University alumni