Tibbett, Lawrence, 1896-1960, American baritone, b. Bakersfield, Calif. He made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1923. After a successful appearance as Ford in Verdi's Falstaff, he was given leading roles and became especially noted for those he created in American operas, including Louis Gruenberg's Emperor Jones (1933) and the operas of Deems Taylor. He was outstanding in the revival (1932) of Verdi's Simon Boccanegra. Beginning with The Rogue Song (1930) he appeared in a number of motion pictures and was long popular as a radio singer. In 1936 he helped found the American Guild of Musical Artists, of which he became president.

orig. Lawrence Mervil Tibbet

(born Nov. 16, 1896, Bakersfield, Calif., U.S.—died July 15, 1960, New York, N.Y.) U.S. baritone. He performed as a singing actor before moving into opera. After his 1923 Metropolitan Opera debut, his first major success came in 1925, when he played Ford in Giuseppe Verdi's Falstaff. Over the next several years he sang most of the leading baritone roles at the Metropolitan, continuing with the company for 27 seasons. He also starred in several musical films and appeared on the popular radio show Your Hit Parade.

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