American mezzo-soprano, b. 1920 Biographical notes: She studied with Alexia Bassian and Lotte Lehmann. She had been making regular concert
appearances for five years before she made her operatic debut as La Cieca (La Gioconda) at the opera of Cincinnati. In 1944 Arturo Toscanini engaged her for his broadcasts and recordings of
Gluck’s Orfeo (as Orpheus), Falstaff (as Meg Page), Rigoletto (as Maddalena) and Otello (as Emilia). Soon after the Second World War she came to Europe where much of her career was to
be centered. She was an admired Dorabella at Aix-en-Provence in 1953/55/59, the Piccola Scala (1955/56) and Glyndebourne (1956). She appeared as Baba the Turk in the British premiere of
Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress at Edinburgh (1953) and Laura in Dargomizhsky’s The Stone Guest in 1958. Throughout the 1950s she also appeared at many of the leading European opera
houses, including Vienna, Milan and Paris. She was not engaged at the Met (light voices had no chance there). She was much admired in the Netherlands, where she became a particular favorite
singer in recitals and on the concert platform. Nan Merriman married and retired completely from stage in April 1965. Her husband was an accomplished oratorio singer who sang the tenor
part in the St. Matthew Passion under Anton van der Horst. His talents were discovered relatively late and he took lessons at the Maastricht conservatory. He was widowed in the early sixties and
father to ten children. Nan and he fell in love, and she decided to give up her career in order to be with him and take care of the children. Unfortunately, her husband died of a heart stroke in
1966. She stayed in the Netherlands taking responsibility for the children, but when they were grown up she moved to Los Angeles and never returned to Europe.
One of the superb recordings of Mozart’s Così fan tutte is conducted by Guido Cantelli, it was a legendary performance at the Piccolo Scala in Milan, a production commemorating the 200th anniversary of Mozart’s birth Cast: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Nan Merriman, Graziella Sciutti, Luigi Alva, Rolando Panerai, Franco Calabrese
Comment:
She belongs to my favorite mezzo-sopranos. I have the impression that she is still an underrated singer. Unfortunately, she did not record prolifically.
She was a great concert and lieder singer - and a passionate Dorabella. I admire her sensual and voluptous timbre in her splendid recording of French and Spanish songs accompanied by Gerald
Moore. She has the right kind of lightness and “smile in the voice” for these songs. Le Nozze di Figaro under Guido Cantelli is a classical recording performance. Otello and Falstaff conducted
by Toscanini are indispensable although the conductor’s approach to music and singers (!) might not be to everyone’s taste.
My warmest thanks to Jos Aarts
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