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Cornell MacNeil, Famed Verdi Baritone, Dead at 88
- Posted on Jul 18th 2011 2:30PM by Kelly Mahan
The opera world lost one of its baritone greats with the passing of Cornell MacNeil on July 15 in Charlottesville, Va., the New York Times reports. He was 88. MacNeil was a Verdi baritone (a baritone with the ability to consistently sing in the high end of the range), famous for his 26 roles and more than 600 appearances at the Metropolitan Opera.
Born on Sept. 24, 1922 in Minneapolis, MacNeil was raised by his mother, a singer who had studied under the famed contralto Ernestine Schumann-Heink, and his father, a dentist.
According to the Times, MacNeil suffered from asthma until the age of 20, an ailment that led to his rejection from the military during World War II. At his mother's insistence, he studied music under Friedrich Schorr, a retired baritone, before joining the Radio City Music Hall Glee Club in New York.
He made his operatic debut in 1950 and continued to stun crowds with his exceptional vocal performance until 1987. He would go on to sing the lead role at the Met in Verdi's 'Rigoletto' more than 100 times garnering his title as the "Verdi baritone."
"The larger and more complex the part, the better he was," James Levine, the Met's longtime conductor, said of Mr. MacNeil's Verdi roles in a 2007 interview with Opera News.
MacNeil lived in an assisted-living facility in Charlottesville until his passing and is survived by his second wife, Tania Rudensky, five children from a previous marriage, two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Cornell MacNeil Performs 'Te Deum'
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Born on Sept. 24, 1922 in Minneapolis, MacNeil was raised by his mother, a singer who had studied under the famed contralto Ernestine Schumann-Heink, and his father, a dentist.
According to the Times, MacNeil suffered from asthma until the age of 20, an ailment that led to his rejection from the military during World War II. At his mother's insistence, he studied music under Friedrich Schorr, a retired baritone, before joining the Radio City Music Hall Glee Club in New York.
He made his operatic debut in 1950 and continued to stun crowds with his exceptional vocal performance until 1987. He would go on to sing the lead role at the Met in Verdi's 'Rigoletto' more than 100 times garnering his title as the "Verdi baritone."
"The larger and more complex the part, the better he was," James Levine, the Met's longtime conductor, said of Mr. MacNeil's Verdi roles in a 2007 interview with Opera News.
MacNeil lived in an assisted-living facility in Charlottesville until his passing and is survived by his second wife, Tania Rudensky, five children from a previous marriage, two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
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Around The Web:
Cornell MacNeil, Operatic Baritone, Dies at 88 - NYTimes.com
Cornell MacNeil, 1922-2011 | Philadelphia Inquirer | 2011-07-18
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A great loss to the opera world. I listned to Mr.MacNeil on the MET saturday afternoon opera broadcasts. I loved his Tosca & Rigoletto, no one sang it better.REST IN PEACE BEAUTFUL VOICEI
November 05 2012 at 2:49 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyMy dad and I saw MacNeil years ago I must have been about 8 years old He was awesome I hope more young people will be introduced to him Sorry for his death but hopefully this week breathe new life into the gifts he gave to the world .
http://youtube.com/watch?v=d_PiKumEPVU
Please rest in musical Heavenly Peace Mr. MacNeil. Heaven will now be a more beautiful place. The music will be much sweeter now.
Thank you for your musical voice.
It is a sad day for the Arts with his passing. Thank goodness we can still hear his voice CDs....
July 19 2011 at 1:31 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI Love Opera. so did my Mother. I sing too. Cornell, was a Great Baritone singer. I did not know him, but just listened to his Tosca, and it was Beautiful! God Bless him now. RIP. My Mom, Loved Nelson Eddy, and Jeanette Mac Donald. She sang also. She saw them in person, when she was a young girl, before I was born. I grew up with the albums, playing, and all the songs, so naturally I started singing at age 4 or 5, Mom said people young couples, in either 1950 0r 1951, wanted My mom, and Dad, to take me somewhere, to make me a star, but no one had the $, in those days to do that. So they would give me dimes, and nickels to hear me sing, out my window, or in front of my house. Always had the Appreciation, and Passion, for Music, and Opera! GIGI
July 19 2011 at 1:11 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Replywhat a voice never heard of him but I'll say this he best voice i have ever heard rip
July 19 2011 at 12:50 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyWe knew Mac after his retirement and spent some nice times wth him and Tania.
He told the best stories and was a great chef. We will miss him.
Thank goodness for recordings. The greats, with the exception of Domingo & Carreras (who are tenors) are all fading away. Not a true patron of this art (I know there are afficiandos who would disagree), but certainly appreciate this genre and do give a listen quite frequently. Loved Caruso, Lanza, Pavarotti (again tenors all) but the rich, deep sounds of a baritone are spellbinding. Mr. MacNeil was one of the best. RIP
July 19 2011 at 11:50 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyHe will be missed, wish he could have given back more to young voices in
various communities.
One by one.....gone. WHERE ARE THEY, NOW? I am a classical musician, vocal/opeta coach, nearly 80 years now, and remember so well, those FEW opera singers who could DRAW YOU UNTO THEMSELVES with their vocal charisma while delivering a range of emotions we never feel in 'real life' (?) . Now we just sit and wait for the loudest and the highest notes,hoping and expecting the singer to "make it"!, I'm afraid, and as the for voices, they are RUINED within a year or two: no focus, no support, straining. AIEEEEEee..Still,, there is hope and I keep listening. You too??
July 19 2011 at 11:09 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
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