Lauritz Melchior, 1890-1973: The Annotated Timeline and Performance Chronicle

Welcome to The Performance Chronology. These pages represent the raw beginnings of the project to compile together Lauritz Melchior's professional singing appearances in all media, and to annotate the resulting list with performance reviews. As it stands, the chronology is missing many, even most, performances, not to mention most reviews; this condition will be remedied in the years to come.

The selection of music critics' reviews has been chosen to get as broad as possible a perspective on Melchior's critical reception. It is left to the reader to comment on or attempt to explicate to him or herself the judgments set down in the reviews.

The intended contents of the chronology, in order of importance, all of which is permanently "under construction," as is the rest of this website, can be summarized as follows:

1. Opera performances. House, opera, conductor, cast, reviews (translated by the author into English if necessary), whether performance was broadcast over the radio. Other information about the productions (set/costume/lighting designers, choral/stage directors) will be added at a future date.

2. Concerts and recitals. Location, conductor, song list, reviews, whether performance was broadcast.

3. Radio, movie, television and nightclub appearances: show, cast, station, list of songs or type of comedic sketch, selected reviews.

4. Special appearances ,which included private functions hosted by important patrons of the music world and performances and special appearances for charity.

5. Basic vital statistics of Melchior and his colleagues and historical/cultural context.