With sheer vocal artistry, dramatic intelligence and commanding stage presence, Sherrill Milnes ranks as one of the finest Verdi baritones of the post war era, if not this century. With a full-blown, power-laden voice capabable of a high C, Milnes has enjoyed the turbulence and popularity equal to that of a star tenor and has become by distinction the most recorded Amercian opera singer. He is featured here at grandi-tenori.com for his fine top notes, and with such baritonal tenors as Pertile, Zanelli and Vinay in mind, he would have made a fine Otello, after a fine Iago.

      Sherrill Eustace Milnes was born in Downers Grove, Illinois, 30 miles west of Chicago, on January 10 1935. His father was a Methodist minister and farmer, and Milnes grew up on the family farm, alternating between the daily chores of the farm and his interest for music, devoting his time to the study of piano, violin, viola, double bass, clarinet and tuba besides voice. Despite his thourough preparation in music, he opted for pursuing a career as an anaesthesiologist, but his studies lasted for only one year, after which he enrolled at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in music education, with the intention of becoming a teacher. With his multifaceted vocation, singing as a career was just a by-product, and after a final graduation from Northwestern University, and private tuition from Rosa Ponselle, he earned his living by singing in TV and radio commercials, playing piano, violin and string bass with dance and jazz bands, singing in churches and with local opera groups. Then in 1960, at the age of 25, he won an audition with the Boris Goldovsky Opera Company and travelled throughout the United States during the following five years, singing in over 300 performances in more than a dozen roles. He debuted as Masetto in Mozart's Don Giovanni in 1960, sang Gérard in Andrea Chénier with the Baltimore Civic Opera in 1961 and performed as Figaro in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Teatro Nuevo in Milan 1964.

His first important debut came at the New York City Opera in 1964 as Valentin in Gounod's Faust, which also was the role for his debut at the Metropolitan approximately one year later, in January 1966, just before his 30th birthday. In 1967 he created Adam Brant in Levy's "Mourning Becomes Electra," and in 1968 he spellbound the Met opera goers with his compelling performance as Miller in Luisa Miller, after which he rose to stardom as a baritone of major rank, and compared with the legendary baritones Lawrence Tibbett, Leonard Warren and Robert Merrill. His international career was launched with Macbeth at the Wiener Staatsoper in 1970, followed by his Chicago debut in 1971 as Rodrigo in Don Carlos, and the Covent Garden debut the same year as Renato in Un Ballo in Maschera. In the years to follow he enjoyed the status of being the leading Verdi baritone of his generation, receiving wide acclaim in particular for his performances as Amonasro (Aida), Carlo (Ernani and La Forza del Destino), Boccanegra (Simon Boccanegra), Rigoletto, Iago (Otello), Macbeth and Montfort. His repertory also included Escamillo (Carmen), Tonio (Pagliacci), Don Giovanni, Barnaba (La Giaconda), Jack Rance (La Fanciulla del West), Scarpia (Tosca), Athanaël (Thaïs), Alfonso (La Favorita), Sir Riccardo Forth (I Puritani) and Hamlet (Hamlet, Thomas).

His career took a serious turn in 1980 when he in the middle of a performance of Thomas' Hamlet lost his voice and suffered a crisis with recurring vocal problems. The diagnosis was eventually a hemmorhagic capillary on the underside of the vocal cords. Cancelations of performances followed and subsequently a falling-off of engagements and recordings. He fell out with the Met management, which resulted in a long absence from the house where he had during a decade been the main attraction.

A certain fatigue and hoarsness was present in Milnes' singing, and unfortunate surgery and undocumented medical treatment prevented a great talent from returning to the limelight and resume his past glorious career. He sang Macbeth at London's Covent Garden in 1983 and Falstaff for the first time in 1991. Milnes eventually withdrew from the stage and focused on vocal training and became a reputable teacher. His Master Classes are considered to be definite and are highly coveted.

Milnes, currently 65, has recently attempted a comeback and performed in the rare and seldomly performed "Sly" by Wolf-Ferrari at the Liceu of Barcelona during the summer of 2000. José Carreras performed in the title role. Falstaff is scheduled for March-April 2001 in Pittsburgh, USA.