The Baritone Time Didn’t Forget

He was one of the first Americans to achieve stardom at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. The year was 1925, and baritone Lawrence Tibbett, Bakersfield-born and a singer at the Met since 1923, was appearing as Ford in “Falstaff.” The New York Times heralded the response as “quite without precendent,” as the audience stamped its feet, and cheered, preventing the show from going on until Tibbett took a solo bow after Ford’s jealousy monologue.

“This scene,” the Times reported, “Mr. Tibbett delivered with a quality of vocalism and interpretation which constituted one of the highest points, and one of the strongest performances of the evening.”

For the next two decades, Tibbett would reign as America’s most famous baritone, a role he would play not only on the opera stage but also in six Hollywood films.

Starting next week, Bakersfield celebrates the centennial month of its native son--he was born Nov. 16, 1896--with concerts, an exhibition of Tibbett memorabilia and screenings of his films. One biography was recently published--”Dear Rogue,” by Hertzel Weinstat and Bert Wechsler--and another is in the works. At the Met in New York, a small Tibbett photo exhibition is already on display, with a larger display due next year, and another honor will come in the fall of 1997, when a Lawrence Tibbett stamp will be released by the U.S. Postal Service as part of a series of classical music issues.

Jerome Kleinsasser, the Cal State Bakersfield music professor who has put together the upcoming San Joaquin Valley events on “virtually no budget at all, just smoke and mirrors and a lot of love,” says that in his time, Tibbett was as famous as any celebrity in America, and among opera buffs, he is still often cited as the Verdi baritone of choice.

Even before the handsome young singer got to New York, he had accumulated a colorful past: Tibbett came from a California family that was active in both the Gold Rush and in navel orange farming. His father, a deputy sheriff of Kern County, was killed in a shootout when the young Tibbett was 8. After almost two years, his mother took her children to live in Long Beach, moving them to Los Angeles a year later.

According to popular-history lecturer William R. Osteck, Tibbett sold newspapers at the corner of Temple and Hill, and ushered at Philharmonic Auditorium while attending Manual Arts High School. He served in the Navy during World War I and then pursued singing.

Tibbett signed a contract with the Metropolitan Opera in the spring of 1923; his weekly salary was to be $60, increasing to $100 in the second season and $150 in the third. His debut role was Lovitsky, a minor part in “Boris Godunov”; a week later, he sang Valentin in “Faust.” After his 1925 ascension to stardom, he appeared in such roles as Brutus Jones, which he originated in Louis Gruenberg’s operatic setting of O’Neill’s play “The Emperor Jones” in 1933; Tonio in “Pagliacci,” and Iago in “Otello.” He would sing in San Francisco, Paris, Vienna and Prague, and he would appear in Met premieres of works by American composers Howard Hanson and Deems Taylor and play the title roles in “Rigoletto” and “Falstaff.” Reportedly, he was George Gershwin’s Porgy of choice in “Porgy and Bess.”

Concurrent with his burgeoning operatic career, in which he was noted for his acting ability, Tibbett appeared in a series of early sound films--six in all--which made him both visible and extremely popular nationally. In fact, he was nominated for an Academy Award as best actor for his 1930 film debut in “The Rogue Song,” despite Variety’s overall assessment of the film: “slow unto dullness.”

He also gave recitals, appeared with orchestras, and sang on the radio. He retired from the Met in 1950, having sung in 70 roles, but he went on to perform on Broadway; his last appearance was in the show “Fanny” in 1956. He died in 1960.

The centerpiece of the Bakersfield commemoration is a concert by the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra, conducted by John Farrer, at which another American baritone, the rising 28-year-old Christopher Schaldenbrand, will sing arias associated with Tibbett. A graduate of Indiana University and a 1992 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions winner, Schaldenbrand made his debut at the Met in 1993.

Two Tibbett films will be shown on the anniversary of his birth, Nov. 16. Screening at the vintage Fox Theatre in downtown Bakersfield, where Tibbett appeared regularly in the ‘30s, are “Cuban Love Song” (1931), in which Tibbett’s co-stars are Lupe Velez and Jimmy Durante, and Sigmund Romberg’s “New Moon” (1930), also starring Metropolitan soprano Grace Moore. Though neither is remembered as great cinema, Tibbett “sounds fine and looks good” in both releases, says Kleinsasser, and if you’ve seen them on TV, seeing them on the big screen and in a vintage theater “is quite another matter.”

Also noting the anniversary is an exhibit of Tibbett artifacts and memorabilia, to be shown in the Todd Madigan Gallery at Cal State Bakersfield starting Friday. It includes photos from the singer’s professional and personal life, costumes, Tibbett’s personal scores, his contract and other memorabilia on loan from the Metropolitan Opera Archives in New York City, plus audio and video presentations.

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* Nov. 1-30: “Lawrence Tibbett: From Bakersfield to the Met and Beyond.” Todd Madigan Gallery, Cal State Bakersfield, Tuesdays to Thursdays, noon to 4 p.m.; Saturdays, 1 to 4 p.m. Free. (805) 664-3093. Nov. 10: Centenary Concert, Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra, Bakersfield Convention Center, 1001 Truxtun Ave., 4 p.m. $12 to $22. (805) 323-7928. Nov. 16: “Cuban Love Song”/”New Moon,” Fox Theatre, 2001 H St., Bakersfield. Doors open 4:30 p.m. $4. (805) 324-1369.