Lawrence Tibbett was born Lawrence Mervil Tibbet, (with a single "t") on November 16, 1896 in Bakersfield, California. His father was a part-time deputy sheriff, killed in a shootout with desperado Jim McKinney in 1903. Tibbett grew up in Los Angeles, earning money by singing in church choirs and at funerals. He graduated from Manual Arts High School in 1915. A year later he met his future wife, Grace Mackay Smith, who rented a room in his mother's house. During World War I he served in the Merchant Marine, after which he found employment singing as prologue to silent movies at the Grauman "Million Dollar" Theater in downtown Los Angeles.
Tibbett studied in New York City with Frank La Forge and in 1923 at the age of 26, he signed his first contract, for $60 per week, with the New York Metropolitan Opera, using the name "Tibbett" (a spelling he used occasionally in his youth). Over the ensuing years, with the Met, he built a hugely successful career. His roles included Valentin in Charles Gounod's Faust, Silvio, and later, Tonio, in Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci and the King's Herald in Richard Wagner's Lohengrin. He first achieved national recognition playing Ford in Giuseppe Verdi's Falstaff. Tibbett traveled to California in 1927 to sing the lead role in the Grove Play St. Francis of Assisi, and it was during that trip to San Francisco when he met ex-New Yorker Jennie Marston Burgard, whom he married in 1932. During the 1930s, Tibbett toured Europe and Australia, performing on stage or in concerts in London, Paris, Prague, Vienna and Australia.
In the early 1930s, Tibbett also appeared in movies. His Hollywood sojourn proved brief, although he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his first film, The Rogue Song, which was a 1930 MGM production with Laurel & Hardy, shot in two-color Technicolor. (Only a few minutes of footage of the film, as well as the complete soundtrack, have been found.) Soon afterwards, he starred in another MGM musical film, New Moon, opposite Grace Moore. His final film was Under Your Spell in 1936. Also during the 1930s, Tibbett had a domestic radio program on which he sang formal music, his sponsor being the Packard Motor Car Company of America. The company chose him to announce the Packard 120 to the world on air; he drove one. When the firm wanted to sell less expensive cars, they persuaded him to add popular tunes to his repertoire in order to boost sales. He also appeared on Your Hit Parade.
Together with violinist Jascha Heifetz, in 1936 he founded the American Guild of Musical Artists, the most important labor union for solo performing artists. He was the Guild's proactive president for 17 years. His forceful and articulate advocacy of artistic causes was unique in its day.
His operatic career concluded, in the early 1950s, Tibbett performed in musicals and straight plays. He spent a summer in stock as the Reverend Davidson in Rain and played Captain Hook in a short-lived tour of the John Burrell staging of Peter Pan that was mounted for Jean Arthur, and featured a musical score by the young Leonard Bernstein. Veronica Lake played Peter. Most notably, Tibbett took over the Italian operatic bass Ezio Pinza's role in Fanny during its original Broadway run.
In later years, Tibbett served as host of a radio show featuring recordings of operatic singers. He leavened matters with reminiscences of his own stage experiences. Plagued by severe arthritis, he aged prematurely as his health worsened. He died following a fall in his apartment where he had hit his head on a table.
The Time obituary said of him: "Tibbett had a big, bronzelike, dramatically eloquent voice that combined ringing power with remarkable agility...." "...he left behind not only the echoes of a great voice but the memory of a performer who could feel equally at home with high art and popular entertainment, suggesting that there is a magical link between the two."
Tibbett's recordings made during the 1920s and '30s are regarded as among the finest of that period. Many of them are available on CD.
Famous roles
Although regarded as a dashing, compelling actor as well, Tibbett's true fame stems from the fact that he has long been considered one of the finest baritones ever to appear at the Metropolitan Opera. He was renowned for his affinity with the works of Verdi, notably his breakthrough role of Ford in Falstaff, Paolo in Simon Boccanegra and Iago in Otello. He was an imposing, sinister Scarpia in Puccini's Tosca, too, and a swaggering Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen.
In addition, Tibbett created leading roles in a number of American operas, including Louis Gruenberg's The Emperor Jones, based on Eugene O'Neill's play. (He sang this in blackface; the character of Brutus Jones is an African-American). He starred in Howard Hanson's Merry Mount, as well as operas by Deems Taylor, The King's Henchman and Peter Ibbetson. Tibbett performed the roles of Porgy and Jake in the first album of selections from George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, two roles which, on stage, are usually performed by black singers. Gershwin himself was present at the recording sessions. Continuing in this vein, Tibbett made a recording of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's song, Ol' Man River, from Show Boat.
The Song Is You
Lawrence Tibbett Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A beautiful theme of every dream I ever knew
Down deep in my heart I hear it play
I feel it start, then melt away
I hear music when I touch your hand
A beautiful melody from some enchanted land
Down deep in my heart, I hear it say
I alone have heard this lovely strain
I alone have heard this glad refrain
Must it be forever inside of me
Why can't I let it go
Why can't I let you know
Why can't I let you know the song my heart would sing?
What beautiful rhapsody
Of love and youth and spring
The music is sweet
The words are true
The song is you
The lyrics of Lawrence Tibbett's "The Song Is You" describe the feeling of a person who hears music every time he looks at or touches the person he loves. The music he hears is a beautiful theme that represents all the dreams he has ever had. It plays deep within his heart and sets off a feeling that gradually fades away.
The melody that the person hears when he touches his loved one's hand is a beautiful one, seemingly coming from some magical and enchanted land. The music plays deep within his heart and tells him that this could be the day he is waiting for. The person explains that he alone has heard this lovely strain and glad refrain, and he wishes that he could let his loved one know about the song that his heart would sing. However, he is not able to do so or let go of it.
The lyrics of the song, "The Song Is You," express the beauty of music and how it reflects the feelings of the heart. It talks about that magical feeling of being in love and how it can be represented by a beautiful melody.
Line by Line Meaning
I hear music when I look at you,
When I look at you, I experience a beautiful and moving sensation that can be likened to hearing music.
A beautiful theme of every
This sensation is like a recurring theme that appears in every dream I have ever had.
Dream I ever knew.
The sensation is so dreamlike and magical, it feels like something I have known my whole life.
Down deep in my heart I hear it play.
This sensation feels like it comes from the very depths of my being and resonates throughout my heart.
I feel it start, then melt away.
While I can feel this sensation, it is fleeting and tends to disappear quickly.
I hear music when I touch your hand,
When I touch you, I experience a similar sensation to the one which occurs when I see you – something like hearing music.
A beautiful melody
This sensation is like a melody that I find particularly enchanting and lovely.
From some enchanted land.
It feels as though this melody comes from a mystical and magical place that is otherworldly.
Down deep in my heart, I hear it say,
Like before, this feeling appears to come from deep within myself, resonating throughout my entire being.
Is this the day?
Perhaps this moment – this specific moment in time – is the one in which this sensation will be fully realized and truly understood.
I alone have heard this lovely strain,
This feeling is something that only I have experienced – it is unique and personal to me alone.
I alone have heard this glad refrain:
This sensation is something that brings me immense joy – it is like a deeply satisfying musical refrain.
Must it be forever inside of me,
I wonder if this sensation is something that will always remain a part of me – an internal experience I can never fully externalize.
Why can't I let it go,
At times, I wonder why I can't simply let go of this feeling and move on with my life.
Why can't I let you know,
Other times, I wonder why I can't share this experience with you so that you might understand it too.
Why can't I let you know the song
It feels as though there is a specific way to express this sensation – a 'song' that I have not yet been able to communicate to others.
My heart would sing?
This feeling is something that my heart is bursting to express – if only I could find the words to do so.
That beautiful rhapsody
This sensation is like a beautiful and complex musical composition.
Of love and youth and spring,
It encompasses so many feelings – those of love, youthfulness, and the freshness of springtime.
The music is sweet,
This feeling is inherently pleasant and delightful – like listening to a sweet melody.
The words are true
It feels like this sensation is undeniably true and real – something that cannot be denied or explained away.
The song is you.
Ultimately, this feeling is something that is shaped and inspired by you – it is a song that is uniquely yours.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jerome Kern, Oscar II Hammerstein
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
nicholas4a
What a lovely song John, and beautiful Gloria, oh for that era again when women were adored and not treated badly as it reports in the news programmes lately!