Stamp of the Month: November 2021

USA 10.9.1997

Lawrence Tibbett
The American baritone Lawrence Mervil Tibbett was born on November 16, 1896 in Bakersfield / California. He died on July 15, 1960 in New York as a result of a car accident. November 2021 will mark his 125th birthday.
 
Tibbett studied singing in Los Angeles and began his career as a concert singer. In 1921 he failed at an audition at the Metropolitan

Opera. In 1923 he finally received a contract for the 1923/24 season. He made his debut in the role of Lowitzki in “Boris Godunow” alongside Fyodor Chalyapin in the title role. A week later he was back on stage as Valentin in Gounod’s “Faust” next to Chaliapin. It was an indescribable success for the young singer, who then received a contract extension for another season and finally belonged to the MET ensemble until 1950. He played 50 different roles in 396 performances.
 

The video shows Lawrence Tibbett as Escamillo in Georges Bizet’s opera “Carmen”, in which he is also depicted on the stamp. The excerpt comes from Richard Boleslawski’s 1935 film “Metropilitan” with Virginia Bruce as Carmen. “Metropilitan” was the first film produced by the newly formed 20th Century Fox Film Studios after the merger of Twentieth Century Pictures and Fox Film Corporation.