Opera tenor, born in New York City, New York, USA. He started singing in synagogues as a child and was working as a fur salesman in New York when he married the sister of established tenor, Jan Peerce, who challenged him to take voice lessons. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1945, becoming an internationally popular lyric tenor. He continued to sing as a cantor on special occasions.
Richard Tucker (August 28, 1913 – January 8, 1975) was an American tenor.
He was born Ruvn Ticker in Brooklyn, New York, and his musical aptitude was discovered early. However, when Met general manager Edward Johnson heard him sing at the synagogue, he offered him a contract on the spot.
Even at the height of his fame, he regularly conducted synagogue services on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.
He married Sarah Perelmuth, the sister of tenor Jan Peerce.
Tucker had a propensity for playing pranks on his fellow-singers, often provoking a smile at some inappropriate moment in a performance; once during a performance of La Forza del Destino with Robert Merrill, he'd sneaked a nude photograph into the trunk that Merrill was supposed to open.
He died of a heart attack while preparing for a concert with Robert Merrill in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Richard Tucker Square, across the street from Lincoln Center, is named for him.
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