Mack Harrell

Mack Kendree Harrell, Jr. (October 8, 1909 – January 29, 1960) was an American baritone recognized as one of the foremost American-born lieder singers of his generation. He was born in Celeste, Texas, to Asbury Mack Kendree Harrell and Mollie Harrell, née Virginia Marr Kelly, and grew up as the youngest of three siblings in Greenville, Texas. His brother Lynn Mozart Harrell played piano with the Jimmy Joy Orchestra while attending the University of Texas at Austin during the 1920s. Harrell began studying violin at age ten and continued for twelve years, a foundation he credited with shaping his musicianship as a singer.

Harrell pursued violin studies at Oklahoma City University before receiving a scholarship to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he studied under Emanuel Zetlin and met his future wife, violinist Marjorie Fulton. It was at Curtis that the quality of his bass voice was recognized, prompting him to transfer to the Juilliard School to study singing with Anna E. Schoen-René, herself a pupil of Pauline Viardot-Garcia and Manuel Garcia. In 1939, C. Fischer published his book, The Sacred Hour of Song: A Collection of Sacred Solos Suitable for Christian Science Services.

Harrell made his concert debut at Town Hall in New York City in 1938 with a recital of opera and lieder. That same year he won the Metropolitan Opera's Audition of the Air competition, which led to a contract offer from general manager Edward Johnson. His professional operatic debut at the Met came on December 16, 1939, as Biterolf in Wagner's Tannhäuser. He sang with the company each year through 1948 and returned for the 1949–1950, 1952–1954, and 1957–1958 seasons, accumulating 156 performances in total. Among the roles he portrayed at the Met were Amfortas in Parsifal, Baron Douphol in La Traviata, Captain Balstrode in Peter Grimes, Dancaïre in Carmen, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, Wolfram in Tannhäuser, and Masetto in Don Giovanni, among many others.

Harrell was involved in several significant world and United States premieres. On January 11, 1947, he created the role of Samson opposite Regina Resnik as Delilah in the world premiere of Bernard Rogers's The Warrior at the Met. In February 1953 he portrayed Nick Shadow in the American premiere of Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress at the Met. His final Met appearance, on February 17, 1958, was as Jochanaan in Richard Strauss's Salome, with Inge Borkh in the title role.

Beyond the Met, Harrell maintained an extensive career with other companies and in concert. In 1940 he sang Alfio in Cavalleria rusticana and Ford in Verdi's Falstaff in Chicago. In May 1944 he appeared at the New York City Opera as Germont in La Traviata, the same production that constitutes his Broadway credit, and returned to the NYCO in 1948, 1951–1952, and 1959. At the NYCO he created the role of Rabbi Azrael in the world premiere of David Tamkin's The Dybbuk in 1951 and portrayed Pierre Cauchon in the premiere of the one-act version of Norman Dello Joio's The Triumph of St. Joan in 1959. In September 1945 he debuted with the San Francisco Opera as Escamillo in Carmen, and during that company's 1945–1946 season he sang roles including Germont, Marcello in La bohème, Dapertutto in Les Contes d'Hoffmann, and Silvio in Pagliacci, among others. In 1944 he gave the world premiere of Arnold Schoenberg's Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte for speaker, string orchestra, and piano. In 1952 he portrayed Christopher Columbus in the United States premiere of Darius Milhaud's Christophe Colomb at Carnegie Hall. In 1955 he created the role of Olin Blitch in the world premiere of Carlisle Floyd's Susannah at Florida State University, opposite Phyllis Curtin in the title role. The following year he played Saul in the American premiere of Milhaud's David at the Hollywood Bowl, opposite Herva Nelli.

Harrell's son, the cellist Lynn Harrell, was born in 1944. From 1945 to 1956 Harrell taught voice at the Juilliard School, and from 1957 until his death he held a teaching position at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. In 1954 he succeeded Walter Paepcke as the second director of the Aspen Music Festival and School, an institution he had helped found, and he retained that role until his death. His students included singers William Blankenship, Michael Trimble, and Barry McDaniel. Harrell died in Dallas on January 29, 1960, at the age of fifty.