John Macurdy

John Macurdy (né John Edward McCurdy; – ) was an American operatic bass, who sang at the Metropolitan Opera 1,001 times from 1962 to 2000 (and also sang numerous performances in other opera houses). Among his teachers was the contralto Elisabeth Wood of New Orleans, who was also the pedagogue of Norman Treigle.

John Macurdy (né John Edward McCurdy; – ) was an American operatic bass, who sang at the Metropolitan Opera 1,001 times from 1962 to 2000 (and also sang numerous performances in other opera houses). Among his teachers was the contralto Elisabeth Wood of New Orleans, who was also the pedagogue of Norman Treigle.

Early life

Macurdy was born on March 18, 1929, in Detroit, Michigan. He was of Scottish descent by way of Nova Scotia. As a three-year-old a neighbor paid him 10 cents to sing "O Tannenbaum". Growing up, he sung in the Grosse Pointe Memorial Church choir, singing as a soprano until his voice changed at age 12. Marie Curtis, the church choir director, encouraged him to take singing lessons. At age 16, she sent him to Avery Crew, a top voice teacher in Detroit, who became his mentor for many years. Macurdy attended Keating Elementary and Hutchinson Intermediary schools, and graduated from Cass Technical High School, all in Detroit. He attended the Wayne State University College of Engineering from 1947 to 1949, then entered an apprenticeship program for wood pattern-die model makers provided by the styling section of General Motors. He put his apprenticeship on hold to serve in the U.S. Air Force for four years during the Korean War at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, rising to the rank of Sergeant as a radar-electronics instructor. During this time, he also sang with the New Orleans Opera House Association and the Mobile Opera Guild. After leaving the Air Force, he returned to Detroit to complete his apprenticeship at General Motors. Now a journeyman model maker, he worked for Creative Industries of Detroit as a die and patternmaker. He also continued to pursue singing, attending Boris Goldovsky's summer opera workshops at Oglebay Park (in West Virginia), Pittsburgh, and Tanglewood. In 1957, Macurdy left Detroit for New York City to pursue his singing career.

Personal life

Macurdy's father worked for a tool and die company. He died while on a business trip to New Orleans when Macurdy was 19. His mother, Dorothea, was a secretary at Wayne State University for many years. He had two sisters. Macurdy married Justine Votipka, also from Detroit. She studied piano at the University of Michigan, and was working as an accompanist-coach for a Goldovsky opera workshop in 1955 when they met. They married in 1958. The couple eventually settled in the woods near Stamford, Connecticut, in a house Macurdy largely built himself. Justine was active with the League of Women Voters and the Schubert Club in Stamford, at one point serving as its president. They had two children – Allison, born in , and John, born in . Allison graduated from the University of Boston. In 1985, she married Australian Nicholas Blaxland Hays.

Death

Macurdy died of natural causes on May 7, 2020, in Stamford.

References

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1338183529 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.