Guest
Richard Crooks (1900-1972) was a beloved American tenor whose career encompassed opera, oratorio, concert, radio and recording. Born Alexander Crooks in Trenton, NJ, he began singing as a boy soprano in his hometown Trinity Episcopal Church at age 9. He spent four years working with choirmaster Sidney H. Bourne, who encouraged him to take up a singing career. In a very short time, “Master Alexander Crooks” was building an impressive reputation as a solo artist and was in great demand throughout Trenton and the surrounding area. During a July 1913 performance of Elijah at Ocean Grove’s Great Auditorium, featured artist Ernestine Schumann-Heink heard Crooks singing. So impressed was Madame Schumann-Heink, that she hurried over and gave the boy a kiss in front of the audience, much to his embarrassment! After his voice changed to tenor, he pursued studies in New York with Frank LaForge. However, Crooks’ studies were interrupted when decided to join the military in WWI. According to legend, the underage Crooks lied about his age and found himself assigned as a flyer with the 620th Aero Squadron but was discharged when his deception was discovered. However, a check of Crooks’ draft registration card, dated September 12, 1918, indicates that he was of legal age at the time of his military service. In the spring of 1919, Crooks, still using his given name, Alexander, made his Carnegie Hall debut. He had also landed a lucrative position as soloist at the 5th Avenue Presbyterian Church and was quite popular as a vocalist with area music clubs and choral societies. Although Crooks focused primarily on church music, recitals and oratorio during this period, he did make a foray into opera with Act III of Siegfried at Carnegie Hall under Walter Damrosch in November of 1922. The tenor also seemed to be toying with a name change. He first tried Alexander Richards Crooks, then Richard Alexander Crooks, before settling on the more straight forward Richard Crooks. He landed a contract with the Victor Company, making his first recordings late in 1923. Crooks’ first European appearances were a series of recitals in Germany and Austria in the summer of 1925. He returned in the summer of 1927, making his official operatic debut on September 20 in Hamburg as Cavaradossi in Tosca. A week later, he repeated the role in Berlin under the baton of Bruno Walter. The tenor spent several weeks touring Germany and France, singing Lohengrin, Faust and Madama Butterfly, as well as numerous concerts and recitals. His American debut didn’t occur until November 27, 1930 when he appeared with the Philadelphia Grand Opera, again as Cavaradossi. By this time, Crooks was being heard from coast to coast on NBC radio’s Voice of Firestone, which he hosted from 1928 until 1945. The tenor’s long awaited Met debut took place on February 25, 1933 as Des Grieux in Manon. Reviews were favorable and Crooks enjoyed “endless curtain calls”, according to Olin Downes of the NY Times. During his decade with the company, Crooks gave 79 performances of 9 roles in such works as Faust, La Traviata, Mignon, Linda di Chamounix, Madama Butterfly, Don Giovanni and Roméo et Juliette, plus 14 concerts. Crooks continued concertizing and appearing on radio through early 1945. Following a Tampa recital on March 28, he collapsed and was rushed to a local hospital. A ruptured appendix was the culprit, and emergency surgery was performed. Crooks was moved to a Princeton, NJ hospital, where it was discovered that he had contracted peritonitis. More surgeries saved the tenor’s life but left him weakened. He took a year to recuperate from the ordeal, but the diaphragm was compromised, affecting his breath support. After much agonizing, in March of 1946, Crooks announced that he was retiring from singing. Crooks and his wife Mildred relocated to Palo Alto, CA in the early 1950s. The tenor was quite busy with the local arts scene and sat on the board of the Southern California Symphony Association. Even in retirement, Crooks sang occasionally, usually at luncheons, weddings or church services, but spent the majority of his time coaching young singers. Sadly, the tenor was diagnosed with cancer in the late 1960s. After a lengthy battle with the disease, Richard Crooks passed away on September 29, 1972. Richard Crooks was a versatile artist who brought his voice and passion for music to a very wide audience. He possessed a tremendous presence, both on stage and in recital, and was a gracious and personable colleague. He used his lyric tenor to great effect in opera and song, demonstrating an exemplary understanding of Italian, German, French and, of course, English. Crooks’ catalogue of recordings, made for Victor between 1923 and 1945, runs the gamut from operatic arias and art songs to sacred classics and pop tunes, always making for very pleasurable listening.
