Milnes, Sherrill Eustace

Milnes, Sherrill Eustace, 1935–, American operatic baritone, b. Downers Grove, Ill., stud. with Boris Goldovsky and Rosa Ponselle. Famous for his powerful yet lyrical voice and his large, seemingly effortless range, he debuted at the Baltimore Civic Opera and toured in his early years the Chicago Symphony Chorus and Goldovsky Opera. Milnes debuted at the New York City Opera as Valentin in Gounod's Faust in 1964 and at the Metropolitan Opera in the same role the next year. A great Verdi baritone, he was long associated with the Met. In 2001 he and his wife, Maria Zouves, founded Voice Experience, an operatic training and outreach institution.

See his autobiography (1998, with D. McGovern).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Music: History, Composers, and Performers: Biographies