Robert White, a versatile tenor known for a repertory ranging from medieval music to Irish classics, has died.
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White died on March 17, St. Patrick’s Day, in Manhattan at the age of 89. His friend, Carswell Berlin, told The New York Times that the cause of death, at a rehabilitation facility, was metastatic prostate cancer.
Growing up, White emulated his father, a popular tenor in the golden age of radio after World War I. When his own voice matured, he built a serious, wide-ranging classical career. He collaborated with major artists like Eugene Ormandy, Leonard Bernstein, and Yo-Yo Ma, while also continuing to perform the traditional Irish ballads that tenor John McCormack had popularized.
After early vocal training from his father, White received a bachelor’s degree in music from Hunter College in New York in 1959. As an undergraduate, he filled in for an ailing colleague in performances with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic, singing the role of Pilate in a rare Baroque Passion.
Per the New York Times, he specialized in early music, joining the New York Pro Musica and the Renaissance Quartet for recordings and tours. But from the start, his work was varied. In 1963, he appeared in two contemporary operas: the American premiere of Paul Hindemith’s one-act The Long Christmas Dinner, and the world premiere of Gian Carlo Menotti’s Labyrinth as part of NBC’s televised opera series.
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After earning a master’s degree from Juilliard in 1968 and studying in Europe, White found his career progressing well by the mid-1970s. However, a dinner conversation with arts patron Alice Tully sparked a new direction. Tully lamented that singers no longer performed the classic repertory of John McCormack, which had become associated with a less refined singing style.
“Then she turned to me,” White recalled per The Times, “and said, ‘But maybe you can, Bobby dear.’ So I held her hand and sang ‘Mavis’ for her, and she had tears in her eyes. That’s when it occurred to me that if someone as eminent as Alice can be so moved, then I’ve got to do something with those ballads after all.”
He recorded a ballads album for McCormack’s label, RCA, titled When You and I Were Young, Maggie. Released in 1976, he went on to perform these songs and others on television to critical acclaim, collaborating with artists like Irish flutist James Galway. He also started to include the ballads in his recitals.
In addition to his performance career, White was a dedicated educator. He taught voice at the Manhattan School of Music from 1986 to 1990 before joining the Juilliard voice faculty in 1991. He remained at Juilliard until his retirement in 2022.