Jerome Hines

Jerome Hines was one of the towering figures of twentieth-century American opera – literally and artistically. Standing more than six and a half feet tall, with a sonorous bass voice of exceptional power and clarity, Hines enjoyed one of the longest and most distinguished careers in the history of the Metropolitan Opera.

Yet he was also an unusual intellectual among singers: a trained mathematician and chemist who published articles in mathematical journals and maintained a lifelong interest in philosophy and science.

He was born Jerome Albert Link Heinz on November 8, 1921, in Hollywood, California. During his studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, he pursued mathematics and chemistry while simultaneously studying voice. Because anti-German sentiment was widespread during World War II, the young singer altered his surname from Heinz to Hines at the suggestion of his manager, the famous impresario Sol Hurok. During the war, he worked for an oil company after being rejected for military service because of his height.

Hines made his operatic debut in 1941 at the San Francisco Opera as Monterone in Verdi’s Rigoletto. Five years later, he debuted at the Metropolitan Opera as the Officer in Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov. That appearance began an extraordinary association with the company that lasted from 1946 until 1987 – a record 41 consecutive seasons.

At the Met, he became celebrated for roles demanding authority, spiritual gravity, or demonic force. His greatest portrayals included Sarastro in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Mephistopheles in Gounod’s Faust, Ramfis in Verdi’s Aida, King Marke in Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, and the title role in Boris Godunov – first in English and then in Russian. In 1954, he became the first American-born singer to perform Boris at the Met, a landmark achievement at a time when the great Russian bass repertory was still dominated by Europeans.

Internationally, Hines sang at the Bayreuth Festival, La Scala, Glyndebourne, and even the Bolshoi Theatre, where he performed Boris Godunov in 1962 during the tense days surrounding the Cuban Missile Crisis. He spent a year learning the role in Russian preparatory to his appearance in Moscow. His imposing presence and immense vocal resources made him especially admired in Wagner and the great Slavic bass repertoire.

Hines was more than an opera star. In the 1950s, he published scholarly papers in Mathematics Magazine on operator theory and numerical methods, an almost unprecedented accomplishment for an active international singer. He also remained deeply interested in the philosophy of mathematics throughout his life.

A devout Christian, Hines composed an opera on the life of Jesus titled I Am the Way and frequently performed sacred music and religious programs. He also wrote several books, including his autobiography This Is My Story and the influential Great Singers on Great Singing, based on interviews with important vocal artists.

Jerome Hines died in New York on February 4, 2003, at the age of 81. He remains remembered not only as one of America’s greatest basses, but also as a rare combination of artist, scholar, teacher, and intellectual.

Hines and both the King and the Grand Inquisitor in Verdi’s Don Carlo. First, the King’s great aria ‘Ella giammai m’amo’ from a Met performance in 1961. Then a video from another Met performance in 1980. Paul Plishka is the King. Hines is in such stupendous voice that, even at age 59, he dominates the scene.

Next ‘Mentre gonfiarsi l’anima… Oltre quel limite’ from Verdi’s Attila. In this dramatic scene from Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Attila (Act I, Scene 6), the ruthless Hun king awakens from a horrifying nightmare and defiantly rejects the supernatural warning. The Met never staged this opera during Hines 41 years with the company. He would have been terrific in the title role.

Hine’s singing of Mephisto’s serenade is from a TV broadcast. It’s a role he often sang at the Met. He was the first of Gounod’s devil that I heard at the Met – Dec 17, 1955. Giuseppe Di Stefano sang the title role.

‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ is from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel. Hines gives a performance so good you could wonder why anyone else would try to match him. Note he changes ‘hope’ to ‘God’.

His rendition of Ol’ Man River is from a concert in 1984. The voice is still in marvellous condition.

Hines appeared at the Met when there was a plethora of great basses. He was surpassed by none of them. He seems to have been somewhat forgotten with the passage of time. He did not leave a lot of studio recordings. What we have shows what a fine artist he was. From what I can tell, he was an equally fine human being.