Tucker, Richard

Tucker, Richard, 1913–75, American tenor, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. Tucker began his singing career as a cantor and remained one throughout his 30-year operatic career. In 1945 he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera singing Enzo in Ponchielli's La Gioconda. He soon became one of the Metropolitan's leading lyric tenors in the French and Italian repertoire, notably in such roles as Rudolfo in Puccini's La Bohème and Radames in Verdi's Aïda.

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Tucker, Richard (b. Reuben Ticker) (1913–75) opera tenor; born in New York City. He started singing in synagogues as a child and was working as a fur salesman in New York when he married the sister of established tenor, Jan Peerce, who challenged him to take voice lessons. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1945, becoming an internationally popular lyric tenor. He continued to sing as a cantor on special occasions.