Richard Tucker -- The Tenor from the Lower East Side

Tonight, January 25, 2010, marks the 65th anniversary of Richard Tucker's debut at the Metropolitan Opera. One of the most popular tenors in the company's history, Tucker had a career that spanned nearly thirty years and took him to stages around the world (as well as appearing on numerous recordings, radio broadcasts, and television shows).

However, Tucker's singing career began not with arias but with prayer -- he was a cantor at Tifereth Israel synagogue on Allen Street.

Born Rivin Ticker in Brooklyn in 1913, Tucker's musical aptitude was apparent from a young age and by the time he was six he was singing under the tutelage of Samuel Weisser at Tifereth Israel. (The synagogue -- now gone -- stood at 128 Allen Street, just north of Delancey.) Within a few years, young "Ruby," as he was then known, was singing solos and was much in demand at weddings and bar mitzvahs. Eventually, he worked his way up to a full-time gig at Temple Adath Israel in the Bronx. (The photo here shows Tucker dressed as a cantor.)

However, in 1936, Tucker married Sara Perelmuth, whose brother was up-and-coming operatic tenor Jan Peerce. Soon Tucker's own musical path had changed and on January 25, 1945, he sang the role of Enzo in La Giocando at the Met to rave reviews.

If you are on the Upper West Side today in the neighborhood of Lincoln Center (maybe going to see Placido Domingo in Simon Boccanegra?) check out Richard Tucker Square, the small triangle of land just south of 66th Street. In it sits a bust of Tucker by Milton Hebald; engraved on the base are the names of the 31 operas in which Tucker performed.

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Read more about the Metropolitan Opera and the creation of Lincoln Center in
Inside the Apple: A Streetwise History of New York City.

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What's in a Name?: Lincoln Square

Glenn Collins at The New York Times posted an interesting blog entry today about the mystery surrounding the naming of Lincoln Center. The center, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, is named for nearby Lincoln Square. But there seems to be no evidence to explain why this small triangle of land where Broadway and Columbus cross each other at 65th Street* was named in 1906 after President Lincoln. If, indeed, it was named after the Great Emancipator at all.

But we have a theory as to why there's a Lincoln Square. In March 1891, the next triangle of land north--where Amsterdam and Broadway cross at 70th Street--had been named for recently deceased Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman (who'd lived in a townhouse nearby). Soon the Sherman Square Hotel opened and, just a few blocks south, the Tecumseh apartments; Sherman Square quickly became a real draw and the center of the neighborhood.

As the new IRT subway began to bring residents to the Upper West Side in 1904, real estate development reached a fever pitch. It seems plausible that it was developers who pushed the city to rename the area around 65th Street Lincoln Square in an attempt to raise property values. They may have reasoned that if a Sherman Square was good, wouldn't a Lincoln Square be even better?

As Collins points out in his article, details are hard to track down. But we wouldn't be suprised if the answer turns out to be this real-estate one-upmanship.

* Lincoln Square the northern of the two triangles at this intersection; Dante Square is the name of the southern one.

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Much more about the Upper West Side and the city's propensity for renaming things can be found in our book, Inside the Apple.

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