Lawrence Mervil Tibbett (November 16, 1896 – July 15, 1960) was an American opera singer and recording artist who also performed as a film actor and radio personality.

[1] During World War I, he served in the Merchant Marine, after which he found employment singing as prologue to silent movies at the Grauman "Million Dollar" Theater in downtown Los Angeles.

Over the ensuing years, with the Met, he built a hugely successful career, displaying an outstanding voice, immaculate musicianship, and a strong stage presence.

His Met roles included Valentin in Charles Gounod's Faust, Silvio, and later, Tonio, in Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci and the King's Herald in Richard Wagner's Lohengrin.

[4] During the 1930s, Tibbett toured Europe and Australia, performing on stage or giving recitals in London, Paris, Prague and Vienna as well as in Sydney and Melbourne.

[6] Soon after, he starred in another MGM musical film, New Moon, opposite Grace Moore and The Cuban Love Song (1931), with Lupe Vélez.

He spent a summer in stock as the Reverend Davidson in Rain and played Captain Hook in a short-lived tour of the John Burrell staging of Peter Pan that was mounted for Jean Arthur and featured a musical score by the young Leonard Bernstein.

Dear Rogue: A Biography of the American Baritone Lawrence Tibbett, a comprehensive story of his personal life and musical career, by Hertzel Weinstat and Bert Wechsler, was published in 1996 by Amadeus Press of Portland, Oregon.

Although regarded as a dashing, compelling actor as well, Tibbett's true fame stems from the fact that he has long been considered to be, in terms of sheer voice, one of the better baritones to appear at the Metropolitan Opera.

His voice was large, with a dark timbre approaching that of a bass, and he commanded a full range of dynamics in his prime, from powerful fortes to delicate pianissimos.

In addition, Tibbett created leading roles in a number of American operas, including Louis Gruenberg's The Emperor Jones, based on Eugene O'Neill's play.

Continuing in this vein, Tibbett made a recording of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's song Ol' Man River from Show Boat.