Melchiorre Luise (December 21, 1896 – November 22, 1967) was a leading exponent of the operatic basso buffo repertoire.
At the Met, Luise appeared as the Innkeeper in Manon (opposite Licia Albanese, then Bidu Sayão and Eleanor Steber), the Sacristan in Tosca (in Dino Yannopoulos's production), as the Bonze in Madama Butterfly (with Dorothy Kirsten), as Benoît and Alcindoro in La bohème (with Jan Peerce, then Jussi Björling), as Don Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia (opposite Robert Merrill), as Maestro Spinelloccio in Gianni Schicchi (with Italo Tajo, later Salvatore Baccaloni, Nadine Conner, and Giuseppe di Stefano), and as Geronte de Ravoir in Manon Lescaut (with Stella Roman, Richard Tucker, and Frank Valentino).
His appearances at the Scala include Il cedulo (1951), Il barbiere di Siviglia (with Giulietta Simionato, 1952), Don Pasquale (conducted by Nino Sanzogno, and directed by Giorgio Strehler, 1952), La bohème (1952), Tosca (1953), La Wally (with Renata Tebaldi, Mario del Monaco, and the young Renata Scotto, conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini, 1953), I quatro rusteghi (1954 and 1957), and, again, Il barbiere (1956).
Luise's studio recordings include Don Pasquale (in the title role, with Scipio Colombo as Dr Malatesta, p. 1952), Il barbiere di Siviglia (opposite Gino Bechi and Victoria de los Ángeles, conducted by Tullio Serafin, 1952), L'elisir d'amore (led by Gabriele Santini, 1952), and, most notably, Tosca (with Maria Callas, di Stefano, and Tito Gobbi, conducted by Victor de Sabata, 1953).
The bass died in Milan, at the age of seventy, and is buried in that city's Cimitero Maggiore.