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Lauritz Melchior

Lauritz Melchior

1 9.9
A Danish opera singer famous for singing main roles in Wagner operas in the United States
  • proper noun
  • /ˈlɔːrɪts ˈmɛlkiɔr/
: Lauritz Melchior
  • Many critics consider Lauritz Melchior the greatest Wagnerian tenor of the 20th century.

Examples

  • Lauritz Melchior performed at the Metropolitan Opera for over two decades.

  • Did you know that Lauritz Melchior was born in Denmark?

  • Recordings of Lauritz Melchior continue to inspire opera enthusiasts around the world.

  • The legendary Lauritz Melchior captivated audiences with his powerful voice.

  • Many critics consider Lauritz Melchior the greatest Wagnerian tenor of the 20th century.

  • Lauritz Melchior performed at the Metropolitan Opera for over two decades.

  • The legendary Lauritz Melchior captivated audiences with his powerful voice.

Surface Forms

Morphology

Lauritz + Melchior

This item is a proper name referring to a specific individual; the constituent parts 'Lauritz' and 'Melchior' have no lexical meanings that would allow a learner to infer the referent or biographical information. Proper names are not compositionally interpretable, so a B1 learner who only knows the name components would not be able to derive that this is a Danish-born operatic tenor.

Etymology

Lauritz Melchior was a singer from Denmark with a huge, powerful voice who became the top performer of Richard Wagner's long, heroic operas. Think of a voice so strong it fills a whole opera house — that's why his name stands for a great 'Wagnerian tenor'.