Theatre Director. A prolific operatic designer and creator, he is remembered for his three decades as resident stage director of the Metropolitan Opera, during his tenure directing over 200 productions of 100 different operas. Raised in the Boston suburbs, he graduated from Dartmouth, studied at the New England Conservatory of Music, and received his M.A. from Boston University. During a graduate fellowship, he worked at the Salzburg and Glyndebourne Festivals and also gained experience at the Hamburg Opera. Mr. Merrill made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1956 providing a fresh staging for an old production of "La Boheme". A hallmark of his productions was their durability as they survived multiple revivals with different casts; he produced a well-received rendering of Verdi's "Aida" in 1963 and in 1964 followed with Saint-Saens "Samson and Dalila", though probably his two best known works were a 1960 presentation of Donizetti's comedy "L'Elisir d'Amore" in which the quack Dr. Dulcamara arrives in a balloon and a 1969 rococco reading of Richard Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier" which as of 2013 remained in the repertoire. Mr. Merrill also directed new productions for Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, the Vienna State Opera, and Teatro Colon, among others. In 1981 he moved to Denver with his wife, conductor Louise Sherman, and founded Opera Colorado, for which they brought numerous international stars to Denver. He returned to the Met in 1985 to create the company's first production of Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess", retired after Sherman died of cancer in 1998, lived out his days in Denver, and died of the complications of Alzheimer's Disease.
Theatre Director. A prolific operatic designer and creator, he is remembered for his three decades as resident stage director of the Metropolitan Opera, during his tenure directing over 200 productions of 100 different operas. Raised in the Boston suburbs, he graduated from Dartmouth, studied at the New England Conservatory of Music, and received his M.A. from Boston University. During a graduate fellowship, he worked at the Salzburg and Glyndebourne Festivals and also gained experience at the Hamburg Opera. Mr. Merrill made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1956 providing a fresh staging for an old production of "La Boheme". A hallmark of his productions was their durability as they survived multiple revivals with different casts; he produced a well-received rendering of Verdi's "Aida" in 1963 and in 1964 followed with Saint-Saens "Samson and Dalila", though probably his two best known works were a 1960 presentation of Donizetti's comedy "L'Elisir d'Amore" in which the quack Dr. Dulcamara arrives in a balloon and a 1969 rococco reading of Richard Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier" which as of 2013 remained in the repertoire. Mr. Merrill also directed new productions for Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, the Vienna State Opera, and Teatro Colon, among others. In 1981 he moved to Denver with his wife, conductor Louise Sherman, and founded Opera Colorado, for which they brought numerous international stars to Denver. He returned to the Met in 1985 to create the company's first production of Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess", retired after Sherman died of cancer in 1998, lived out his days in Denver, and died of the complications of Alzheimer's Disease.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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