George J. Hamlin

There was a time, not so very many years ago, when to be an American singer was to be excluded from the leading rôles at the great American opera houses—unless, indeed, the aspirant for such fame was fortunate enough to have won high repute in European grand opera. The women broke through the barrier first; the men came more slowly; nowadays an American singer stands on an equal footing with foreign operatic celebrities. George J. Hamlin, member of the Century since 1920, was one of the tenors who vindicated America’s repute. Beginning on the concert stage, where his fine voice and high musical intelligence won him great distinction, he made his operatic début at Chicago in 1912, in Victor Herbert’s Indian opera. Later he sang the leading tenor rôles in Carmen, Madame Butterfly, Tosca, and Jewels of the Madonna.

Alexander Dana Noyes
1923 Century Association Yearbook