ABSTRACT
American bass-baritone, born in New York. He studied in Florence, and made his opera debut in Fossombrone (Italy), as Marcello on 30 Apr 1911. From 1913 he performed in New York, Boston, and other American cities, and on 17 Nov 1917 he appeared at the Metropolitan Opera, singing Valentine. He remained with the Metropolitan through 1922, doing the French/Italian roles. After a tonsillectomy in 1922, his voice deteriorated and he had to withdraw from opera and to some extent from recording. Chalmers was a dramatic actor as well as a singer, with many important stage roles. After he retired from stage appearances, he went into motion picture production. Later he was seen on television, and his voice was heard as the narrator in the classic documentary films The Plough that Broke the Plains and The River. He died in Greenwich, Connecticut.
