Peerce, Jan (1904-1984), became one of the most successful American opera and concert tenors of his day. His faultless musicianship won praise from Arturo Toscanini and other leading conductors. Peerce was the tenor in several of the famous Toscanini-NBC opera radio broadcasts. The broadcasts were later transferred to commercial recordings. Peerce’s lyrical voice retained its power even when he was more than 60 years old.
Peerce was born in New York City. His real name was Jacob Pincus Perelmuth. Peerce played the violin in dance orchestras before he became a tenor at Radio City in 1933. He made his operatic debut in 1938 in Philadelphia as the duke in Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto. Peerce appeared in a New York recital in 1939, and made his debut with the Metropolitan Opera in 1941 as Alfredo in Verdi’s La Traviata.
