When Eddie Johnson as a boy stood on a picnic table in Guelph and sang “Annie Rooney,” a popular tune of the day, the crowd knew that they were hearing an unusual voice, but no one could imagine that he would become one of the world’s great tenors and, later, general manager of the world’s largest opera house, the Metropolitan in New York.

Born in Guelph in 1878, the son of a father who was active in local musical groups, Edward established a name for himself as a soloist in various church choirs and, at 16, became conductor of a Sunday school choir at one church and soloist at another.

He first considered becoming a missionary. His father wanted him to study law, but at age 20, Edward decided to go to New York to study music. He sang in churches, synagogues, clubs, and anywhere else he could make a dollar to keep him in room, board, a few clothes and permit him to attend recitals, symphonies, and operas. Opera quickly became his true interest. Always practical, he knew he would have to study in Europe, so he carefully saved his money.

His “break” that enabled him to study in Europe came when Oscar Straus wrote A Waltz Dream, an operetta that required a slim and handsome naval lieutenant to play the lead. Johnson won the part. It provided him with $600 a week in salary, star billing, and rave reviews.

After one season, he had saved enough money for Europe. In Paris he was met by a young man known to him in Guelph who introduced him to a brilliant and sophisticated Portuguese aristocrat, Beatrix da Veiga, known to friends as “Bebe.” She heard him sing and commented, “Yes, the voice is beautiful. He may go far if he works.”

With Bebe’s help in languages (she spoke several), he studied until his money ran out. He returned to New York for yet another year of concerts and choir appearances. On his return to Paris, Bebe arranged a recital for him which proved successful. The decision was made that he should study opera in Italy. This required more money, so Johnson returned to New York in 1907 and spent two years there to earn enough to marry Bebe, move to Florence, and study under Vincenzo Lombardi who had earlier taught Enrico Caruso.

In the next three years Edward and Bebe had their only daughter, Fiorenza, and Bebe con-tinued to give Edward language instruction while Lombardi perfected his protégé’s singing skills. His teacher insisted he would not allow Johnson to appear until he was ready. This happened in 1912 when he appeared in Andrea Chénier as Edoardo di Giovanni, not as Edward Johnson since Europeans of that time could not imagine an opera star with an English name.

As the curtain fell on his first performance, there were shouts of approval from the audi ence followed by high praise from the critics. This led to invitations to perform in other operas. He was approached to sing at the Costanzi in Rome, then starred in Isabeau and other roles that

won critical acclaim and prompted La Scala to make him the lead tenor in Wagner’s Parsifal, which he sang 25 times over the next three months. In 1916 La Scala sent the entire ensemble to Argentina and Brazil for six months and his stardom continued. In 1918, Puccini asked him to create the leading roles in two of his three one-act operas, titled Il Trittico. These were to be performed in the spring of 1919, one of the most devastating periods of Johnson’s life as Bebe died in May after a brief illness.

Later that year Johnson joined the Chicago Opera Company where he was talked into using his own name and watched his years of European stardom slip into oblivion as the company was dominated by a backer who had her favourite singers and he was not among them. He managed to fulfil his contract, however, and, at the end of this period, New York’s famed Metropolitan Opera Company beckoned. He joined it for the 1921 season, but illness threatened his career when he was forced to miss several performances. 

Edward Johnson's magnificent intelligence, commanding physique, and much hard work made him the leading tenor of the Metropolitan Opera Company between 1922-1935. His every appearance at "the Met" was sold out. Ovations lasted ten minutes of more. This signed photograph to Sir John and Lady Eaton depicts Edward Johnson as he played Rudolph in Puccini's La Boheme at "the Met" in 1925. [Photo, courtesy University of Toronto Music Library]

In the years that followed, Johnson toured in Japan and China, spent five summer seasons at Chicago’s Ravinia Park and winters at the Met where he starred in numerous productions. Among them was the role of Peter in another Taylor opera, Peter Ibbetson.

The depression and the death of multi-millionaire backer Otto Kahn caused financial havoc for the Met in the early 1930s. Johnson took on an additional role, that of fund raiser, sometimes making several speeches a week to service clubs and other groups, appealing to audiences from the stage, and even visiting upscale bars and salons along Park Avenue to enlist support. As a result, he became the Met’s assistant general manager in 1934, and general manager a year later when Hubert Witherspoon, who had recommended him for Nikki in A Waltz Dream, died of a heart attack.

For the next 15 years Johnson worked prodigiously to “Save the Met” as well as introduce many new stars and operas. H. Napier Moore spelled out the enormity of the job in a Maclean’s magazine article in 1939; he reported that Johnson not only dealt with the performers and conductors but was responsible for a staff of 750 people backstage and another 110 for box office, secretarial, and janitorial services.

As an administrator, Johnson carefully revitalized the Met. He was largely responsible for getting NBC to broadcast the Saturday afternoon performances live during the season to expose grand opera to millions of people across the continent. He extended the company’s repertory to include the works of Mozart and expanded its road trip itinerary. He got a sponsor for his “Metropolitan Auditions of the Air” program, and this led to the discovery of dozens of new stars, among them America’s Risë Stevens, Patrice Munsel, Robert Merrill, Richard Tucker, Canada’s Raoul Jobin, and France’s Martial Singher.

To mark his farewell in 1950, a grateful Metropolitan Board held a pageant with many of the famous opera stars taking part. Johnson was presented with the evening’s proceeds of $46,000. He promptly turned this back to the Met as a fund to be used to assist needy artists. 

Edward Johnson's debut as Nikki in Oscar Straus' A Waltz Dream at the New York's Broadway Theater in 1908 made him an overnight star. [Photo, courtesy Guelph Museums/Photographer, Hall]

Returning to Guelph in 1950, Johnson did anything but retire. He became involved with the Toronto Conservatory of Music, worked with others to have some of the best works of Canadian composers played in Carnegie Hall, adjudicated various competitions and concerts and visited New York and Europe often. In 1953, he became the fourth person in the 50-year history of the Canadian Club of New York to receive its gold medal. Two years later, Guelph also paid tribute to him, naming a public school in his honour.

Then 77, Johnson still continued to be involved in musical education and appreciation until the evening he died four years later. On April 20, 1959, the internationally acclaimed tenor, dressed in his familiar white tie and tails for a National Ballet recital at the Guelph arena, suffered a fatal heart attack on entering the building.

Mel James