Merritt, Chris (1952- )

US tenor. He studied in the USA and made his debut at the Salzburg Landestheater in 1978, as Lindoro. He appeared at Augsburg 1981-84, as Idomeneo, Rodolfo, Julien, and Rossini's Otello; other Rossini roles have included Pyrrhus in Ermione, Erisso in Maometto II, and James in La donna del lago (his debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London in 1985). He returned to London in 1986, as Idreno in a concert performance of Semiramide and as Arnold in Guillaume Tell (1990). Other roles include Count Libenskoff in Il viaggio a Reims (Vienna and Pesaro); Amenophis in Moïse et Pharaon (Paris Opéra); and Gluck's Admète (Chicago, 1990). He is noted for his powerful interpretations of Aeneas in Les Troyens and the title role in Robert le Diable (which he performed at Carnegie Hall).