Voice: | Bass-baritone |
Nationality: | American |
Year of Birth: | 1925 |
Year of Death: | 2010 |
Peter Sliker (7 June 1925 – 25 June 2010) was an American operatic bass-baritone who had a lengthy career performing at the Metropolitan Opera from 1961 through 1989. He specialized in portraying comprimario roles and was admired for his comic timing. He has appeared on several Live from the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts and Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts.
Born in Jersey City, New Jersey to Harry and Ella Sliker, Sliker started studying music at a young age and began singing on local radio programs at the age of 7. After graduating from Henry Snyder High School, he enlisted in the United States Navy in 1942. He spent the majority of World War II serving in the Mumansk Run in the Northern part of the Atlantic Ocean. After the war, he took a job as a purser for the United States Lines shipping company; notably serving on the SS United States when it captured the trans-Atlantic speed record on 4 July 1952. In 1948 he married Myra Warren whom he later divorced.
While working for the United States Line, Sliker pursued university studies; first at Rutgers University and then Harvard University where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelor's degree in languages in 1950. He concurrently studied music at the New England Conservatory where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in vocal performance in 1951. He then lived in Cuba for a year to study languages further, by this time already having mastered six languages.