Manolo Álvarez Mera (né Manuel Ernesto Álvarez-Mera 7 November 1923 Havana, Cuba – 16 October 1986 New York City) was a Cuban-born tenor who flourished as a bel canto during the late 1940s and 1950s. Despite having an operatic caliber voice, he gained popularity singing in operettas, musical reviews, radio, television, vaudeville, and major night clubs in Cuba, New York, and Latin America. He became a Cuban exile in 1960 after the Cuban Revolution.
Career
Cuba
Álvarez was born November 7, 1923, to Beniana (née Mera) and Manuel Alvarez in the Luyanó neighborhood of Diez de Octubre, Havana, Cuba. After formally studying voice in Havana, Álvarez performed for the first time in public at the Teatro Principal de la Comedia (Main Theater of Comedy) in Havana in 1943, singing the role of Niño Fernando in , a one act zarzuela, a characteristically Spanish genre of lyric and dramatic theatre. The lyrics were by Gustavo Sánchez Galarraga (1893–1934) and the music by Ernesto Lecuona. Maruja González (1904–1999) sang the soprano role of Mary la O. He went on in 1944 to perform at the Teatro Lírico Cubano (Lyric Theater of Cuba), singing in La Plaza de la Catedral (The Cathedral Square), a zarzuela by Lecuona. He sang the same work for radio stations RHC-Cadena Azul and CMQ.
He then performed in several zarzuelas, including Luisa Fernanda, , , La dolorosa, and Cecilia Valdés, which also included singers Maruja Montes (1930–1993), Rosita Fornés (born 1943), Zoraida Marrero (1911–2004), Esther Borja (1913–2013), Sarita Escarpentier (born 1925), Dorini de Diso (1901–1948), Miguel de Grandy, Antonio Palacios, Jesús Freyre, and (1911–1978).
New York
On September 16, 1947, he appeared as a soloist in the musical revue Violins Over Broadway at the Diamond Horseshoes Night Club in New York, produced by impresario Billy Rose. The show ran for two years.
Brazil
In 1950, Álvarez moved to Rio de Janeiro and performed in Sao Paulo and on several Brazilian radio stations.
Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay
In 1952, Álvarez toured Chile including visits to Buenos Aires and Montevideo. His performances were acclaimed by the Cuban magazine, .
In his Uruguay radio concerts, Álvarez was hailed "Sir Hyperbole!" Many of his interpretations, including María la O; Granada by Agustín Lara; and Ay-Ay-Ay by Osmán Pérez Freire, were interrupted with applause, and he was forced to repeat them three or four times. The night of the farewell, as he went on stage, the audience — more than two thousand excited people — threw a rain of carnations and roses, forming a cloak over him. The program was interrupted for a long time by this emotional tribute.
Álvarez continued his tour to Brazil and also returned to Buenos Aires. He had an exclusive recording contract with Victor and recorded Granada by Agustín Lara and Despedida by María Grever with the RCA Orchestra under the direction of conductor Vieri Fidanzini.
United States
Álvarez returned to the United States in 1951. Accompanied by the Carlos Molina Orchestra (1899–1982), Álvarez sang Granada in a short 1953 film Carnival in April released in 3D by Universal. The film also featured Toni Arden, Josephine Premice, and Fernando Rodriguez. On April 4, 1954, he appeared on the television show, The Colgate Comedy Hour, with Eddie Cantor. He also appeared at the Flamingo Las Vegas with Freddie Martin.
Hollywood
By mid-March 1953, Álvarez had been studying for six months with Arthur Rosenberg. On April 18, 1954 — Easter Sunday — Álvarez sang The Lord's Prayer in a sunrise national broadcast produced by David Rose at the Hollywood Bowl with conductor Miklós Rózsa.
In 1954, he appeared as a featured singer in New York at the Waldorf Astoria with Freddie Martin and His Orchestra. He also appeared at the Edgewater Beach in Chicago, and the Skyroom at the Mapes Hotel in Reno. He held a principal role in the production Spanish Fantasy, a show that toured America, performing at venues that included the Terrace Room at the Statler Hotel in Los Angeles. and the Empire Room at the Statler Hilton in Dallas. He also sang on the NBC television program Saturday Night Review, Coast to Coast.