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Ruby Mercer was an American-born Canadian soprano, writer, and broadcaster. She made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1936 and toured North America as an opera, operetta, and musical comedy performer for several years, before becoming the producer and host of WNYC's radio program Mr. and Mrs. Opera (1949-1958) and MBS's The Ruby Mercer Show (1954-1958).
Following her marriage to Geza Por in 1958, they moved to Toronto, where she founded Opera Canada in 1960 and remained its editor until 1990. In 1968, she co-founded the Canadian Children's Opera Chorus with Lloyd Bradshaw. As a radio broadcaster, she hosted Opera Time and its successor Opera in Stereo on CBC radio (1962-1979, 1979-1984).
Mercer also wrote various books, including a biography of Edward Johnson The Tenor of his Time (Toronto, 1976) and The Quilicos: Louis, Gino and Lina (Oakville, 1990).
Mercer was named a member of the Order of Canada in 1995 and received an honorary doctorate from the University of Toronto in the same year. She passed away on January 26, 1999 in Toronto, Ontario.
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Created October 25, 2023.