Chris Merritt’s brave plea for help

ByGramilano 12 April 20157 July 2024 Reading Time: 3 minutes

Chris Merritt has written a heartfelt plea for financial aid on gofundme.com – he is asking fans and friends to help kick-start his career.

Dear Ones, near and far…..I am turning to this entrepreneurial undertaking as a way to finance my career back into functionality.

Due to very unfortunate managerial problems, my career has experienced a terrible downslide to the point of almost non-existence. Because of this, I have been forced to completely deplete all existing savings and retirement, causing me to practically live on fumes.

Needless to say….I am now without management.

Merritt, who has sung in the world’s major opera houses and has made numerous recordings, both audio and video, has seen his career grind to a halt. Now he has found the courage to explain what has happened and admit that he needs help to go on; an extraordinarily brave thing do to.

In addition, my bank of 19 years….DeutscheBank….refuses to give me any help to get my business back on track, something that I feel they would be happy to offer to other self-employed business people….just not to me perhaps because my business happens to be Opera.

However, in the midst of this personal chaos, I have been able to slowly find work on my own, almost at the same time I was thrown out of my management company. Now, things are beginning to look very good, indeed. I have engagements coming up very quickly in Italy, Mexico and the U.S. Other projects are beginning to appear on the horizon. My career is showing signs of life, again.

And now, at the point where I am about to embark on these new engagements….I am without the funds to support myself with basics like travel, lodgings and food nor to be able to keep the home-fires glowing in paying regular monthly costs of phone, internet, water, health insurance, etc.

Merritt is looking to raise the relatively small sum of €20,000, (a night’s fee for some singers) and in just two days more than half of that figure has been pledged.

His career, from the late ’70s onwards, has taken him to Salzburg, Carnegie Hall, Covent Garden, Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, La Scala, Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Met, and many other important houses. Merritt finishes his appeal by saying,

For these reasons….I need your help to get my career and my life back into *the black*. If you can possibly help me with this, I would be forever grateful.

And the artist and performer in me can feel the glow of expression and involvement once more!

Thank you.

Heading surely towards his goal, he has written,

MY DEAR FRIENDS……I AM SO AMAZED AND VERY HUMBLED BY EVERYONE’S GREAT GENEROSITY!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU:

WE JUST ABOUT HALFWAY TO GOAL, THANKS TO YOUR HELP!!!

THE BEST IS YET TO COME…I JUST KNOW IT!!

If you want to help, go to www.gofundme.com/

Gramilano

Graham Spicer, aka 'Gramilano', is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Italian ballerina Carla Fracci.

Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.

He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.