All Is Forgiven

Nine months of exile from the Metropolitan Opera was more than Baritone Robert Merrill, 33, could stand. He had made big money in the Siberia of the movie and TV studios, but after all, he was a singer and the Met was "my life." He penned a chastened apology to General Manager Rudolf Bing, who had sacked him last spring (TIME, April 16) for dashing off before season's end to make a movie called Aaron Slick from Punkin Crick: "I ... appreciate that you had no other alternative . . . Should you be willing to consider my reinstatement . . . your trust in me will not be misplaced." Last week Bing announced his answer: "To admit one's mistakes the way you have done is a sign of moral courage and decency. I shall be willing to forget the past." Merrill, one of the Met's best baritones, will rejoin the company for its spring tour.

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