Earning the rare distinction of moving from the New York City Opera to the Metropolitan Opera by virtue of the Met's invitation, Gill performed as a principal artist from day one.

The former Harvard House master became a world-class opera singer overnight, travelling from Pittsburgh to Amsterdam to Carcacas in a 14-year career spanning dozens of operas. His performance stirred Variety magazine to use the words "Richard T. Gill" and "tour de theatre" in the same sentence.

In the mid '80s, Gill added another section to his resume. Combining the scholarship of his Harvard days with the glamour of the opera, Gill found a home in the television studio, helping to create ECONOMICS U$A, a 28-program public broadcasting television series for which he served as an on-air analyst.

The Encore Academic

By 1992, Gill had written several economic textbooks, as well as a sociological work entitled Our Changing Population with Professor of Education and Social Structure Emeritus Nathan Glazer and Winthrop Professor of History Stephan Thernstrom. His latest work, Posterity Lost: Progress, Ideology and the Decline of the American Family, was published last year.

Gill will discuss his book in one of the symposia planned for the class of 1948 on Wednesday.

But first, Gill will perform with the Boston Pops as their featured vocalist tomorrow evening.

"He's Mr. Eclectic," son Peter says.

When asked to explain his wild versatility, Richard Gill jokes that one must have "a certain limited intelligence to try so many things."

Originally considering life as a lawyer, after serving a year in the Army as a teenager, "I had a reconsideration of my lifelong goals," Gill says. "I can only applaud this decision in retrospect."