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{{short description|American opera singer}}

'''Martha Lipton''' (April 6, 1913 – November 28, 2006) was an American operatic [[mezzo-soprano]].<ref name="playbill" />
'''Martha Lipton''' (April 6, 1913 – November 28, 2006) was an American operatic [[mezzo-soprano]].<ref name="playbill" />


==Biography==
==Biography==
Lipton was born in New York City. She won a scholarship to the [[Juilliard School]] and made her debut as Pauline in [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky]]'s opera ''[[The Queen of Spades (opera)|The Queen of Spades]]'' for the New Opera Company in Manhattan in 1941.<ref name="playbill">{{cite news |title=Mezzo-Soprano Martha Lipton Dies at 93 |first=Vivien |last=Schweitzer |newspaper=Playbill Arts|date=December 11, 2006|url=http://www.playbillarts.com/news/article/5716.html |quote=Martha Lipton, a mezzo-soprano who sang frequently at the Metropolitan Opera during the 1940s and '50s, died at age 93 on November 28, reports Opera News. Lipton was born in 1913 in New York City and won a scholarship to Juilliard. She made her debut in 1941 as Pauline in Tchaikovsky's Queen of Spades with Manhattan's now-defunct New Opera Company.|accessdate=October 28, 2010}}</ref> After making her first appearance with the [[New York City Opera]] in 1944 (their first season, and returned in 1958 and 1961), she went on to appear [[List of performers at the Metropolitan Opera|401 times]] at the [[Metropolitan Opera]].<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web |title= Martha Lipton|publisher=Allmusic |url={{Allmusic|class=artist|id=martha-lipton-q37032/biography|pure_url=yes}} |accessdate=October 28, 2010|quote=Martha Lipton had a major American operatic career as a mezzo-soprano and alto, appearing nearly 300 times at the Metropolitan Opera House between 1944 and 1961. She studied at the Juilliard, where she debuted as Pauline in Tchaikovsky's Queen of Spades in 1941. She first sang with the New York City Opera in 1944 as Nancy in Flotow's Martha, and in the same year at the Met as Siebel in Gounod's Faust. ...}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=A list of every performer (singer, dancer, or conductor) with one hundred performances or more|url=http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/singers.xml|publisher=[[Metropolitan Opera]]|location =New York City|date=June 23, 2009|accessdate=October 8, 2009}}</ref> Her most frequent assignments at the Met were as Annina in ''[[Der Rosenkavalier]]'' and Emilia in ''[[Otello]]''. She also performed as Mrs. Sedley in ''[[Peter Grimes]]'' in 1948, Mother Goose in ''[[The Rake's Progress]]'', in 1953, and Madame Larina in the 1957 [[Peter Brook]] staging of ''[[Eugene Onegin (opera)|Eugene Onegin]]''.<ref name="OperaNews" /> Her final appearance at the Met was as the Innkeeper in ''[[Boris Godunov]]'' in 1961.<ref name="playbill" />
Lipton was born in New York City. She won a scholarship to the [[Juilliard School]] and made her debut as Pauline in [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky]]'s opera ''[[The Queen of Spades (opera)|The Queen of Spades]]'' for the New Opera Company in Manhattan in 1941.<ref name="playbill">{{cite news |title=Mezzo-Soprano Martha Lipton Dies at 93 |first=Vivien |last=Schweitzer |newspaper=Playbill Arts|date=December 11, 2006|url=http://www.playbillarts.com/news/article/5716.html |quote=Martha Lipton, a mezzo-soprano who sang frequently at the Metropolitan Opera during the 1940s and '50s, died at age 93 on November 28, reports Opera News. Lipton was born in 1913 in New York City and won a scholarship to Juilliard. She made her debut in 1941 as Pauline in Tchaikovsky's Queen of Spades with Manhattan's now-defunct New Opera Company.|accessdate=October 28, 2010}}</ref> After making her first appearance with the [[New York City Opera]] in 1944 (their first season, and returned in 1958 and 1961), she went on to appear [[List of performers at the Metropolitan Opera|401 times]] at the [[Metropolitan Opera]].<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web |title= Martha Lipton|publisher=Allmusic |url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=martha-lipton-q37032/biography|pure_url=yes}} |accessdate=October 28, 2010|quote=Martha Lipton had a major American operatic career as a mezzo-soprano and alto, appearing nearly 300 times at the Metropolitan Opera House between 1944 and 1961. She studied at the Juilliard, where she debuted as Pauline in Tchaikovsky's Queen of Spades in 1941. She first sang with the New York City Opera in 1944 as Nancy in Flotow's Martha, and in the same year at the Met as Siebel in Gounod's Faust. ...}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=A list of every performer (singer, dancer, or conductor) with one hundred performances or more|url=http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/singers.xml|publisher=[[Metropolitan Opera]]|location =New York City|date=June 23, 2009|accessdate=October 8, 2009}}</ref> Her most frequent assignments at the Met were as Annina in ''[[Der Rosenkavalier]]'' and Emilia in ''[[Otello]]''. She also performed as Mrs. Sedley in ''[[Peter Grimes]]'' in 1948, Mother Goose in ''[[The Rake's Progress]]'', in 1953, and Madame Larina in the 1957 [[Peter Brook]] staging of ''[[Eugene Onegin (opera)|Eugene Onegin]]''. Her final appearance at the Met was as the Innkeeper in ''[[Boris Godunov (opera)|Boris Godunov]]'' in 1961.<ref name="playbill" />


Lipton also sang in Europe. She sang the title role in [[Benjamin Britten]]'s ''[[The Rape of Lucretia]]'' for the [[English Opera Group]] in 1954, and in 1956 starred as Augusta in the world premiere of [[Douglas Moore]]'s seminal opera ''[[The Ballad of Baby Doe]]'' at the [[Central City Opera House]] in Colorado.<ref name="playbill" />
Lipton also sang in Europe. She sang the title role in [[Benjamin Britten]]'s ''[[The Rape of Lucretia]]'' for the [[English Opera Group]] in 1954, and in 1956 starred as Augusta in the world premiere of [[Douglas Moore]]'s seminal opera ''[[The Ballad of Baby Doe]]'' at the [[Central City Opera House]] in Colorado.<ref name="playbill" />
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Lipton was active during the 1950s as a recording artist for [[Columbia Records]]. Her recordings with Columbia included Mahler's Third Symphony, featuring [[Leonard Bernstein]] leading the [[New York Philharmonic]] and Bruckner's Te Deum led by [[Bruno Walter]]. With [[Aaron Copland]] on piano, she recorded Copland's ''[[Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson]]''.<ref name="playbill" /> One of her best known recordings was [[Handel]]'s ''[[Messiah (Handel)|Messiah]]'' with [[Eugene Ormandy]] and the [[Philadelphia Orchestra]] and the [[Mormon Tabernacle Choir]]. She also participated in Ormandy's complete recording of ''[[Die Fledermaus]]'' singing the role of Prince Orlofsky.<ref name="allmusic" />
Lipton was active during the 1950s as a recording artist for [[Columbia Records]]. Her recordings with Columbia included Mahler's Third Symphony, featuring [[Leonard Bernstein]] leading the [[New York Philharmonic]] and Bruckner's Te Deum led by [[Bruno Walter]]. With [[Aaron Copland]] on piano, she recorded Copland's ''[[Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson]]''.<ref name="playbill" /> One of her best known recordings was [[Handel]]'s ''[[Messiah (Handel)|Messiah]]'' with [[Eugene Ormandy]] and the [[Philadelphia Orchestra]] and the [[Mormon Tabernacle Choir]]. She also participated in Ormandy's complete recording of ''[[Die Fledermaus]]'' singing the role of Prince Orlofsky.<ref name="allmusic" />


Lipton became a professor of voice at [[Indiana University]] in 1960. While serving as a professor, she also performed in many [[Indiana University]] opera productions. Most notably, Lipton played the role of Amneris from [[Giuseppe Verdi]]'s opera ''Aida'' in IU's outdoor stage production at [[Memorial Stadium (Indiana University)|Memorial Stadium]] in July and August 1963. In 1983, Lipton officially retired from teaching with the rank of [[professor emeritus]]. She continued to teach part-time until her death.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/findingaids/view?brand=general&docId=InU-Ar-VAC9312.xml&doc.view=entire_text|title= Martha Lipton papers, 1939-2006, bulk 1939-1977|publisher= Archives Online at Indiana University |accessdate= April 20, 2020}}</ref>
She was [[professor emeritus]] at [[Indiana University]]'s School of Music, whose voice faculty she joined in 1960.<ref name="OperaNews">(March 2007). "[http://www.operanews.com/operanews/templates/content.aspx?id=5929 Obituaries: Martha Lipton]", ''[[Opera News]]'' '''71''' (9): 80–81. Retrieved October 30, 2010.</ref> She retired from full-time teaching in 1983,<ref name="IUB past faculty">[http://www.libraries.iub.edu/index.php?pageId=5382 A list of past faculty in the School of Music]</ref> but continued teaching part-time until her death.<ref name="IUB Faculty 2001-2003">[http://www.iu.edu/~bulletin/iub/music/2001-2003/faculty.html List of IUB Faculty from 2001–2003]</ref>


Lipton died in [[Bloomington, Indiana]], on November 28, 2006. She was 93.<ref name="playbill" />
Lipton died in [[Bloomington, Indiana]], on November 28, 2006. She was 93.<ref name="playbill" />
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{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2012}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2012}}

==Further reading==
*[http://www.bruceduffie.com/lipton.html Interview with Martha Lipton], January 10, 1994


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:Jacobs School of Music faculty]]
[[Category:Jacobs School of Music faculty]]
[[Category:Juilliard School alumni]]
[[Category:Juilliard School alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century American singers]]
[[Category:20th-century American women opera singers]]
[[Category:20th-century opera singers]]
[[Category:Classical musicians from New York (state)]]
[[Category:20th-century women singers]]
[[Category:American music educators]]
[[Category:American women music educators]]
[[Category:Singers from Indiana]]
[[Category:Classical musicians from Indiana]]
[[Category:21st-century American women]]

Latest revision as of 20:01, 28 October 2023

Martha Lipton (April 6, 1913 – November 28, 2006) was an American operatic mezzo-soprano.[1]

Biography[edit]

Lipton was born in New York City. She won a scholarship to the Juilliard School and made her debut as Pauline in Tchaikovsky's opera The Queen of Spades for the New Opera Company in Manhattan in 1941.[1] After making her first appearance with the New York City Opera in 1944 (their first season, and returned in 1958 and 1961), she went on to appear 401 times at the Metropolitan Opera.[2][3] Her most frequent assignments at the Met were as Annina in Der Rosenkavalier and Emilia in Otello. She also performed as Mrs. Sedley in Peter Grimes in 1948, Mother Goose in The Rake's Progress, in 1953, and Madame Larina in the 1957 Peter Brook staging of Eugene Onegin. Her final appearance at the Met was as the Innkeeper in Boris Godunov in 1961.[1]

Lipton also sang in Europe. She sang the title role in Benjamin Britten's The Rape of Lucretia for the English Opera Group in 1954, and in 1956 starred as Augusta in the world premiere of Douglas Moore's seminal opera The Ballad of Baby Doe at the Central City Opera House in Colorado.[1]

Lipton was active during the 1950s as a recording artist for Columbia Records. Her recordings with Columbia included Mahler's Third Symphony, featuring Leonard Bernstein leading the New York Philharmonic and Bruckner's Te Deum led by Bruno Walter. With Aaron Copland on piano, she recorded Copland's Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson.[1] One of her best known recordings was Handel's Messiah with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. She also participated in Ormandy's complete recording of Die Fledermaus singing the role of Prince Orlofsky.[2]

Lipton became a professor of voice at Indiana University in 1960. While serving as a professor, she also performed in many Indiana University opera productions. Most notably, Lipton played the role of Amneris from Giuseppe Verdi's opera Aida in IU's outdoor stage production at Memorial Stadium in July and August 1963. In 1983, Lipton officially retired from teaching with the rank of professor emeritus. She continued to teach part-time until her death.[4]

Lipton died in Bloomington, Indiana, on November 28, 2006. She was 93.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Schweitzer, Vivien (December 11, 2006). "Mezzo-Soprano Martha Lipton Dies at 93". Playbill Arts. Retrieved October 28, 2010. Martha Lipton, a mezzo-soprano who sang frequently at the Metropolitan Opera during the 1940s and '50s, died at age 93 on November 28, reports Opera News. Lipton was born in 1913 in New York City and won a scholarship to Juilliard. She made her debut in 1941 as Pauline in Tchaikovsky's Queen of Spades with Manhattan's now-defunct New Opera Company.
  2. ^ a b "Martha Lipton". Allmusic. Retrieved October 28, 2010. Martha Lipton had a major American operatic career as a mezzo-soprano and alto, appearing nearly 300 times at the Metropolitan Opera House between 1944 and 1961. She studied at the Juilliard, where she debuted as Pauline in Tchaikovsky's Queen of Spades in 1941. She first sang with the New York City Opera in 1944 as Nancy in Flotow's Martha, and in the same year at the Met as Siebel in Gounod's Faust. ...
  3. ^ "A list of every performer (singer, dancer, or conductor) with one hundred performances or more". New York City: Metropolitan Opera. June 23, 2009. Retrieved October 8, 2009.
  4. ^ "Martha Lipton papers, 1939-2006, bulk 1939-1977". Archives Online at Indiana University. Retrieved April 20, 2020.

Further reading[edit]

*Interview with Martha Lipton, January 10, 1994
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Martha_Lipton&oldid=1182353894"