Eileen Farrell

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Eileen Farrell (born February 13, 1920 in Wilmantic , Connecticut , † March 23, 2002 in Park Ridge , New Jersey ) was an American opera singer ( soprano ).

Life

Eileen Farrell's parents performed as vaudeville artists. The daughter received her first musical training from the popular contralto Merle Alcott , who recommended the young singer to audition at the CBS , which led to regular radio appearances, from 1942 to 1947 even to her own radio program entitled "Eileen Farrell presents". The program presented here ranged from popular hits to classic opera arias .

In 1944 Farrell switched to the singing teacher Eleanor McLellan , who helped her to greatly improve her singing and, above all, breathing technique. In the following years she worked primarily as a concert singer, including tours through the USA (1947-48) and South America (1949). In 1950 she was engaged as the soprano soloist for Arturo Toscanini's recording of Ludwig van Beethoven's 9th Symphony .

The concert platform continued to be a focus of her work. In the 50s and 60s she was the most booked soprano soloist in the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under Leonard Bernstein . Other great American conductors like Thomas Schippers and Eugene Ormandy also enjoyed working with her a lot.

In 1951 she sang a full opera for the first time in a concert performance of the opera Wozzeck by Alban Berg in the role of Marie at Carnegie Hall in New York.

Her actual operatic debut took place in Tampa in 1956 , where she sang Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana by Pietro Mascagni . After stints at the opera houses in San Francisco and Chicago , she came to the Metropolitan Opera New York in 1960 , a member of which she remained until 1966 with one season break.

From the beginning she sang not only classical music but also hits, musical songs and jazz , and later also pop songs. At the end of her career, she also recorded several blues CDs.

In the 1955 film, Interrupted Melody, about Australian soprano Marjorie Lawrence , she voiced Eleanor Parker , who received an Oscar nomination for the role .

From 1971 to 1980 Farrell was a professor at Indiana University in Bloomington , from 1983 to 1985 at the University of Maine in Orono .

In 1999 her autobiography "Can't Help Singing" was published.

family

Eileen Farrell was married to a police officer with whom she had two children. At times, her siblings and families also lived with her. The family was always more important to Farrell than her stage career, which is why she herself preferred radio and concert appearances to the opera stage.

meaning

Eileen Farrell is now recognized by professionals and fans as the leading American dramatic soprano of her time. She had a huge, soft timbred voice with a large range and a technical sovereignty with which she could also sing ornate parts such as the Elisabetta in Gaetano Donizetti's Maria Stuarda .

The fact that she still did not make a corresponding stage career was partly due to the fact that she had the feeling that the star operation of the opera could not be reconciled with her family life. On the other hand, like many other singers, she had problems with the general director of the MET, Rudolf Bing , mainly because she did not want to be forbidden from singing popular music, which Bing considered to be incompatible with the dignity of his house.

Recordings

  • Verdi "Eileen Farrell sings Verdi" (Sony)
  • Handel "Messiah" (Sony)
  • Donizetti "Maria Stuarda" (Westminster)
  • Mountain "Wozzeck" (Line Music)
  • Mount "Wozzeck" (Sony)
  • Wagner "Wesendonck-Lieder" (Testament)
  • Wagner "Bernstein Conducts Wagner" (Gala)
  • Puccini "Great Performances - Puccini Arias" (Sony)
  • Ponchielli "La Gioconda" (Living Stage)
  • "Eileen Farrell - Opera Arias And Songs" (Testament)
  • "Eileen Farrell in New Orleans" (Vai)
  • "Carols for Christmas Eve" (Cbs / Epic / Wtg Records)
  • "Eileen Farrell sings Rodgers & Hart" (Reference)
  • "Eileen Farrell sings Harold Arlen" (Reference)
  • "Eileen Farrell sings Alec Wilder" (Reference)
  • "Eileen Farrell sings Johnny Mercer" (Reference)
  • "My Very Best" (Reference)
  • "It's Over" (Reference)
  • "I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues" (Sony)
  • "Love Is Letting Go" (Drg)
  • "This Fling Called Love" with Percy Faith and his orchestra
    on it contain the Oscar-nominated song The Faraway Part of Town

Movie

  • Eileen Farrell - An American Prima Donna (Video Artists International) (2004)

literature

Web links

Source references

  1. ↑ https://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=82753 accessed on August 17, 2020
personal data
SURNAME Farrell, Eileen
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American opera singer (soprano)
DATE OF BIRTH February 13, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH Wilmantic , Connecticut
DATE OF DEATH March 23, 2002
Place of death Park Ridge , New Jersey