Irene Dalis

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Irene Dalis (born October 8, 1925 in San José , California ; † December 14, 2014 there ) was an American opera singer in the mezzo-soprano and alto voices .

Life

Family and education

Dalis was born as Yvonne Dalis . Her father was of Greek descent and had immigrated to the United States when he was 14; her mother was Italian . Dalis was the youngest of five children in the family and learned to play the piano as a child . While studying at San José State University , she discovered her interest in singing and decided to take a vocal training course. She first studied singing in New York City with Edyth Walker and with the US tenor Paul Althouse . Further studies followed in Europe . In Milan the German Otto Mueller was her singing teacher; from him she received the name Irene . In Berlin the contralto Margarete Klose was her singing teacher.

Career

In 1953 Dalis made her stage debut as an opera singer at the State Theater in Oldenburg . She sang the role of Princess Eboli in Verdi's opera Don Carlos . From 1955 to 1960 she was then engaged as “First Alto” ​​at the Städtische Oper Berlin . Her inaugural role was also the Princess Eboli. There she also sang Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera , Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde and Assunta in Die Heilige von der Bleeker Street by Gian Carlo Menotti .

In March 1957 she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York , also as Princess Eboli . She was engaged there for a total of 19 seasons. She sang 22 different roles and appeared in a total of 274 MET performances. Her roles at MET included a. Amneris in Aida , Azucena in Il trovatore , Lady Macbeth in Macbeth , Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana and Dalila in Samson et Dalila . Later in her career, Dalis also sang a number of character roles at the MET, such as Herodias in Salome (February 1973), Zita in Gianni Schicchi (1974–1976), Frugola in Il tabarro (1976) and Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica (also 1976) .

In the United States, Dalis also appeared at the Lyric Opera of Chicago (fall 1958), at the San Francisco Opera (including 1959 as a wet nurse in the US premiere of the opera Die Frau ohne Schatten ; 1967 as Brangäne), and at the opera houses from Miami , Philadelphia and Seattle .

Dalis was particularly successful in Europe. In 1958 she made her debut at Covent Garden Opera in London with the role of Ortrud in Lohengrin . She made regular guest appearances there in the following years. At the Bayreuth Festival she took on the role of Kundry in Parsifal from 1961 to 1963 ; she was the first US woman in this role. In 1962 she also sang Ortrud in Lohengrin in Bayreuth . In 1966 she made a guest appearance with the ensemble of the Hamburg State Opera in London. There she sang the role of wet nurse in the British premiere of the opera Die Frau ohne Schatten at Sadler's Wells Opera . From 1967 to 1971 she had a permanent guest contract with the Hamburg State Opera . Dalis also sang in Europe at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona and at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples . In 1977 Dalis gave up her opera career and retired from the stage.

Singing teacher and opera director

After the end of her singing career, Dalis returned to her Californian homeland in San José. She taught as a singing teacher at San José State University and set up her own singing studio for young students. In 1984 she took over the management of the San José Opera. Dalis placed the emphasis on the training and promotion of the next generation of singers. Dalis brought out four opera productions a year. Children's and school theater were an essential part of the program. Dalis ran the San José Opera on the model of a dual system consisting of an opera house and a singing studio. Dalis directed the San José Opera for almost 30 years. In June 2014, she finally handed over her office to her successor Larry Hancock.

Awards and private matters

In 1986 Dalis was made an honorary citizen of the city of San José. In 1987 she received an honorary doctorate from Santa Clara University .

Dalis was widowed. Her husband, George Loinaz, who was from Cuba and a book editor , died in 1990. There was a daughter from the marriage, Alida Loinaz. Dalis died after a brief illness.

Voice, repertoire and audio documents

The voice of Irene Dalis was particularly valued for its "tonal richness" and its expression in dramatic operatic roles. Dalis sang mainly the dramatic roles for mezzo-soprano and alto in the operas of Giuseppe Verdi , Richard Strauss and Richard Wagner . Her other operatic roles included Venus in Tännhäuser , Fricka and Waltraute in Der Ring des Nibelungen , Klytämnestra in Elektra and Iphigénie en Aulide as well as the sexton in Jenůfa .

Original studio recordings and commercial recordings documenting Dalis' voice on vinyl are relatively few. However, there are numerous live recordings, especially radio recordings from the Metropolitan Opera, in which Dalis a. a. alongside Jussi Björling , Leonie Rysanek , Leontyne Price , Franco Corelli and Carlo Bergonzi . Live recordings from the MET were published. a. by Il trovatore (February 1961, with Corelli / Price), Don Carlos (April 1961 with Corelli; March 1964, with Rysanek / Corelli), Aida (March 1962, with Corelli), Das Rheingold (1961) and Die Walküre (December 1961 ). At Philips an original recording was released of the Bayreuth Parsifal 1961 under the baton of Hans Kempe . Recordings of Parsifal from 1962 and 1963 were later published, also with Hans Knappertsbusch at the podium. There is also a Lohengrin recording from April 1967 from Cleveland , with Dalis in the role of Ortrud.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Impresario Irene Dalis of Opera San José dies at 89 obituary; sfgate.com dated December 15, 2014
  2. ↑ a b Irene Dali's list of roles and performances; Metropolitan Opera New Yorl. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  3. ↑ Irene Dalis. Mezzo-Soprano recordings from the Metropolitan Opera New York. Retrieved December 18, 2014
personal data
SURNAME Dalis, Irene
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Dalis, Yvonne (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American opera singer with mezzo-soprano and alto voices
DATE OF BIRTH October 8, 1925
PLACE OF BIRTH San Jose , California
DATE OF DEATH December 14, 2014
Place of death San Jose , California