Risë Stevens

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Risë Stevens (born June 11, 1913 in New York City , New York state ; † March 20, 2013 there ) was an American opera singer and actress. She sang in the mezzo-soprano and alto voices .

Live and act

Family and Beginnings

Stevens was born Risë Gus Steenberg, the daughter of Sarah "Sadie" (née Mechanic) and Christian Steenberg, an advertising seller, in New York, in the Bronx . Her father was from Norway . He was a Lutheran ; her mother was Jewish with Polish and Russian roots. Stevens had a younger brother, Lewis "Bud" Steenberg, who died in World War II . Her unusual first name (with an emphasis on the last letter "ë") came from her Norwegian ancestors. Her middle name Gus came from her aunt Augusta. At the age of 10, Stevens first appeared on the radio on The Children's Hour , a Sunday program; her mother had entered her for a children's singing competition. At a school performance at the age of 16 she sang Orpheus in the opera Orfeo ed Euridice with great success ; there she was discovered by the well-known singing teacher Anna Schoen-Rene. Stevens initially taught this privately. From autumn 1933 she studied singing with Schoen-Rene with a scholarship for three years at the Juilliard School of Music . After completing her training, Stevens first sang as a chorister at the Little Theater in New York. She also took on smaller solo roles there, including in the opera The Bartered Bride .

Careers in Europe

In 1935 she went to Europe . There she continued her vocal training: with Marie Gutheil-Schoder during a study visit at the Mozarteum in Salzburg , with Herbert Graf in Vienna , and later with Hans Georg Schick, the opera director of the Aussig City Theater, in Prague . In the winter of 1935/1936 Stevens took part in an audition for the Metropolitan Opera ("Met") at the Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air . Stevens was not accepted, but a few months later received the offer to sing the role of Orpheus in Orfeo ed Euridice at the MET, which she refused. She then returned to Europe.

In 1936 she made her professional operatic debut at the Deutsches Theater Prague in the title role of the opera Mignon . Until 1938 she was permanently engaged at the Deutsches Theater in Prague; During this time she also appeared at the Vienna State Opera , where she sang the role of Octavian in the opera Der Rosenkavalier . In 1938, during her time in Europe, she also appeared with Octavian at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires . In 1939 she performed at the Glyndebourne Festival . There she sang Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro and Dorabella in Così fan tutte .

Engagement at the Met

In November 1938 she sang for the first time for the Metropolitan Opera on a tour of the Met in Philadelphia ; she sang the trouser role of Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier . She was then permanently engaged to the Metropolitan Opera, of which she remained a member until 1961. Her inaugural role there was on December 17, 1938 the title role in the opera Mignon . In 1940 she appeared as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro and in the female title role in the opera Samson et Dalila . In 1946 she sang her special brilliant role for the first time at the Met, the title role in the opera Carmen . In this role she appeared in 124 performances at the Met. Stevens appeared at the Met in 23 seasons in 15 games in over 220 performances; in addition there were 57 appearances on the annual USA tour of the Metropolitan Opera. The New York Times newspaper gives a total of 351 performances. Stevens sang her last performance at the Met on April 12, 1961, the title role in Carmen .

Her other leading roles at the Met included: Erda and Fricka in Der Ring des Nibelungen , Marina in Boris Godunow (1947), Laura in La Gioconda , Hansel in Hansel and Gretel and Prince Orlofsky in the operetta Die Fledermaus . In 1958 she sang at the laying of the foundation stone for the new Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in the presence of US President Dwight D. Eisenhower .

Occasionally, Stevens continued to perform in Europe, including in London and Paris . In 1954 she sang La figlia del diavolo by Virgilio Mortari at La Scala in Milan . In 1955 she appeared again at the Glyndebourne Festival (again as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro ). In 1956 she appeared as Orpheus in Orfeo ed Euridice at the Athens Opera Festival on the Acropolis .

Film career

For a short time, Stevens also worked in Hollywood as an actress and singer in music films and film musicals in the 1940s . She made her film debut in 1941, alongside Nelson Eddy , as the operetta singer Maria Lanyi in the film operetta The Chocolate Soldier . In 1944 she was a partner of Bing Crosby in the US feature film The Way to Happiness .

Stage farewell and later years

In 1964 she sang the role of educator Anna Leonowens in the musical The King and I in New York in a production at Lincoln Center. The production was one of her last stage appearances. In 1964 Stevens gave up her singing career. She then became director of the Metropolitan Opera National Company, a touring company designed to give young singers the opportunity to perform in major roles on stage. The project was discontinued in 1966 by Met manager Rudolf Bing for cost reasons. Stevens then looked after the young singers of the MET. From 1975 to 1978 she was President of the Mann College of Music in New York City. Despite budget problems, she succeeded in engaging well-known musicians, including the pianist Vladimir Horowitz , as teachers. After disagreements with the administrative body, she gave up her office in 1978.

Private

Stevens married the Austrian actor Walter Szurovy (1910-2001) in 1939 . She was married to him until his death in 2001. The marriage resulted in an only son, the actor Nicolas Surovy (* 1944). Stevens died in her Manhattan apartment in the evening hours on March 20, 2013 .

Voice and sound documents

In Stevens' vocal art, the "richness of her voice, the richness of nuances of her expression and her high sense of style" were emphasized. Critics emphasized her "warm, velvety" voice. Stevens was also considered a convincing stage actress.

Risë Stevens' major stage roles are documented on records or in live recordings from the Metropolitan Opera. Live recordings with Stevens from the Met have been released on the Opera Cetra Live label: as Giulietta in Hoffmanns Erzählungen (1955) and as Carmen (1957; with Mario del Monaco as Don José and Frank Guarrera as Escamillo). There is a Boris Godunow recording with Stevens as Marina on the Melodrama label .

In 1947 she sang Hansel in the first complete recording of the opera Hansel and Gretel on record. In 1951 Stevens, under the musical direction of Fritz Reiner , took on her star role, Carmen, for the RCA label ; her partners were Jan Peerce (Don José) and Robert Merrill (Escamillo). In 1955, on the occasion of the Glyndebourne production, the HMV label released a recording of Mozart's Le nozze die Figaro with Stevens as Cherubino; The conductor was Vittorio Gui . Stevens also sang Orpheus in Orfeo ed Euridice (RCA 1957; with Lisa della Casa ) and Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus (RCA 1964) in complete opera recordings .

The historical recording of a Rosenkavalier performance from the Met from 1939 has meanwhile been re-released on CD on the Naxos label . In it, Stevens sings Octavian, alongside Lotte Lehmann as Marschallin.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Mezzo-soprano opera star Rise Stevens dies at 99 obituary in: The Washington Times, March 21, 2013
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Risë Stevens, 99, Stalwart at the Met for Decades in Carmen Role, Is Dead Obituary in: The New York Times, March 21, 2013.
  3. ↑ a b Karl J. Kutsch and Leo Riemens: Large singer lexicon . Fourth, expanded edition. Munich 2003. Volume 6: Rasa – Sutton, p. 4536. ISBN 3-598-11419-2 .
personal data
SURNAME Stevens, Risë
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Steenberg, Risë (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American opera singer (mezzo-soprano and alto)
DATE OF BIRTH June 11, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH March 20, 2013
Place of death New York City