Rosalind Elias

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Rosalind Elias (born March 13, 1930 in Lowell , Massachusetts - † May 3, 2020 in New York City , New York ) was an American opera singer ( mezzo-soprano ).

Life

Training and beginnings

Rosalind Elias was born the youngest of thirteen children of a US family of Lebanese origin. She received her first singing lessons in her hometown of Lowell before studying at the New England Conservatory in Boston , where she already took part in a student performance of Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea . She then continued her vocal training at the Berkshire Music Center in Tanglewood . From 1948 and 1952 she was engaged with the New England Opera. For further training, she went to Italy , where she was trained at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome with Luigi Ricci and Nazzareno De Angelis .

During her studies she performed as a concert soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra . In February 1954 she made her debut with the small role of Grimgerde in Die Walküre at the Metropolitan Opera .

Career at the MET

Rosalind Elias was engaged at the Metropolitan Opera without interruption from 1954 to 1996. Her career is considered one of the longest in the history of the Metropolitan Opera. There she sang 54 different roles in a total of 687 performances. Initially only used in small roles and supporting roles, she relatively quickly took on medium roles such as Siebel in Faust , Maddalena in Rigoletto and Suzuki in Madama Butterfly . She had her breakthrough at the MET in the 1957/58 season as Olga in Eugen Onegin at the side of George London and Richard Tucker and in the following season 1958/59 as Marina in Boris Godunow . Her other successful roles there included Carmen , Cherubino , Dorabella , Hansel in Hansel and Gretel and Giulietta in Les Contes d'Hoffmann . In 1960 she was the Fenena in the Metropolitan Opera's first Nabucco production.

In January 1958 she sang the role of Erika at the Metropolitan Opera in the world premiere of the opera Vanessa by Samuel Barber . In 1966 she took on the role of Cleopatra's confidante Charmian in the world premiere of Barber's opera Antony and Cleopatra at the opening of the new Metropolitan Opera house in New York's Lincoln Center .

Later in her career at the Metropolitan Opera, Elias switched to character. In 1994 she took on the role of the Marquise of Berkenfield in a production of Donizetti's opera La fille du régiment . In the 1994/95 season she sang Annina in Der Rosenkavalier . In April 1996 she sang the last time Contessa di Coigny in Andrea Chénier . Her last role at the Metropolitan Opera was Háta in The Bartered Bride in November 1996 .

Guest performances

Elias has performed at numerous other major international opera houses and music festivals throughout her career. She made guest appearances in the United States. a. at the Chicago Opera House and at the San Francisco Opera . In 1987 she sang Herodias in Salome at the Houston Grand Opera . In 1991 she staged the opera Carmen at Connecticut Opera ; the staging was rated as "lively" by the US critics at the time, but also as "traditional with many clichés".

In 1997 she took on the role of the old baroness in Barber's opera Vanessa at the New Jersey Festival . She also sang Mrs. Quickly in Falstaff at the Baltimore Opera House that same year . In 2001 she was heard at the Portland Opera in the role of the old prioress in Dialogues des Carmélites . In 2002 she appeared at the Los Angeles Opera as Zita in Gianni Schicchi (director: William Friedkin , musical director: Kent Nagano ). In the same year she sang again the old Baroness in Vanessa , this time at the Washington Opera with Kiri Te Kanawa , in November / December 2004 also at the Los Angeles Opera, again with Kiri Te Kanawa as partner. In autumn 2007 she took on the role of the old baroness again in the Vanessa production at the New York City Opera on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the opera's premiere. In 2013, in one of her last public appearances, she sang the little role of old Madelon in Andrea Chenier at Avery Fisher Hall in a production with Roberto Alagna in the title role.

In Europe she made a guest appearance. a. at the Salzburg Festival (1958 as Erika in Vanessa in the European premiere of the work and 1969–1970 as Dorabella in Così fan tutte ), at the Scottish Opera in Glasgow (1970, as Angelina in La Cenerentola ), at the Vienna State Opera (November 1972 as Carmen), at the Glyndebourne Festival (1975, as Türkenbaba in The Rake's Progress , and 1977), also at the Hamburg State Opera , in Marseille, Lisbon, Geneva, Monte Carlo and at the Aix-en-Provence Festival .

In 1997 she made her late debut in Italy at the Teatro Regio di Torino with the role of "Old Lady" in Candide . In February 2001 she appeared again at the Monte Carlo Opera House in the role of the old baroness in the opera Vanessa , in which she sang one of the leading roles at the premiere at the Metropolitan Opera more than 30 years ago.

She has also made guest appearances in Canada , Israel (Tel-Aviv) and at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires .

Career as a musical actress

As a musical performer, she devoted herself in particular to the works of Stephen Sondheim . In 1984 she sang the role of Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd at the New York City Opera . In 2008 she starred as Madame Armfeldt in a production of A Summer Night's Smile at the Hawaii Opera Theater in Honolulu . In September 2011, at the age of 81, she made her Broadway debut as former operetta diva Heidi Schiller in Sondheim's Follies .

Private

Elias had been with Zuhayr Moghrabi, a Union Carbide Corp. attorney, since 1969 . and Professor of Law , married. Her husband died in 2015. Elias suffered from heart failure in the last few months of her life . In late April, she was admitted to Mount Sinai West Hospital in New York City with respiratory problems . Elias, who was the last of the thirteen siblings still alive, died in early May 2020 at the age of 90.

Repertoire and sound recordings

Elias' other successful operatic roles included Rosina in The Barber of Seville , Charlotte in Werther , Azucena in Il trovatore , Amneris in Aida and Octavian ( Der Rosenkavalier ). She also sang some of the difficult alto roles in Gioachino Rossini's operas .

Elias also appeared as a concert singer with an extensive repertoire. She belonged u. a. to the soloists of a commemorative performance of the Verdi Requiem shortly after the murder of John F. Kennedy . Elias also worked in television productions. Occasionally she worked as an opera director, u. a. 1988 at a Carmen production in Cincinnati .

Elias participated in numerous complete opera recordings. The studio recordings were u. a. Vanessa (RCA 1958), Madama Butterfly (RCA 1958 and 1962), as Suzuki, each under Erich Leinsdorf , La forza del destino (Decca 1959, as Preziosilla), Il trovatore (Decca 1959, as Azucena), Der Fliegende Holländer (Decca Released in 1961 as Mary) and Bluebeard's Castle (CBS 1962). There are also numerous live recordings from the Metropolitan Opera.

The RCA recording of Le nozze di Figaro (1960) under Erich Leinsdorf , on which she worked as Cherubino, was awarded a Grammy . In 1990 she also took part in a studio recording of the musical The Man from La Mancha , which was published by Sony , in the small role of the housekeeper.

literature

  • Karl-Josef Kutsch , Leo Riemens : Large singer lexicon . Volume 2: Castori – Frampoli , fourth, expanded and updated edition. Munich 2003, ISBN 3-598-11598-9 , pp. 1313/1314.
  • Karl Martyniak (Ed.): OPERAdat. Interpreter lexicon. Singer lexicon . Eaglen - from Eyberg -werteegg. 2nd edition, Düsseldorf 1998, p. 6 (with list of roles).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ In reference works and opera lexicons, 1929 was consistently given as the year of birth until Elias' death, see below. a. also Paul S. Ulrich: Biographical Index for Theater, Dance and Music / Biographical Index for Theater, Dance and Music . Berlin publishing house. Arno Spitz GmbH. 1997. p. 450. ISBN 978-3-87061-479-9
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Mezzo-soprano Rosalind Elias has passed away . Death report and obituary. Klassik.com from May 5, 2020; accessed on May 5, 2020.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f Francisco Salazar: Obituary: Legendary Mezzo-Soprano Rosalind Elias Passes At 90 . Obituary. In: Operawire of May 3, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g Rosalind Elias, Opera Star Who Appeared in Follies on Broadway, Dies at 90 . Obituary at Playbill.com on May 4, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  5. ↑ The Valkyrie. Metropolitan Opera House: 02/23/1954 . Occupation. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  6. ↑ Elias, Rosalind Mezzo Soprano . Performances with Rosalind Elias at the Metropolitan Opera between 1954 and 1996. Accessed May 5, 2020.
  7. ↑ Andrea Chénier Metropolitan Opera House: 04/25/1996 . Occupation. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  8. ↑ The Bartered Bride Metropolitan Opera House: 1/11/1996 . Occupation. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  9. ↑ Jeffrey Smith / GH: MIXED OPERA IMPRESSIONS . Performance reviews. In: Orpheus . Issue June 6, 1991. page 56.
  10. ↑ Man Of La Mancha . CD line-up. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
personal data
SURNAME Elias, Rosalind
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American opera singer (mezzo-soprano)
DATE OF BIRTH March 13, 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH Lowell , Massachusetts
DATE OF DEATH May 3, 2020
Place of death New York City , New York , United States