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==Early Life== |
==Early Life== |
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Rosalind Elias was born in [[Lowell, Massachusetts]], the 13th and youngest child of a Lebanese-American family. Her parents immigrated from [[Beirut|Beirut, Lebanon]] and her father worked as a real estate agent for some time.<ref name=":1" /> Elias grew up listening to Saturday broadcasts of the Met while doing chores.<ref name=":1" /> Her father was initially opposed to her performing but she pleaded for lessons<ref name=":1" />. She received her first singing lessons in Lowell from Miss Lillian Sullivan.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/lowell-sun/1964-02-24/page-25|title=Lowell Sun Newspaper Archives, Feb 24, 1964, p. 25|date=24 February 1964|publisher=|accessdate=27 November 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/47884637/|title=The Lowell Sun from Lowell, Massachusetts on May 30, 1975 · Page 4|publisher=|accessdate=27 November 2017}}</ref> She studied at the [[New England Conservatory]]. She appeared with the New England |
Rosalind Elias was born in [[Lowell, Massachusetts]], the 13th and youngest child of a Lebanese-American family. Her parents immigrated from [[Beirut|Beirut, Lebanon]] and her father worked as a real estate agent for some time.<ref name=":1" /> Elias grew up listening to Saturday broadcasts of the Met while doing chores.<ref name=":1" /> Her father was initially opposed to her performing but she pleaded for lessons<ref name=":1" />. She received her first singing lessons in Lowell from Miss Lillian Sullivan.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/lowell-sun/1964-02-24/page-25|title=Lowell Sun Newspaper Archives, Feb 24, 1964, p. 25|date=24 February 1964|publisher=|accessdate=27 November 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/47884637/|title=The Lowell Sun from Lowell, Massachusetts on May 30, 1975 · Page 4|publisher=|accessdate=27 November 2017}}</ref> She studied at the [[New England Conservatory]]. She appeared with the New England |
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Opera from 1948- |
Opera from 1948-1952. She then left for Italy to complete her vocal studies at the [[Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia]] in Rome, with [[Luigi Ricci (vocal coach)|Luigi Ricci]] and [[Nazzareno De Angelis]].<ref>''Celebrity Register'' © 1973. Simon and Schuster Publishing: New York; {{ISBN|978-0-671-21524-8}}</ref> As a student she sang Poppaea in ''[[L'incoronazione di Poppea]]'' and appeared with the [[Boston Symphony Orchestra]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=|first=|title=Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians|publisher=Schirmer|year=2001|isbn=9780028655253|location=|pages=}}</ref> She continued her studies at the [[Tanglewood Music Center|Berkshire Music Center]] in Tanglewood, MA.<ref name=":0" /> |
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== Career == |
== Career == |
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Between 1948 |
Between 1948-1952 she sang with the [[New England Opera Theater|New England Opera Company]].<ref name=":0" /> |
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=== Metropolital Opera === |
=== Metropolital Opera === |
Revision as of 12:29, 4 May 2020
Rosalind Elias | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | May 3, 2020 (aged 90) New York City, New York, U.S. |
Nationality | American |
Education | New England Conservatory and Accademia di Santa Cecilia |
Occupation | Opera singer |
Years active | 1954 - Present |
Rosalind Elias (born March 13, 1930) is an American mezzo-soprano who enjoyed a long and distinguished career at the Metropolitan Opera. She is best known for creating the role of Erika in premiere of Samuel Barber's Vanessa in 1958.
Early Life
Rosalind Elias was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, the 13th and youngest child of a Lebanese-American family. Her parents immigrated from Beirut, Lebanon and her father worked as a real estate agent for some time.[1] Elias grew up listening to Saturday broadcasts of the Met while doing chores.[1] Her father was initially opposed to her performing but she pleaded for lessons[1]. She received her first singing lessons in Lowell from Miss Lillian Sullivan.[2][3] She studied at the New England Conservatory. She appeared with the New England Opera from 1948-1952. She then left for Italy to complete her vocal studies at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, with Luigi Ricci and Nazzareno De Angelis.[4] As a student she sang Poppaea in L'incoronazione di Poppea and appeared with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.[5] She continued her studies at the Berkshire Music Center in Tanglewood, MA.[5]
Career
Between 1948-1952 she sang with the New England Opera Company.[5]
Metropolital Opera
Elias made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Grimgerde in Wagner's Die Walküre, on February 23, 1954. She sang 687 performances of 54 roles there, including Bersi in Giordano's Andrea Chénier, the title role in Bizet's Carmen, Rosina in The Barber of Seville, Laura in La Gioconda, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, Siebel in Faust, Nancy in Martha, Cherubino and Marcellina in The Marriage of Figaro, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier, Olga in Eugene Onegin, Marina in Boris Godunov, Fenena in Nabucco, Azucena in Il trovatore, Amneris in Aida, Charlotte in Werther, and The Witch in Hansel and Gretel. She created the role of Erika in Samuel Barber's opera Vanessa on January 15, 1958, and the role of Charmian in Antony and Cleopatra by the same composer, for the opening of new Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, on September 16, 1966.
Other opera houses and performances
Elias also performed abroad, notably as La Cenerentola with Scottish Opera in 1970, as Carmen at the Vienna State Opera in 1972, and as Baba the Turk in Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress at the Glyndebourne Festival in 1975.
In the realm of live broadcasting, Elias' performance as Bathsheba under the direction of Alfredo Antonini for CBS Television's premier of Ezra Laderman's opera And David Wept, earned Ellias critical acclaim in 1971.[6][7][8]
She made numerous recordings, including Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro under Erich Leinsdorf, Preziosilla in La forza del destino and Laura in La Gioconda, both opposite Zinka Milanov, Giuseppe Di Stefano and Leonard Warren, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly twice, first opposite Anna Moffo in 1957, and then opposite Leontyne Price in 1962, Azucena in Il trovatore opposite Leontyne Price, Richard Tucker, Giorgio Tozzi, as well as Maddalena in Rigoletto, Meg Page in Falstaff (both under Georg Solti in 1963) and Judith in Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle. She was the mezzo/contralto soloist in concert works like Berlioz's Roméo et Juliette and the Verdi Requiem. The recording of 'Figaro' under Leinsdorf won a Grammy for Best Classical Performance, Opera Cast or Choral, at the Second Annual Grammy Awards, November 29, 1959.
In recent years, Elias has assumed the role of the Old Baroness in Vanessa, first performing the work at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and later at the Los Angeles Opera in 2004 and at the New York City Opera in 2007.[1]
Still in lustrous voice, Elias played the role of "Heidi Schiller" in a new revival of James Goldman and Stephen Sondheim's 1971 musical Follies, which ran at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts from May 7, 2011 to June 19, 2011.[9] She made her Broadway debut when the musical transferred to Broadway in a limited engagement from August 2011 through January 22, 2012.[10]
Directing
At the end of the 20th century, she turned to directing operas, Carmen at the San Diego Opera.[11]
Personal life
She married Lebanese-American attorney and law professor Zyhayr Moghrabi in 1969.[1]
She had her name and social security number tattooed on her abdomen incase of a disaster.[12]
Videography
- James Levine's 25th Anniversary Metropolitan Opera Gala (1996), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, B0004602-09
Sources
- D. Hamilton (ed.),The Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia: A Complete Guide to the World of Opera (Simon and Schuster, New York 1987). ISBN 0-671-61732-X
- The Complete Dictionary of Opera & Operetta, James Anderson. ISBN 0-517-09156-9
- The Metropolitan Opera Archives
References
- ^ a b c d e Anthony Tommasini (October 23, 2011). "Broadway Debut After a Life of Opera". The New York Times.
- ^ "Lowell Sun Newspaper Archives, Feb 24, 1964, p. 25". 24 February 1964. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ "The Lowell Sun from Lowell, Massachusetts on May 30, 1975 · Page 4". Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ Celebrity Register © 1973. Simon and Schuster Publishing: New York; ISBN 978-0-671-21524-8
- ^ a b c Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians. Schirmer. 2001. ISBN 9780028655253.
- ^ "And David Wept". 14 April 1971. Retrieved 27 November 2017 – via www.imdb.com.
- ^ "Alfredo Antonini". IMDb. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ "Laderman, Ezra". Milken Archive of Jewish Music. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ Gans, Andrew. "Broadway-Bound 'Follies' Plays Final Performance at Kennedy Center June 19" Archived 2011-06-21 at the Wayback Machine, Playbill.com, June 19, 2011
- ^ Gans, Andrew (January 18, 2012). "Follies Star Rosalind Elias Will Not Play Los Angeles Engagement". Playbill. Archived from the original on January 20, 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2012.
- ^ Hamilton (ed.), D (1987). The Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia: a Complete Guide to the World of Opera. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-671-61732-X.
{{cite book}}
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has generic name (help) - ^ "LIFE 20 Oct 1961".