Word: sopranoes
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Died. Helen Traubel, 69, the Metropolitan Opera's dominant Wagnerian soprano of the 1940s and '50s; following a heart attack; in Santa Monica, Calif. A buxom woman with a gigantic voice, the St. Louis-born singer was the first fully American-trained soprano to play Isolde and the three Brünnhildes at the Met. Many critics considered her superior to her rival, Kirsten Flagstad. Independent and unstuffy, she was dropped by Met Manager Rudolf Bing for singing in nightclubs. She withdrew to care for her ailing husband and former business manager, William Bass...
...Sippie Wallace tune called "You Can Make Me Do Whatcha Wanna Do, But Ya Gotta Know How." It was her best effort for a crowd that was either still entering, or just beginning to get comfortable and in any case, certainly wasn't listening to her. John Payne's soprano took the song right back to the thirties and Bonnie Smith, where it belongs...
...production of Bizet's Carmen, staged by Gentele himself. Before rehearsals begin on Aug. 1, the Met needs to find a new stage director modest enough to carry out Gentele's ideas. Only a week before Gentele went to Sardinia, he wrote to Mezzo-Soprano Marilyn Home, his Carmen: "The production is rolling along smoothly. At this point, the only person who could ruin it would be the director...
Divorced. Grace Bumbry, 35, well-turned mezzo-soprano who progressed from Arthur Godfrey's radio show Talent Scouts to New York's Metropolitan Opera; and Erwin Andreas Jaeckel, 38, German tenor; after nine years of marriage, no children; in Berlin...
Conductor André Kostelanetz figured that it might be fun to get together with his exwife, Soprano Lily Pons-at least for a concert. With Kostelanetz on the podium of Manhattan's Philharmonic Hall and Pons at 68 looking frightened and fragile, nostalgic fans found that time has left a bit of dust on Lily's middle voice but that the famous high tones are still silvery. After a soaring Estrellita, Lily got a standing ovation, then dodged her well-wishers and headed straight...