Around the Music Festival

American mezzo-soprano singer Rosalind Elias died on May 3. She was 90 years old.

She was born in Massachusetts, USA. She studied vocal music at the New England Conservatory in Boston and has been active in the New England Opera since 1948. From 1952, studied abroad at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, Italy.

In 1954, after returning to the United States, she sang the role of Grimgerde of “Valkure” and made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Since then, she has made 687 appearances in 50 roles over 35 years.

In 1958, she participated in the world premiere of Barber’s opera “Vanessa” at the Metropolitan Opera. This work, which received the Pulitzer Prize, played the role of the protagonist Vanessa’s niece Erika and participated in the recording.

In 1972, she also made her debut at the Vienna State Opera in the role of Carmen from Bizet’s “Carmen” and expanded her activities to Europe.

It was 2011 when she got a lot of attention. She played Heidi Schiller in the revival performance of the musical “Follies” composed by Steven Sondheim, and made her Broadway debut at the age of 82.

Photo：Sara Krulwich　/　The New York Times