Rosalind Elias

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Rosalind Elias
Born(1930-03-13)March 13, 1930
Accademia di Santa Cecilia
OccupationOpera singer
Years active1948–2020
Spouse
Zyhayr Moghrabi
​
​
(m. 1969; died 2015)​

Rosalind Elias (March 13, 1930 – May 3, 2020) was an American mezzo-soprano who enjoyed a long and distinguished career at the Metropolitan Opera. She was best known for creating the role of Erika in Samuel Barber's Vanessa in 1958.

Early life

Rosalind Elias was born in

New England Conservatory. She appeared with the New England Opera from 1948 to 1952.[5] 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.[6] 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 at Tanglewood in Massachusetts.[5]

Career

Metropolitan Opera

Elias made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Grimgerde 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

Glyndebourne Festival
in 1975.

In the realm of live broadcasting, Elias' performance as

CBS Television's premiere of Ezra Laderman's opera And David Wept, earned Ellias critical acclaim in 1971.[7][8][9]

Elias made numerous recordings primarily for

Grammy
for Best Classical Performance, Opera Cast or Choral, at the Second Annual Grammy Awards, November 29, 1959.

In 1984, Elias made her

Hal Prince’s original staging of Stephen Sondheim‘s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.[10]

In later years, Elias 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.[11] She made her Broadway debut when the musical transferred to Broadway in a limited engagement from August 2011 through January 22, 2012.[12]

Directing

At the end of the 20th century, she turned to directing operas, including Carmen at the San Diego Opera.[13]

Personal life

She married Lebanese-American attorney and law professor Zyhayr Moghrabi in 1969.[1] They remained married until his death in 2015.[14]

She had her name and social security number tattooed on her abdomen in case of a disaster.[15]

Death

Elias, who had been diagnosed with

congestive heart failure in 2019, was admitted to Mount Sinai West on April 30, 2020, after suffering breathing problems.[14] She died on May 3, at age 90.[16][17]

Videography

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

  1. ^ a b c d e Anthony Tommasini (October 23, 2011). "Broadway Debut After a Life of Opera". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Tommasini, Anthony (6 May 2020). "Rosalind Elias, a Popular American Mezzo-Soprano, Dies at 90". The New York Times.
  3. ^ "Lowell Sun Newspaper Archives, Feb 24, 1964, p. 25". 24 February 1964. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  4. ^ "The Lowell Sun from Lowell, Massachusetts on May 30, 1975 · Page 4". Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  5. ^
    ISBN 9780028655253
    .
  6. ISBN 978-0-671-21524-8
  7. ^ "And David Wept". 14 April 1971. Retrieved 27 November 2017 – via www.imdb.com.
  8. ^ "Alfredo Antonini". IMDb. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  9. ^ "Laderman, Ezra". Milken Archive of Jewish Music. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  10. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  11. ^ 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
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ISBN 0-671-61732-X
    .
  14. ^ a b Blum, Ronald (May 5, 2020). "Rosalind Elias dies at 90; made Broadway debut at 81". Associated Press. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  15. ^ "LIFE 20 Oct 1961". 20 October 1961.
  16. ^ "Obituary: Legendary Mezzo-Soprano Rosalind Elias Passes At 90". operawire.com. 4 May 2020. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  17. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 2022-03-24.

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rosalind_Elias&oldid=1170613555"