Roberta Peters (May 4, 1930) is an American coloratura soprano who enjoyed a long and distinguished career at the Metropolitan Opera, one of the most durable opera stars of America. Events 1256 - The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Coloratura has several meanings The word derives from the Italian colorare (to Colour; to heighten to enliven or colorazione (colouring coloration This article is related to a series of articles under the main article Voice type. The Metropolitan Opera Association of New York City, founded in April 1880 is a major presenter of all types of opera including Grand Opera.
Life and Career
Peters was born Roberta Peterman in The Bronx, a borough of New York City, the only child of a shoe salesman and a hat maker. The City of New York She started her music studies at age 13, encouraged by tenor Jan Peerce, with William Herman, a strict teacher renowned for giving his students a thorough training. WikipediaWikiProject_Opera#Infoboxes --> Jan Peerce ( June 3, 1904 – December 15, 1984) was Herman made sure Peters had French, German and Italian lessons and made her sing scales from a clarinet method. The clarinet is a Musical instrument in the Woodwind family The name derives from adding the suffix -et meaning little to the Italian word After six years of training, Herman introduced her to impresario Sol Hurok, who arranged for an audition with Rudolf Bing, general manager of the Metropolitan Opera. Sol Hurok ( Solomon Isiaevich Hurok; born Solomon Izrailevich Gurkov Russian Соломон Израилевич Гурков ( April 9, 1888 Sir Rudolf Bing ( January 9, 1902 &ndash September 2, 1997) was an Austrian-born Opera Impresario. The Metropolitan Opera Association of New York City, founded in April 1880 is a major presenter of all types of opera including Grand Opera. Bing had her sing the Queen of the Night's second aria from The Magic Flute (with its four Fs above high C), seven times, listening from all parts of the hall to make sure she could fill the hall with sound. The Magic Flute (German Die Zauberflöte, K 620 is an Opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart He scheduled her to sing the role in February 1951.
Fate had it otherwise, on November 17, 1950, Bing phoned her asking if she could sing that night. Nadine Conner, cast as Zerlina in Don Giovanni, was indisposed and could not perform. Nadine Conner ( February 20, 1914 &ndash March 1, 2003) was an American Soprano. Don Giovanni ( K527; complete title Il dissoluto punito ossia il Don Giovanni, literally "The Rake Punish'd or Don Giovanni Peters who knew the role, but who had never sung with a full orchestra, never performed in a full opera production, never even performed on stage, professionally or otherwise, except for her audition, accepted. Fritz Reiner, the conductor that night, was known for being hard to follow, but he made a point of coming to Peter's dressing room to encourage her. WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> Frederick Martin “Fritz” Reiner ( December 19, 1888 Her performance was received with great enthusiasm, and her career took off.
Combining an attractive voice with sparkling coloratura and good looks, Peters became the darling of America and a great proponent of opera for the masses. She quickly established herself in the standard soubrette and coloratura repertoire, her roles included Susanna in Nozze di Figaro, Despina in Cosi fan tutte, The Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute, Amore in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice, Marzeline in Beethoven's Fidelio, Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Adina in Elisir d'amore, Norina in Don Pasquale, Oscar in Ballo in maschera, Nanetta in Falstaff (opera), Olympia in Les contes d'Hoffmann, Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier, Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, Adele in Die Fledermaus. Soubrette is a term referring to a type of female role&mdashspecifically a Stock character &mdashin Opera and Theatre. Le nozze di Figaro ossia la folle giornata (Trans The Marriage of Figaro or the Day of Madness) K Così fan tutte ossia La scuola degli amanti ( Thus Do They All or The School For Lovers) K The Magic Flute (German Die Zauberflöte, K 620 is an Opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Orfeo ed Euridice (French version Orphée et Eurydice; English translation Orpheus and Eurydice) is an Opera composed by Christoph Willibald Fidelio (Op 72 is an Opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. The Barber of Seville or The Useless Precaution ( Il barbiere di Siviglia ossia L'inutile precauzione) is an Opera buffa in two acts by L'elisir d'amore ( The Elixir of Love) is a Melodramma giocoso in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Don Pasquale is an Opera buffa, or comic Opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Un ballo in maschera (A Masked Ball, is an Opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi with text by Antonio Somma. Falstaff is an Operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare 's plays Der Rosenkavalier ( op 59 ( The Knight of the Rose) is a comic Opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original Ariadne auf Naxos ( Ariadne on Naxos) is an Opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Die Fledermaus ( The Bat; in French La chauve-souris) is an Operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German Libretto She later added lyric-coloratura roles such as Amina in La Sonnambula, Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor and Gilda in Rigoletto, the later being her farewell role at the Met in 1985. La sonnambula ( The Sleepwalker) is an Opera semiseria in two acts music by Vincenzo Bellini to an Italian Libretto by Felice Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico (tragic Opera) in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Rigoletto is an Opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian Libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based
Peters also appeared in other opera houses, notably in Chicago and San Francisco, where over the years, she expanded her repertoire to include roles such as Lakmé, Juliette in Roméo et Juliette, Massenet's Manon, even attempting occasionally Violetta in La Traviata, and Mimi in La Bohème. Lakmé is an Opera in three acts by Léo Delibes to a French Libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille, based on the Roméo et Juliette ( Romeo and Juliet) is an Opera in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Manon is an Opéra comique in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French Libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based La traviata is an Opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. Her performance as the Queen of the Night on Karl Böhm's second recording of The Magic Flute is commonly regarded as one of the greatest and most powerful performances of this role on record. WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> Karl August Leopold Böhm ( August 28, 1894 &ndash
Peters also appeared abroad as early as 1951, when she sang at the Royal Opera House in London, in Balfe's The Bohemian Girl, conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham. WikipediaWikiProject Opera --> The Royal Opera House is an Opera house and major performing The Bohemian Girl is an Opera composed by Michael Balfe with a libretto by Alfred Bunn. Sir Thomas Beecham 2nd Baronet, CH (29 April 1879 &ndash 8 March 1961 was a British conductor and Impresario. From the mid 1950s onwards, she appeared in several opera houses in Italy, the Vienna State Opera, the Salzburg Festival, and the Bolshoi in Moscow, in 1972. The Vienna State Opera ( Wiener Staatsoper) located in Vienna, Austria, is one of the most important Opera houses - and opera companies - in The Salzburg Festival (Salzburger Festspiele is a prominent festival of Music and Drama.
Peters was also very active giving recitals at all the great concert halls throughout the USA. She also appeared numerous times on American television, in such program as The Voice of Firestone, and the Ed Sullivan Show on which she appeared a record 65 times!
Later in her career she added operetta to her repertoire, such as The Merry Widow, and musical comedy such as The King and I. The Voice of Firestone was a weekly broadcast of the best in classical music performed by America's most popular classical performers The Ed Sullivan Show was an American television Variety show that ran from June 20, 1948 to June 6, The Merry Widow (Die lustige Witwe is an Operetta by the Austro-Hungarian Composer Franz Lehár. The King and I is a musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Peters never officially retired, and still gives occasional recital.
Personal Life
Roberta Peters was briefly married to baritone Robert Merrill in 1952. Robert Merrill ( June 4, 1917 &ndash October 23, 2004) was an American Operatic Baritone. The two separated amiably and went on performing together many times thereafter. She remarried in 1955, to Bertram Fields, with whom she had two sons.
Sources
- D. Hamilton (ed. ),The Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia: A Complete Guide to the World of Opera (Simon and Schuster, New York 1987). ISBN 0-671-16732-X
- Allmusic. com, Joseph Stevenson.
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