Frogtoon Music

Bellini I Puritani Act I Son Vergin Vezzosa by Roberta Peters

Artist Biography For Roberta Peters

Roberta Peters May 4 1930 – January 18 2017 Was An American Coloratura Soprano. One Of The Most Prominent American Singers To Achieve Lasting Fame And Success In Opera Peters Is Noted For Her 35-Year Association With The Metropolitan Opera Company In New York Among The Longest Such Associations Between A Singer And A Company In Opera. She Was Awarded The National Medal Of Arts In 1998. Peters Was Born Roberta Peterman In The Bronx New York City The Only Child Of Ruth Née Hersch A Milliner And Solomon Peterman A Shoe Salesman. Her Family Was Jewish. Encouraged By Tenor Jan Peerce She Started Her Music Studies At Age 13 With William Herman A Voice Teacher Known For His Exacting And Thorough Teaching Method. Under Herman's Training Peters Studied The French German And Italian Languages And Practiced Singing Scales From A Clarinet Method. 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. Bing Asked Her To 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. He Scheduled Her To Sing The Role In February 1951. Peters However Made Her Debut Earlier Than Planned. On November 17 1950 Bing Phoned Her Asking If She Could Step In To Replace Nadine Conner Who Was Ill As Zerlina In Don Giovanni. Peters Who Knew The Role But Had Not Yet Ever Performed On Stage Or Even Sung With A Full Orchestra Accepted. Fritz Reiner Was The Conductor That Night. Despite A Reputation For Being Distant And Reserved Reiner Made A Point Of Coming To Peters's Dressing Room To Encourage Her And Guided Her Through The Performance. Her Performance Was Received With Great Enthusiasm And Her Career Was Established. Combining An Attractive Voice With Sparkling Coloratura Agility And Good Looks Peters Became A Favorite Of American Audiences And A Great Proponent Of Opera For The Masses. She Quickly Established Herself In The Standard Soubrette And Coloratura Repertoire. Her Roles At The Met Included Susanna In Nozze Di Figaro Despina In Così 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 L'elisir D'amore Norina In Don Pasquale Oscar In Un Ballo In Maschera Nanetta In Falstaff Olympia In Les Contes D'Hoffmann Sophie In Der Rosenkavalier Zerbinetta In Ariadne Auf Naxos And Adele In Die Fledermaus. She Later Added Lyric-Coloratura Roles Such As Amina In La Sonnambula Lucia In Lucia Di Lammermoor And Gilda In Rigoletto The Last Being Her Farewell Role At The Met In 1985. Peters Also Appeared Frequently With The Cincinnati Opera As Well As In Numerous Cities Around The United States While On Tour With The Met. 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 Mimì In La Bohème. 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. 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. Peters Was As Popular On Television As On The Stage. She Appeared Regularly On Such Programs As The Voice Of Firestone And The Tonight Show. On The Sunday Night CBS Variety Program The Ed Sullivan Show Peters Was Its Most Frequent Guest Appearing A Record 65 Times. Peters Also Had An Extensive Career As A Recitalist Appearing In Concert Halls Throughout The United States. Early In Her Career In 1962 She Performed Before An Audience Of Over 13 000 At The Popular Outdoor "Italian Night" Concert Series At Lewisohn Stadium In New York Under The Direction Of Conductor Alfredo Antonini. Later In Her Career She Added Operetta And Musical Theater To Her Repertoire Appearing In The Merry Widow And The King And I. Peters Never Officially Retired And Gave Occasional Recitals Later In Life. Peters Was Briefly Married To Baritone Robert Merrill In 1952 Later Admitting She Had Fallen In Love With The Voice And Not The Man. The Two Divorced Amicably Remained Friends And Continued To Perform Together In Opera And Recitals. She Remarried In 1955 To Bertram Fields With Whom She Had Two Sons. Bert Died In 2010. Roberta Peters Died Of Parkinson's Disease On January 18 2017.

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