Risë Stevens
| Risë Stevens | |
|---|---|
Stevens in 1959
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| Born |
Risë Gus Steenberg June 11, 1913 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | March 20, 2013 (aged 99) Manhattan, New York City, U.S. |
| Years active | 1941–1974 |
| Spouse(s) | Walter Surovy (1939–2001; his death; 1 child) |
| Children | Nicolas Vincent Surovy (born 1944) |
Risë Stevens (/ˈriːsə/; June 11, 1913 – March 20, 2013) was an American operatic mezzo-soprano. Beginning in 1938, she sang for the Metropolitan Opera in New York City for more than two decades during the 1940s and 1950s. She was most noted for her portrayals of the central character in Carmen by Georges Bizet.
Stevens was born Risë Gus Steenberg in New York City, the daughter of Sarah "Sadie" (née Mechanic) and Christian Carl Steenberg, an advertising salesman. Her father was of Norwegian descent and her mother was Jewish (of Polish and Russian descent). She had a younger brother, Lewis "Bud" Steenberg, who died in World War II. She studied at New York's Juilliard School for three years, and with Anna Eugenie Schoen-René (1864–1942). She went to Vienna, where she was trained by Marie Gutheil-Schoder and Herbert Graf. She made her début as Mignon in Prague in 1936 and stayed there until 1938, also singing in guest appearances at the Vienna State Opera.
She was engaged as a member of the Vienna State Opera ensemble at the Teatro Colón in 1938 (as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier) and was invited to the Glyndebourne Festival in 1939 where she was heard as Dorabella and Cherubino. In 1938 she made her début with the Metropolitan Opera on tour in Philadelphia as Octavian opposite Lilli Lehmann as the Marschallin. Three weeks later at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, she sang Mignon in a Saturday matinee broadcast in a cast that included Richard Crooks as Wilhelm Meister and Ezio Pinza as Lothario. The film industry in Hollywood produced several films for her, including The Chocolate Soldier (1941) with Nelson Eddy. She played an opera singer in Going My Way (1944) with Bing Crosby, wherein she is credited as a contralto; she is featured performing Bizet's aria "Habanera," "Going My Way" with the Robert Mitchell Boys Choir, and "Ave Maria" with Bing Crosby and the choir.
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