Frances Bible

Frances Lillian Bible (January 26, 1919 – January 29, 2001) was an American operatic mezzo-soprano who had a thirty-year-long career at the New York City Opera between 1948 and 1978. She also made a fair number of opera appearances with other companies throughout the United States, but only made a limited number of appearances abroad. Martin Bernheimer wrote in Opera News that, "Frances Bible was cheated by destiny. She never quite achieved the international recognition she deserved. Bible had it all—a mellow, wide-ranging mezzo-soprano, an attractive stage presence, genuine theatrical flair, a probing mind and a technique that allowed her to sing bel-canto filigree one night, Verdian drama the next. She was one of the rare American singers who savor the English language. She understood the value of economy, never stooping to easy effects. Perhaps she was too versatile, too tasteful and — dare one say it? — too intelligent for her own good."

Bible was born and raised in Sackets Harbor, New York. She studied opera at the Juilliard School in New York City under Queena Mario and Belle Julie Soudant before making her professional opera debut in 1948 at the New York City Opera as the Shepherd in Giacomo Puccini's Tosca. Possessing a warm voice and vibrant stage presence, she became a favorite at that house during the time when Beverly Sills and Norman Treigle were also fixtures at the NYCO. She notably sang Cornelia to Sills's Cleopatra in the NYCO's 1967 production of Handel's Giulio Cesare which made Sills an international opera star.

In 1949 Bible appeared in the world premiere of William Grant Still's Troubled Island. Her first major successes at the NYCO were in 1950 as Amneris in Aida and Cherubino, a trouser role, in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro. Another major early triumph at the house was her first portrayal of Angelina in La Cenerentola in 1953. Trouser roles became of specialty of her, an she was particularly popular in roles like Octavian in Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier, Oberon in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Nicklausse in Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann, Siebel in Charles Gounod's Faust and Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel. Other roles in which she excelled were, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Jocasta in Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex, Herodias in Strauss's Salome, Ottavia in L'Incoronazione di Poppea, the title role in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia, and Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera among many others.

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