Mary Costa
| Mary Costa | |
|---|---|
Mary Costa in 1976
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| Born |
Mary Costa April 5, 1930 Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Education | Knoxville High School |
| Alma mater | Los Angeles Conservatory of Music |
| Occupation | Opera singer, actress |
| Years active | 1953-2000 (acting) |
| Notable work | Original voice of Princess Aurora in Disney's Sleeping Beauty (1959) |
| Spouse(s) | Frank Tashlin (m. 1953–66) |
| Awards | Disney Legend (1999) |
Mary Costa (born April 5, 1930) is an American opera singer and actress, who is best known for providing the voice of Princess Aurora, in the 1959 Disney film, Sleeping Beauty. Costa is an operatic soprano.
Costa was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she lived for much of her childhood. She sang Sunday school solos at the age of six. At Knoxville High School (Tennessee), she sang in the chorus. When she was in her early teens, her family relocated to Los Angeles, California, where she completed high school and won a Music Sorority Award as the outstanding voice among Southern California high school seniors. Following high school, she entered the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music to study with famed maestro Gaston Usigli. Between 1948 and 1951, she appeared with Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy on the Bergen radio show. She also sang with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in concerts at UCLA, and made numerous commercials for Lux Radio Theatre.
In 1952, after meeting people at a party with her future husband, director Frank Tashlin, she auditioned for the part of Disney's Princess Aurora, the Sleeping Beauty, in Disney's Sleeping Beauty (1959). Walt Disney called her personally within hours of the audition to inform her that the part was hers. In 1958, Costa was called upon to substitute for Elisabeth Schwarzkopf at a gala concert in the Hollywood Bowl, conducted by Carmen Dragon. Thanks to glowing reviews from that performance, she was invited to sing the lead in her first fully staged operatic production, The Bartered Bride, produced by the renowned German producer, Carl Ebert, for the Los Angeles Guild Opera. Ebert later requested she appear at the Glyndebourne Festival, where she debuted.
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