Rosemary Kuhlmann

Rosemary Kuhlmann (born January 30, 1922) is an American operatic mezzo-soprano and Broadway musical actress most known for originating the role of the Mother in Gian Carlo Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors, the first opera commissioned for television. Kuhlmann portrayed the role on the annual live NBC broadcast of the production from 1951 through 1962.

Rosemary Kuhlmann was born in New York City. She attended high school in Staten Island, graduating in 1939. After graduating from high school she worked as a model for Lord & Taylor and then later as a secretary at Chase Manhattan. With the outbreak of World War II she joined the WAVES. While in the WAVES, Kuhlman was sent to the University of Wisconsin–Madison where she and a hundred and ten other women learned Morse code for three months.

Kuhlmann then returned to New York and worked six days a week "sending Morse code to the ships at sea." She also performed on radio programs promoting the WAVES and soon had her own weekly show, Navy Serenade, on WNEW where she would sing popular songs of the day.

Following the war, Kuhlmann was accepted into the Juilliard School on a full scholarship through the GI Bill. While at Juilliard, Kuhlmann participated in several opera productions including playing the part of Polly in John Gay's The Beggar's Opera. At this time in her life, although she loved to sing, she was not in love with opera. She remarked, "[In opera] it seemed like people stood for hours saying 'goodbye' and 'goodbye,' and nothing happened. My friend Pat Neway took me to Die Walküre at the Metropolitan Opera. I hated it." In 1950, Kuhlmann graduated from the Juilliard School with a degree in Vocal Performance.

After graduating from Juilliard, Kuhlmann joined the Robert Shaw's professional chorale. Although contracted to sing with the ensemble for two years, Kuhlmann broke her contract when she was cast as the Secretary in Gian Carlo Menotti's Broadway production of The Consul, replacing Gloria Lane who had performed the role at its premiere in Philadelphia. Kuhlmann said, "Everybody said Robert Shaw wouldn't let me out of my contract, but he did. Menotti's music turned me on to opera. It was so real—the vocal and the dramatic melded. When I did The Consul, it wasn't even like I was singing. I was living it, and the music value was just fantastic."

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