When I wrote to the list about my soft spot for Roberta Peters, I said:
>Some very nice things have been written about her over on the
>Opera-list over the years, by those who heard her in person on many
>occasions.
And lo and behold, somebody on the opera list posted a link to this intresting
AP
interview with Ms. Peters at the following URL:
http://www.dailytexan.utexas.edu/webtexan/today/2000090608_s01_Roberta.html
She talks about her well-known opera AND stage debut, at age 20, in 1950 (which
makes her
70 now, by my math) on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera, with no rehearsal,
going on
for another artist who was ill in the role of Zerlina.
Here are a few quotes from the article:
> Mezzo-soprano Rise Stevens, who sang at the Met with Peters in Orfeo ed
Euridice, said,
> "From the very start, one knew that she was a star performer because, in
addition to
> her obvious talents, she had that indefinable quality of being able to grab
the attention."
> It was Peters' grandfather, maitre d' at Grossinger's resort in the
Catskills, who
> approached tenor Jan Peerce, who sometimes sang at the resort, and told him
about his
> 13-year-old granddaughter's talent for singing. Peerce recommended Peters to
voice teacher
> William Herman, who cut his fees for her.
> "I owe my whole career to this teacher," Peters said. "I had a lesson six
days a week.
> These days, Peters has a busy schedule. She travels to San Diego every six
weeks to work
> with her coach George Trovillo. She plays tennis five or six times a week and
swims, and has
> kept her size-8 figure.
> "I've seen so many singers be at the Met five years and ruin their voices.
Your vocal cords
> are very delicate. I had the urge to sing heavier roles, but I stopped myself
in time."
> In this season's recitals, she will include an aria from "Don Pasquale" and
some Handel
> coloratura. She hasn't transposed down anything that's now too high for her.
Hey - she must be doing SOMETHING right to be still performing in public and
playing
tennis 5-6 times a week at age 70!
--
Margaret Harrison, Alexandria, Virginia, USA
"Music for a While Shall All Your Cares Beguile"
mailto:peggyh@i...
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