RISE STEVENS SZUROVY
11 June 1913 - 20 March 2013
On Wednesday, 20 March 2013, the great mezzo Rise Stevens passed away at the age of 99. She thrilled audiences for decades with her inspired performances of Carmen, Mignon, Prince Orlovsky, Fricka, Cherubino and many other roles on opera stages around the world. She made her operatic debut in 1936, singing Mignon in Prague. 1938 saw her MET debut and her career blossomed from there.
She made her Hollywood debut in the 1941 film, The Chocolate Soldier, opposite baritone Nelson Eddy. They made a shining pair as the married musical comedy stars who tested each others fidelity. It gave them the opportunity to sing some great songs and Miss Stevens ever got to sing the fabulous Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix.
In 1944, she appeared another film, the hit Going My Way, opposite Bing Crosby. This story saw her as an opera singer who had been a childhood friend of Father O'Malley. In the end, she helps raise money to rebuild the Church and gets to sing a couple of numbers while she is at it! The highlight is when she and Bing sing Ave Maria in the Church basement with the Robert Mitchell Boys Choir.
Going My Way also gave her a chance to sing the Habanera from Bizet's Carmen. This was a role she had never sung, but would be recognized by mass audiences. She ended up receiving so much fan mail telling her how they thought she should sing Carmen on stage, that she decided to add the role to her repertoire. By 1952, she was considered one of opera's best interpreters of Carmen and is still in the list of greats.
She told a story about one of her 1950s performances, where she had really worked on the acting aspect as well as the vocals. The final confrontation scene came around and Don Jose pulls the knife on her. She told how she backed up to the window of the set and the Don Jose smashed the knife into the wall beside her, and she did a slow "death" where she tore the curtain from the hanging and fell to the floor. She said when the knife hit, the audience gasped and was totally silent, completely wrapped up in the realistic portrayal.
Another of the great singers has passed away. A passing of an era, really. However, we can relive her beautiful voice and captivating performances on home video and CD. A true star of the opera.
Going My Way also gave her a chance to sing the Habanera from Bizet's Carmen. This was a role she had never sung, but would be recognized by mass audiences. She ended up receiving so much fan mail telling her how they thought she should sing Carmen on stage, that she decided to add the role to her repertoire. By 1952, she was considered one of opera's best interpreters of Carmen and is still in the list of greats.
She told a story about one of her 1950s performances, where she had really worked on the acting aspect as well as the vocals. The final confrontation scene came around and Don Jose pulls the knife on her. She told how she backed up to the window of the set and the Don Jose smashed the knife into the wall beside her, and she did a slow "death" where she tore the curtain from the hanging and fell to the floor. She said when the knife hit, the audience gasped and was totally silent, completely wrapped up in the realistic portrayal.
Another of the great singers has passed away. A passing of an era, really. However, we can relive her beautiful voice and captivating performances on home video and CD. A true star of the opera.
Here are links for several large obituaries from newspapers.
