Opera Singer. Born Roberta Peterman, she was a star coloratura soprano who was a veteran of the New York Metropolitan Opera Company for 35 years. She started her music lessons at the age of 13 under the tutelage of voice teacher William Hermann. After six years under Hermann, he introduced her to impresario Sol Hurok, who arranged an audition with Rudolf Bing, the general manager of the Metropolitan Opera. Even though her audition was scheduled for February of 1951, her professional debut at "the Met" came on November 17, 1950 when she was asked to sub for Nadine Conner who had fallen ill. With no rehearsal, she stepped on to the stage as Zerlina, a very difficult role, in "Don Giovanni." She proved to be a success in the role and went on to star for the company for the next three decades. She sang over 500 performances during her storied career and came to be known as the "American Nightengale." Some of her most popular roles included the Queen of the Night in Mozart's "Magic Flute," Rosina in Rossini's "The Barber of Seville," and Gilda in Verdi's "Rigoletto. She also performed many times at the Lyric Opera in Chicago and at the San Francisco Opera among many others. Her success carried over to television where she appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" a record 65 times and made appearances on "The Tonight Show." She passed away of Parkinson's disease.
Opera Singer. Born Roberta Peterman, she was a star coloratura soprano who was a veteran of the New York Metropolitan Opera Company for 35 years. She started her music lessons at the age of 13 under the tutelage of voice teacher William Hermann. After six years under Hermann, he introduced her to impresario Sol Hurok, who arranged an audition with Rudolf Bing, the general manager of the Metropolitan Opera. Even though her audition was scheduled for February of 1951, her professional debut at "the Met" came on November 17, 1950 when she was asked to sub for Nadine Conner who had fallen ill. With no rehearsal, she stepped on to the stage as Zerlina, a very difficult role, in "Don Giovanni." She proved to be a success in the role and went on to star for the company for the next three decades. She sang over 500 performances during her storied career and came to be known as the "American Nightengale." Some of her most popular roles included the Queen of the Night in Mozart's "Magic Flute," Rosina in Rossini's "The Barber of Seville," and Gilda in Verdi's "Rigoletto. She also performed many times at the Lyric Opera in Chicago and at the San Francisco Opera among many others. Her success carried over to television where she appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" a record 65 times and made appearances on "The Tonight Show." She passed away of Parkinson's disease.
Bio by: Mr. Badger Hawkeye
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