Mary Virginia Curtis Verna (May 9, 1921 – December 4, 2009) was an American operatic soprano, particularly associated with the Italian repertory.

Born in Salem, Massachusetts, she studied at Abbot Academy and Hollins College, and later in Italy with Ettore Verna, whom she married.[1][2]

She made her stage debut at the Teatro Lirico in Milan, as Desdemona, in 1949. In 1950, she appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show singing "Visi d'arte" from Tosca and "Will You Remember?" from Maytime. During her early years, she sang widely in Italy, as Maria Curtis Verna, and made guest appearances at the Vienna State Opera and the Munich State Opera.

Verna made her American debut at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia with the Philadelphia Civic Grand Opera Company on May 14, 1952 in the title role of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida with Ramón Vinay as Radamès, Claramae Turner as Amneris, and Giuseppe Bamboschek conducting. Later that year she portrayed the same role for he debut at the San Francisco Opera. She made her debut at the New York City Opera, as Donna Anna, in 1954, and also sang Aida and Tosca with the company.

She debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 1957, as Leonora in Il Trovatore, and remained there for 10 seasons. Her other roles at the Met included Aida, Leonora (La forza del destino), Elisabetta (Don Carlo), Santuzza (Cavalleria rusticana), Tosca and Turandot. She portrayed Amelia in a new production of Simon Boccanegra opposite Leonard Warren in his final complete opera appearance at the Metropolitan. She appeared as both Donna Anna and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, and she appeared in Götterdämmerung doubling as both the Third Norn and Gutrune.

She became well-known and acclaimed at the Metropolitan in the 1950s and '60s for stepping into roles for indisposed divas often on only a few hours notice.[3]

She appeared at many other United States companies including Cincinnati and Baltimore. At the Philadelphia Lyric Opera she appeared in Manon Lescaut in 1962 conducted by Julius Rudel, and in La Gioconda in 1964, opposite Franco Corelli and conducted by Anton Guadagno. She also appeared at South American Companies including the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.

Verna made several commercial recordings, including Aida for Remington, and for Cetra Records a solo album of Italian arias, Don Giovanni, Un ballo in maschera, and Aida. For the Metropolitan Opera Record Club (issued by the Book-of-the-Month Club) she recorded Il Trovatore and Andrea Chenier. Several live recordings were made including Tosca, Don Carlo, and two recordings of Aida at the Metropolitan Opera, Macbeth in Cincinnati, and La Gioconda in Philadelphia. Excerpts of other performances recorded live also survive.

Verna left the Metropolitan Opera in 1966, and her final appearance was in the gala closing night of the 39th Street house. In 1969, she was offered and accepted the position of Head of the Voice Department at the University of Washington School of Music. She retired from the University of Washington in 1991.[2]

Verna died at her home in Seattle, Washington on December 4, 2009 at the age of 88.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Notable Alumni: Short List". Archived from the original on June 2, 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  2. 1 2 Marmor, Jon (March 2010), Mary Curtis-Verna, 1921–2009: A Voice of Beauty, Columns Magazine
  3. 1 2 Fox, Margalit (December 22, 2009), "Mary Curtis-Verna, Opera's Champion Pinch-Hitter, Dies at 88", The New York Times

Sources

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