Lily Pons 764849 225916768 2008-07-16T00:24:34Z Jdramzer 7407034 '''Lily Pons''' ([[April 12]], [[1898]] &ndash; [[February 13]], [[1976]]) was a [[France|French]]-[[United States|American]] [[coloratura]] [[soprano]]. =Biography= Born '''Alice Joséphine Pons''' in [[Draguignan]] near [[Cannes]], Pons first studied piano at the [[Paris Conservatory]], winning the First Prize at the age of 15. During [[World War I]], she played piano and sang for soldiers in [[Paris]] hospitals. She also sang at receptions in Cannes. In [[1925]], encouraged by soprano [[Dyna Beumer]], she started taking singing lessons from Alberti de Gorostiaga in [[Paris]]. She successfully made her operatic debut in the title role of [[Léo Delibes]]' ''[[Lakmé]]'' at [[Mulhouse]] in [[1928]] and went on to sing several coloratura roles in French provincial opera houses. She was discovered by the impresario [[Giovanni Zenatello]], who took her to [[New York]] where she auditioned for [[Giulio Gatti-Casazza]], the general manager of the [[Metropolitan Opera]].The Met desperately needed a star coloratura after the retirement of [[Amelita Galli-Curci]] nearly a year earlier. On January 3, [[1931]], the French woman, unknown in the U.S., made an unheralded Met debut as Lucia in [[Gaetano Donizetti|Donizetti]]'s ''[[Lucia di Lammermoor]]''. Against all odds, her performance received tremendous acclaim. Pons became a star overnight, and she inherited most of Galli-Curci's important coloratura roles. She also signed a recording contract with [[RCA Victor]] Records. Pons was a principal soprano at the Met for thirty years, appearing 300 times in ten roles from [[1931]] until [[1960]]. Her most frequent performances were as Lucia (93 performances), Lakmé (50 performances), Gilda in [[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi's]] ''[[Rigoletto]]'' (49 performances), and Rosina in [[Gioacchino Rossini|Rossini's]] ''[[The Barber of Seville]]'' (33 performances). Other roles in her repertoire included Olympia in [[Jacques Offenbach|Offenbach's]] ''[[The Tales of Hoffman]]'', Philine in [[Ambroise Thomas|Ambroise Thomas's]] ''[[Mignon]]'', Amina in [[Vincenzo Bellini|Bellini's]] ''[[La Sonnambula]]'', Marie in Donizetti's ''[[The Daughter of the Regiment]]'', the Queen in [[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov|Rimsky-Korsakov's]] ''[[The Golden Cockerel]]'', and the title role in Donizetti's ''[[Linda di Chamounix]]'', (a role she sang in the opera's Met premiere on March 1, [[1934]]). In her last performance at the Met, on December 14, [[1960]], she sang "''[[Caro nome]]''" from ''Rigoletto'' as part of a gala performance. She also made guest appearances at the [[Opéra Garnier]] in [[Paris]], [[Royal Opera House|Covent Garden]] in [[London]], [[La Monnaie]] in [[Brussels]], [[Teatro Colón]] in [[Buenos Aires]], the [[Chicago Opera]] and the [[San Francisco Opera]]. After her Met farewell, she continued to sing concerts until [[1973]]. Furthermore, she starred in three [[RKO]] [[film]]s: ''[[I Dream Too Much]]'' ([[1935]]) with [[Henry Fonda]], ''[[That Girl From Paris]]'' ([[1936]]) and ''[[Hitting a New High]]'' ([[1937]]). In [[1940]], she became a [[naturalized citizen]] of the [[United States]]. From [[1938]] to [[1958]], she was married to the conductor [[André Kostelanetz]]. During [[World War II]], she toured the battlefields of [[North Africa]] and [[Asia|East Asia]]. Her country of birth awarded her the Croix de Lorraine and the [[Légion d'Honneur]]. Lily Pons had a small voice, but she demonstrated flawless technique and very secure top notes. With her svelte appearance and good looks, she charmed a public accustomed to buxom sopranos. [[Nina Morgana]], a fellow soprano at the Met, stated that Pons vocalised up to the A-flat above high C (Ab6) without visible effort during their first meeting in early 1930.<ref>Nina Morgana Zirato, "Remembering Lily Pons." ''The Opera Quarterly''. Cary: Spring 1999. Vol. 15, Iss. 2; pg. 224, 14 pgs. Accessed via Proquest on August 6, 2006. [http://proquest.umi.com.]</ref> She died of [[pancreatic cancer]] in [[Dallas]], [[Texas]] at the age of 77, and her remains were brought back to her birthplace to be interred in the [[Cimetière du Grand Jas]] in [[Cannes]] on the [[French Riviera]]. A village in [[Frederick County, Maryland|Frederick County]], [[Maryland]], 10 miles south of [[Frederick, Maryland]] is called "Lilypons" in her honor. The town is known for its commercial tropical fish ponds. [http://reference.allrefer.com/gazetteer/L/L04262-lilypons.html] [[George Gershwin]] was in the process of writing a piece of music dedicated to her when he died in [[1937]]. The incomplete sketch was found among Gershwin's papers after his death and was eventually revived and completed by [[Michael Tilson Thomas]] and given the simple title 'For Lily Pons'. She appeared on the TV show WHAT'S MY LINE? as a celebrity guest in 1955. =Bibliography= * ''Lily Pons: A Centennial Portrait'', edited by James A Drake and Kristin Beall Ludecke, Amadeus Press, 1999. ISBN 1574670476 =Records= ML 4087 Columbia Records (Mono): Repeat Performance: Lily Pons with Orchestra conducted by Andre Kostelanetz, Year Unknown =References= {{reflist|2}} =External links= *[http://bassocantante.com/opera/pons.html Pons bio] from BassoCantante.com *[http://66.187.153.86/archives/frame.htm MetOpera database] [[Category:1898 births|Pons, Lily]] [[Category:1976 deaths|Pons, Lily]] [[Category:Pancreatic cancer deaths|Pons, Lily]] [[Category:French Americans|Pons, Lily]] [[Category:French opera singers|Pons, Lily]] [[Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States|Pons, Lily]] [[Category:Operatic sopranos|Pons, Lily]] [[Category:Hollywood Walk of Fame|Pons, Lily]] [[Category:Légion d'honneur recipients|Pons, Lily]] [[Category:Soubrettes|Pons, Lily]] [[de:Lily Pons]] [[es:Lily Pons]] [[fr:Lily Pons]] [[it:Lily Pons]] [[pl:Lily Pons]] [[pt:Lily Pons]] [[fi:Lily Pons]]