Eileen Farrell facts for kids
Eileen Farrell (born February 13, 1920 – died March 23, 2002) was an American singer. She was a soprano, which is a high female singing voice. Eileen had a very long career, almost 60 years! She performed many types of music, both classical and popular music. You could hear her in concerts, on stage, on the radio, on TV, and on records.
Many people said she had one of the most amazing voices of the 20th century. Even though she sang in operas, she performed in many more concerts. Most of her career was in the United States, but she also sang in other countries. A newspaper called her one of the best American singers of her time. They said her voice was huge and beautiful, and she used it very skillfully. Her voice was even compared to a natural wonder, like Niagara Falls!
Eileen Farrell started her career in 1940. She sang in the CBS Chorus on CBS Radio. In 1941, CBS Radio gave her her own show called Eileen Farrell Sings. On this show, she sang both classical and popular songs for five years. In 1947, she began her career as a concert singer. Nine years later, she started performing on the opera stage.
A big highlight of her opera career was singing for five seasons at the famous Metropolitan Opera from 1960 to 1966. She kept performing and recording classical and popular music throughout her life. She was known for releasing one of the first successful "crossover albums" in 1960. This album, called I've Got a Right to Sing the Blues, mixed classical singing with blues music.
She announced her retirement from performing in 1986. But she still sang and recorded music sometimes until the late 1990s. Eileen Farrell was also a voice teacher. She taught singing privately and for nine years at Indiana University.
Contents
Early Life and Musical Start
Family and Moving Around
Eileen Farrell was born in Willimantic, Connecticut. This was on February 13, 1920. She was the youngest of three children. Her parents, Michael and Catherine Farrell, were Irish American Catholics. Before they had children, her parents were vaudeville singers. They performed together as 'The Singing O'Farrells'.
Eileen's family moved quite often when she was a child. They lived in different towns in Connecticut. Her first clear memories were from their home in Storrs, Connecticut. Her parents worked there as music and drama teachers. They taught at Storrs Agricultural College, which is now the University of Connecticut.
When Eileen was five years old, her family moved back to Willimantic. After first grade, they moved again to Norwich, Connecticut. Her mother got a job as an organist at St. Mary's Church there. The family stayed in Norwich for almost ten years. Eileen finished her first year of high school there in 1935. Then, her family moved to Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Eileen started Woonsocket High School in the fall of 1936. She graduated from that school in 1939.
Learning to Sing
Eileen Farrell learned to sing from her parents when she was young. Her mother was a very talented singer. She was a coloratura soprano, which means she could sing very high and fast notes. Her mother was Eileen's main teacher. Her father, who was a baritone (a middle-range male voice), also taught her sometimes.
A local pastor, Father Cornelius J. Holland, really encouraged Eileen's early singing. He was from St. Charles Borromeo Church in Woonsocket. After high school, Eileen moved to New York City in August 1939. She went there to study with Merle Alcock. Merle Alcock was a retired contralto (a low female voice) from the Metropolitan Opera.
While studying with Alcock, Eileen also learned languages from Charlie Baker. He was the music director at Rutgers Presbyterian Church. After a few months, he hired her as a paid singer at Rutgers. When her radio career became successful, Baker became Eileen's vocal coach. He helped her prepare most of her music. In her book about her life, Can't Help Singing (1999), she said Baker helped her a lot. She said he helped her succeed during her early years on the radio. Later, Eileen also studied with Eleanor McLellan. She said McLellan taught her a very strong singing technique.
Her Radio Days
Singing on Her Own Show
In 1940, Eileen Farrell started her career in the CBS Chorus. After three months, CBS offered her a weekly radio show. It was a half-hour program called Eileen Farrell Sings. Sometimes it was called Eileen Farrell Presents. On this show, she sang both classical and popular music. The CBS Orchestra played with her, led by conductor Howard Barlow.
The show was put together by music director Jim Fassett. Most of it was recorded at what is now the Ed Sullivan Theater. On her show, Eileen got to sing with many famous guest artists. These included Margaret Harshaw, Frank Sinatra, Martial Singher, and Risë Stevens. The program first aired in early 1941. It quickly became popular and ran until 1946.
Guest Appearances
While she had her own show, Eileen Farrell also appeared as a guest on other radio programs. She was often a guest on Andre Kostelanetz's The Pause That Refreshes. She also appeared on Bernard Herrmann's Invitation to Music.
She made appearances on shows like The Bell Telephone Hour, The Prudential Family Hour, Songs of the Centuries, and Your Hit Parade. In 1944, she made a special Christmas recording. This recording was for American soldiers serving overseas during World War II. Shirley Temple was the host for that special recording.
Concerts and Opera Stages
Big Performances and Tours
From 1947 to 1948, Eileen toured the United States as a concert singer. In 1949, she toured South America. Her song recital in New York in October 1950 was greatly praised. It brought her immediate recognition. That same year, she sang as Marie in a concert performance of Berg's opera Wozzeck.
In 1952, the famous conductor Arturo Toscanini chose her. She sang in his first and only studio recording for RCA Red Seal. This was for Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. She sang with the NBC Symphony Orchestra.
In the 1955 movie Interrupted Melody, Eileen Farrell provided the singing voice. The movie starred Eleanor Parker as Australian soprano Marjorie Lawrence. As early as 1956, Eileen sang for a huge audience of over 13,000 people. This was at the Lewisohn Stadium in New York City. She sang arias (songs) from Verdi's opera Ernani. The conductor was Alfredo Antonini.
Singing at the Metropolitan Opera
In 1956, Eileen made her first stage performance. She sang as Santuzza in Mascagni's opera Cavalleria rusticana. This was with the San Carlo Opera in Tampa, Florida. In 1957, she sang for the first time with the Lyric Opera of Chicago. In 1958, she debuted with the San Francisco Opera.
Her debut at the Metropolitan Opera was on December 6, 1960. She sang the main role in Gluck's opera Alceste. She also opened the Met's 1962–63 season. She sang as Maddalena in Giordano's Andrea Chénier, performing with Franco Corelli. She stayed at the Met until the 1963–64 season. She performed 44 times in six different roles. She returned in March 1966 for two final performances as Maddalena. Her other roles at the Met included the main role in Ponchielli's La Gioconda. She also sang Leonora in Verdi's La forza del destino, Isabella in de Falla's Atlàntida, and Santuzza.
Blending Music Styles
Eileen Farrell was comfortable singing both popular music and opera. She recorded four albums of popular music for Columbia Records. These albums were I've Got a Right to Sing the Blues, Here I Go Again, This Fling Called Love, and Together with Love.
Throughout the 1960s, she often sang as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic. This was under the direction of Leonard Bernstein. She was also a favorite singer of Thomas Schippers. She was a featured soloist in a shorter recording of Handel's Messiah. She sang with Eugene Ormandy, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Other soloists included Martha Lipton, Davis Cunningham, and William Warfield.
From 1971 to 1980, Farrell was a music professor. She taught at the Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington. From 1983 to 1985, she was a music professor at the University of Maine in Orono.
Later in her career, she also made several blues music recordings. She sang a well-loved duet with Frank Sinatra on his album Trilogy (1979). They sang a version of the country music hit "For the Good Times". This song introduced her to many new fans. She published a book about her life, Can't Help Singing, in 1999.
Starting in 1987, she began to record pop albums again. Her first was for the Audiophile label, called With Much Love. She later recorded several albums for the Reference label that were very popular.
Later Life and Legacy
Eileen Farrell was married to Robert Reagan. He was a New York Police Department officer. They had a son and a daughter. They lived in the Grymes Hill and Emerson Hill areas of Staten Island, New York. Robert died in 1986.
Eileen was chosen for Woonsocket's Hall of Fame. She lived in Cliffside Park, New Jersey. Eileen Farrell passed away at a nursing home in Park Ridge, New Jersey, on March 23, 2002. She was 82 years old.
Selected Discography
- Eileen Farrell Sings Torch Songs, Arrangements by Loonis McGlohon, Reference Recordings, 1990
- Rodgers: The Sound of Music, conducted by Erich Kunzel, Telarc 1988
- Carols for Christmas Eve, conduct every single by Luther Henderson and His Orchestra, Sony BMG Masterworks, 1960
- I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues, conducted by Luther Henderson and his Orchestra, Sony Classics 1959 & 1961
- Eileen Farell—Puccini Arias, conducted by Max Rudolf and the Columbia Symphony Orchesta, Sony Classics 1959 & 1960
- Eileen Farrell sings Verdi, conducted by Max Rudolf and Fausto Cleva, Columbia Symphony Orchestra 1960& 1961
- Wagner—Wesendonck Lieder, Siegfried, Act III, Scene 3; Eileen Farrell and Set Svanholm; Leopold Stowkowski and Erich Leinsdorf, conductors;Testament SBT 1415
- Eileen Farrell sings Opera Arias & Songs, conducted by Thomas Schippers and the Philharmonia Orchestra 9/1957;Testament 1073
See also
In Spanish: Eileen Farrell para niños
