Rosalind Elias facts for kids

Rosalind Elias (born March 13, 1930 – died May 3, 2020) was an American opera singer. She was a mezzo-soprano, which means she had a middle-range female singing voice. Rosalind Elias had a very long and successful career at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. She was especially famous for playing the role of Erika in the opera Vanessa in 1958.

Early Life and Training

Rosalind Elias was born in Lowell, Massachusetts. She was the youngest of 13 children in a Lebanese-American family. Her parents, Shelaby Namay and Salem Elias, came from Beirut. Her father worked as a real estate agent.

Rosalind grew up listening to opera shows on the radio. Her father didn't want her to sing at first, but she convinced him. She started singing lessons in Lowell. She studied music at the New England Conservatory. From 1948 to 1952, she performed with the New England Opera.

After that, she went to Italy to study singing more. She attended the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. While studying, she sang in an opera called L'incoronazione di Poppea. She also performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She continued her studies at the Tanglewood Music Center in Massachusetts.

Her Opera Career

Singing at the Metropolitan Opera

Rosalind Elias first sang at the Metropolitan Opera on February 23, 1954. Her first role was Grimgerde in Wagner's opera Die Walküre. She performed 687 times in 54 different roles there.

Some of her famous roles included:

• Bersi in Andrea Chénier
• The main role in Carmen
• Rosina in The Barber of Seville
• Suzuki in Madama Butterfly
• Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro
• Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier
• Amneris in Aida
• The Witch in Hansel and Gretel

She created two new roles in operas by Samuel Barber. She was Erika in Vanessa in 1958. She also played Charmian in Antony and Cleopatra in 1966. This performance opened the new Metropolitan Opera House.

Other Performances and Recordings

Rosalind Elias also sang in operas in other countries. She performed in Scotland, at the Vienna State Opera in Austria, and at the Glyndebourne Festival in England.

She also sang on television. In 1971, she was Bathsheba in the opera And David Wept for CBS Television. People praised her performance.

Elias made many recordings, mostly for RCA Red Seal. She recorded roles like Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro and Suzuki in Madama Butterfly. She also recorded Azucena in Il trovatore. One of her recordings, The Marriage of Figaro, won a Grammy Award in 1959.

Later in her career, she played the Old Baroness in Vanessa. She performed this role in Monte-Carlo, Los Angeles, and New York City. In 2011, she also performed in the musical Follies on Broadway.

Directing Operas

Towards the end of the 1900s, Rosalind Elias started directing operas. She directed Carmen at the San Diego Opera.

Personal Life

Rosalind Elias married Zyhayr Moghrabi in 1969. He was a lawyer and law professor. They were married until he passed away in 2015.

Death

Rosalind Elias had a heart condition. She passed away on May 3, 2020, at the age of 90.

Videography

• James Levine's 25th Anniversary Metropolitan Opera Gala (1996), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, B0004602-09