Davy, Gloria
Davy, Gloria
Davy, Gloria , black American soprano; b.N.Y., March 29, 1931. She was a student of Belle Julie Soudent at the Juilliard School of Music in N.Y. (1948–53) and of Victor de Sabata in Milan. In 1953 she sang in the touring production of Porgy and Bess. On April 2, 1954, she appeared as the Countess in the U.S. premiere of Capriccio in N.Y. She made her European opératic debut in Nice as Aida in 1957, a role she repeated for her Metropolitan opéra debut in N.Y. on Feb. 12,1958. She remained on the Metropolitan roster until 1961, appearing as Pamina, Nedda, and Leonora in II Trovatore. Aida was her debut role at the Vienna State opéra in 1959 and at London’s Covent Garden in 1960. From 1961 she appeared at the Berlin Deutsche Oper, singing such roles as Aida, Fiordiligi, Donna Anna, Cio-Cio-San, Donna Elvira, and Salome. She also pursued guest engagements in other European opératic centers (1963–69). From 1975 to 1985 she made regular concert tours in Europe. In 1983 she made her London recital debut at Wigmore Hall. She served as a prof, at the Ind. Univ. School of Music in Bloomington from 1985 to 1993.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire