Ewing, Maria (Louise)

Ewing, Maria (Louise), noted American mezzo-soprano and soprano; b. Detroit, March 27, 1950. She commenced vocal training with Marjorie Gordon, continuing her studies with Steber at the Cleveland Inst. of Music (1968–70), and later with Tourel and O. Marzolla. In 1973 she made her professional debut at the Ravinia Festival with the Chicago Sym. Orch., and subsequently was engaged to appear with various U.S. opera houses and orchs.; she also appeared as a recitalist. On Oct. 14, 1976, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Cherubino, and returned there to sing such roles as Rosina, Dorabella, Melisande, Blanche in Les Dialogues des Carmelites, and Carmen. In 1976 she made her first appearance at Milan’s La Scala as Melisande; in 1978 she made her Glyndebourne Festival debut as Dorabella, and returned there as a periodic guest. In 1986 she sang Salome in Los Angeles and appeared in The Merry Widow in Chicago in 1987. In 1988 she sang Salome at London’s Covent Garden, a role she sang to enormous critical acclaim in Chicago that same year; she returned there as Tosca in 1989 and Susanna in 1991. After a dispute over artistic matters at the Metropolitan Opera in 1987, she refused to sing there until 1993 when she returned as Dido. After singing Katerina Ismailova there in 1994, she was engaged as Tosca at Covent Garden in 1995. In 1997 she returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Berg’s Marie. She was married for a time to Sir Peter Hall.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire