Pons, Lily (actually, Alice Josephine)

Pons, Lily (actually, Alice Josephine) , glamorous French soprano; b. Draguignan, April 12, 1898; d. Dallas, Feb. 13, 1976. She studied piano as a child, then took voice lessons with Alberti di Gorostiaga. She made her debut as an opera singer in Mulhouse in 1927 in the title role in Laktné. After singing in provincial theaters in France, was engaged at the Metropolitan Opera in N.Y., and sang Lucia at her debut there on Jan. 3, 1931, with excellent success; she remained on its roster until 1944 (again from 1945 to 1958; on Dec. 14, 1960, made a concert appearance there). While in N.Y., she continued vocal studies with Maria Gay and Giovanni Zenatello. Her fame as an extraordinary dramatic singer spread rapidly; she was engaged to sing at the Grand Opéra and the Opéra-Comique in Paris, at Covent Garden in London, the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, in Mexico, and in Cuba. She went to Hollywood and appeared in films, among them That Girl from Paris (1936) and Hitting a New High (1938). During World War II, she toured the battlefronts of North Africa, India, China, and Burma; received numerous honors. So celebrated did she become that a town in Md. was named Lilly-pons in her honor. She was married twice (divorced both times) to the publisher August Mesritz, and once to André Kostelanetz . She possessed an expressive coloratura voice, which she used with extraordinary skill. In addition to Lakmé, she won great renown for her portrayals of Philine in Mignon, Gilda, Marie in La Fille du régiment, Rosina, Olympia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, and Amina in La Sonnambula.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire