Stevens, Risë

Stevens, Risë, noted American mezzo-soprano; b. N.Y., June 11, 1913. The original family surname was Steenberg. She studied voice with Orry Prado; after graduating from high school, she sang minor roles with the N.Y. Opera-Comique Co. The enterprise soon went bankrupt, and for a while she had to earn her living by dress modeling, before she was offered free singing lessons by Anna Schoen-René at the Juilliard School of Music. She was subsequently sent to Salzburg to study with Marie Gutheil-Schoder at the Mozarteum, and later entered classes in stage direction with Herbert Graf. In 1936 she was engaged by Szell for the Prague Opera as a contralto; she prepared several roles from standard operas, coaching with George Schick. She went on a tour to Cairo, Egypt, with a Vienna opera group, and then sang at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. She made her American debut as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier with the Metropolitan Opera in Philadelphia on Nov. 22, 1938. She greatly extended her repertoire, and added Wagnerian roles to her appearances with the Metropolitan. On Jan. 9, 1939, she married in N.Y. the Czech actor Walter Surovy, who became her business manager. In 1939 she sang at the Glynde-bourne Festival in England; on Oct. 12, 1940, she appeared with the San Francisco Opera as Cherubino; in 1941 she joined Nelson Eddy in a film production of the operetta The Chocolate Soldier, and in 1944 acted in the movie Going My Way, in which she sang the Habanera from Carmen; on Dec. 28, 1945, she appeared as Carmen at the Metropolitan Opera, scoring a fine success. Carmen became her most celebrated role; she sang it 75 times with the Metropolitan. She remained with the Metropolitan until 1961. On March 24, 1954, she appeared for the first time at La Scala in Milan. She retired from the stage in 1964. In 1975 she joined the teaching staff at the Juilliard School in N.Y. She also served as president of the Mannes Coll. of Music in N.Y. (1975–78).

Bibliography

K. Crichton, Subway to the Met: R. S.’ Story (N.Y., 1959).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire