Troyanos, Tatiana

Troyanos, Tatiana, brilliant American mezzo-soprano; b. N.Y., Sept. 12, 1938; d. there, Aug. 21, 1993. She studied at the Juilliard School of Music in N.Y. (graduated, 1963) and with Hans Heinz. On April 25, 1963, she made her operatic debut as Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night’s Dreamat the N.Y.C. Opera, where she then appeared as Marina, Cherubino, and Jocasta. In 1965 she made her first appearance at the Hamburg State Opera as Preziosilla. She remained on its roster until 1975, winning distinction for such roles as Elisetta, Dorabella, and Baba. She also created the role of Jeanne in The Devil’s of Loudunthere in 1969. In 1966 she sang for the first time at the Aix-en-Provence Festival as Strauss’ Composer. In 1969 she made her debut at London’s Covent Garden and at the Salzburg Festival as Octavian. In 1971 she sang Ariodante in the first operatic production given at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.; that same year she also made her debut at the Chicago Lyric Opera as Charlotte. In 1975 she sang Bellini’s Romeo in Boston. On March 8,1976, she made a memorable debut at the Metropolitan Opera in N.Y. as Octavian. In subsequent years, Troyanos was one of the leading members of the Metropolitan Opera, excelling in such roles as Amneris, Brangäne, Eboli, the Composer, Kundry, Didon, Santuzza, Orlovsky, Adalgisa, and Geschwitz. In 1992 she created the role of Queen Isabella in Glass’s The Voyagethere. Her death from cancer deprived the Metropolitan Opera of the extraordinary gifts of one of America’s finest singers.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire