Stevens, Risë (1913—)

American mezzo-soprano. Name variations: Rise Stevens. Born on June 11, 1913, in the Bronx, New York; daughter of Christian Steenbjorg also seen as Steenberg (a Norwegian) and an American mother; studied with Anna Schoen-René at the Juilliard School of Music and in Salzburg with Marie Gutheil-Schoder and Herbert Graf; married Walter G. Surovy, on January 6, 1939; children: Nicolas Vincent Surovy.

Debuted in Prague (1936), Metropolitan Opera (1938), Glyndebourne Festival (1939), Teatro alla Scala (1954); appeared in the films The Chocolate Soldier (1941), opposite Nelson Eddy, and Going My Way, starring Bing Crosby (1944); voted best female vocalist in radio (1947 and 1948); retired from singing (1964); served as co-director of the Metropolitan Opera National Company (1965–67); was president of Mannes College of Music (1975–78); was managing director of the Metropolitan Opera (from 1988).

During the 1940s and 1950s, Risë Stevens had the good sense to drop heavier roles in Wagnerian opera and to appear in operas which best suited her voice and talents. She virtually owned the roles of Delilah and Carmen. Her interpretation of Carmen was initially conventional, but after Tyrone Guthrie directed a production ofCarmen at the Met, Stevens portrayed her as hard, calculating and tough. Although this interpretation might have left Carmen as little more than a prostitute, she probed deeper into her character with the result that Carmen's rejection of Don José became a great moment of theater on the opera stage. Stevens did not limit her talents to the opera. She appeared in movies, performed Broadway classics, sang popular songs such as Cole Porter's "Everything I Love," and traveled extensively with the Hollywood Victory Caravan during World War II. She also appeared frequently on television. After her retirement from the opera stage, Stevens was active as a teacher, a director, and president of Mannes College of Music. In 1988, she became managing director of the Met.

John Haag , Athens, Georgia