Dorothy Kirsten
Bio:
Dorothy Kirsten's professional career began with the Chicago Civic Opera Company where she made her debut in the small role of Puosette in Massenet's Manon, but she soon rose to more important parts including the title role in this same opera. Within two seasons she became a leading soprano of the New York City Opera, and then in 1945 came her greatly anticipated first engagement as Mimi in La Boheme at the Metropolitan Opera Company where she has remained one of the company's leading sopranos during the past two decades. In January of 1962 Miss Kirsten made history as the first American soprano to sing La Traviata, Tosca, "Madame Butterfly", and "Faust" in the Soviet Union. Her overwhelming· success in Russia made international headlines, and caused Russian opera officials to say, "You are the strongest link in the chain of friendship between our two countries." She became the first American soprano to sing with the Tillis and the Riga Operas, and received over twenty-five curtain calls after her debuts there. Dorothy Kirsten is one of the most popular sopranos in the country as well as one of the most dynamic personalities on the operatic scene today. Her mastery of character and stage "know how" led her to an interest in directing and teaching. She recently produced and sang Madame Butterfly and "Tosca" for the Greek Theatre Festival in Los Angeles. And in the summer of 1963 she served as artist-in-residence at UCLA giving Master Classes in the musical and dramatic problems encountered in performance. She said at that time, "It is my firm belief that artists who have established careers on the great stages of the world have an obligation to share the knowledge gained through years of experience with those young aspirants who hope one day to enter the world of the theatre." In private life Dorothy Kirsten is the wife of a noted scientist, Dr. John Douglas French, Director of the Brain Research Center at UCLA.
Concerts
| Concert Details | Date |
|---|---|
LA Phil: Britten's Spring SymphonySoprano, The Shepherds had an Angel |
Oct 18, 1985 |
FaustSoprano, Faust |
Mar 31, 1973 |
