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Evelyn LearAmerican opera singer-soprano
Date of Birth: 08.01.1926
Country:  USA |
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Biography of Evelyn Lear
American opera soprano Evelyn Lear was born on January 8, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York. She gained recognition for her musical versatility and performed over forty opera roles from 1959 to 1992. Lear had a successful career, appearing with major opera companies in the United States. In 1966, she received a Grammy Award for her outstanding performances.
Early Life and Education
Evelyn Lear, whose birth name was Evelyn Shulman, was born to Russian Jewish parents, Nathan and Nina Shulman. She received her music education at Hunter College, New York University, and the Juilliard School of Music, where she studied vocal performance, piano, horn, and composition. It was during her time at Juilliard that she met her future husband, bass-baritone Thomas Stewart. Both Lear and Stewart were recipients of the Fulbright scholarship for further studies in music at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Berlin, Germany, under the guidance of Maria Ivogün.
Operatic Career
Lear's operatic career began with her portrayal of the Composer in Richard Strauss's "Ariadne auf Naxos" at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. She went on to repeat this role on various opera stages. In 1960, Lear performed the lead role in the concert version of Alban Berg's "Lulu." Her performance was so successful that she was chosen to portray Lulu in the first staged version of the opera since World War II, which took place at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna under the baton of Karl Böhm. Lear also played the role of Countess Geschwitz, a mezzo-soprano part, in later productions of "Lulu" during the 1980s.
Throughout her career, Lear was known for being the first to perform several roles. In 1955, shortly after graduating from Juilliard, she portrayed Nina in the premiere of Marc Blitzstein's opera "Reuben, Reuben," a role that inspired Leonard Bernstein to name his daughter Nina. Lear's other notable premieres included Giselher Klebe's "Alkmene," Werner Egk's "Die Verlobung in San Domingo," and Thomas Pasatieri's "The Seagull," where she sang the role of Irma Arkadina.
One of Lear's greatest successes came from her performances in Richard Strauss's operas. She made her London debut with the "Four Last Songs" and sang all three soprano roles in "Der Rosenkavalier." From Sophie in provincial German opera houses to Octavian in leading theaters in Vienna, Berlin, and New York, Lear's interpretation of these roles was highly acclaimed. The pinnacle of her success came with the role of the Marschallin, which she first performed in 1971 and continued to perform in major opera houses worldwide, including La Scala. Her farewell performance took place at the Metropolitan Opera in 1985.
Personal Life and Legacy
Evelyn Lear married physician and political activist Walter Lear in 1955, but they divorced in the mid-1950s. She then married Thomas Stewart, her former classmate at Juilliard. The couple remained together until Stewart's passing on September 24, 2006. Lear had two children from her first marriage.
Evelyn Lear passed away on July 1, 2012, in Sandy Spring, Maryland, at the age of 86. She left behind a remarkable legacy as a versatile and acclaimed opera soprano, known for her interpretations of both traditional and contemporary operatic works.
