Martha Lipton American opera singer, mezzo-soprano Date of Birth: 06.04.1913 Country: USA

1. Biography of Martha Lipton
2. Early Career
3. Metropolitan Opera Career
4. Recording Career
5. Teaching Career and Later Life

Biography of Martha Lipton

Martha Lipton was an American opera singer, mezzo-soprano, who frequently performed at the Metropolitan Opera in the 1940s and 1950s. She was born on April 6, 1913 in New York City.

Early Career

Lipton received a scholarship to study at the Juilliard School and made her debut in 1941 as Pauline in Tchaikovsky's "The Queen of Spades" at the New Opera Company in Manhattan. In 1944, she made her first appearance at the New York City Opera, performing the role of Nancy in Friedrich von Flotow's comic opera "Martha, oder Der Markt zu Richmond". Seven months later, Lipton made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera, singing Siebel in Gounod's "Faust" at the opening of the season.

Metropolitan Opera Career

Lipton sang at the Metropolitan Opera for 17 seasons and appeared on its stage 401 times. Her most successful roles at the Met were Annina in Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier" and Emilia in Verdi's "Otello". She also performed as Mrs. Sedley in Britten's "Peter Grimes" in 1948, Mother Goose in Stravinsky's "The Rake's Progress" in 1953, and Madame Larina in Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin" in Peter Brook's 1957 production.

Her final performance at the Metropolitan Opera was as Innkeeper in Mussorgsky's "Boris Godunov" in 1961. Lipton was also known in Europe, having performed the lead role in Benjamin Britten's "The Rape of Lucretia" for the English Opera Group in 1954 and as Augusta in the world premiere of Douglas Moore's "The Ballad of Baby Doe" at the Central City Opera House in Colorado two years later.

Recording Career

In the 1950s, Lipton made several recordings for Columbia Records. Her notable recordings include Mahler's Third Symphony with the New York Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Bernstein and Bruckner's "Te Deum" conducted by Bruno Walter. She also recorded Aaron Copland's "Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson" with Copland on the piano. One of her most famous recordings is Handel's "Messiah" conducted by Eugene Ormandy, accompanied by the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

Teaching Career and Later Life

Lipton was a distinguished professor at the Indiana University's School of Music, where she taught on the vocal faculty starting in 1960. In 1983, she retired from full-time teaching but continued to provide consultations until the end of her life.

Martha Lipton passed away on November 28, 2006 in Bloomington, Indiana, at the age of 93.