 |
Thelma VotipkaAmerican opera singer, mezzo-soprano
Date of Birth: 20.12.1906
Country:  USA |
Content:
Telma Votipka Biography
Telma Votipka was an American opera singer, specializing in mezzo-soprano roles. She was born on December 20, 1906, in Cleveland, Ohio and attended Oberlin College. Votipka studied vocal lessons in New York City under Anna E. Schoen-Rene, a renowned student of mezzo-soprano Pauline Viardot-Garcia and her brother Manuel Garcia, a renowned vocal pedagogue.
Early Career
In the late 1920s, Telma Votipka became an artist in the American Opera Company under Vladimir Rosing. She made her debut as Countess Rosina Almaviva in "Le nozze di Figaro" on December 14, 1927, in Washington D.C. From 1929 to 1930, she performed in Chicago, and from 1938 to 1949 and in 1952, she had numerous performances in San Francisco.
Metropolitan Opera
Votipka's debut at the Metropolitan Opera (MET) took place on December 16, 1935, where she portrayed Flora in Verdi's "La traviata" and repeated this role 101 times on the MET stage. Throughout her career, she performed in various other roles, including Giovanna in "Rigoletto" (139 performances), Martha in Gounod's "Faust" (128 performances), Alice in "Lucia di Lammermoor" (116 performances), Frasquita in "Carmen" (112 performances), Marianne in "Der Rosenkavalier" (109 performances), Priestess in "Aida" (101 performances), Gerhilde in Wagner's "Die Walküre" (93 performances), and Mamma Lucia in Mascagni's "Cavalleria rusticana".
Collaborations
Telma Votipka shared the stage with many opera stars during their debut at the MET, including Marjorie Lawrence, Zinka Milanov, Rose Pauly, Eleanor Steber, Astrid Varnay, Robert Merrill, Victoria de los Ángeles, Hilde Gueden, Charles Anthony, Mattiwilda Dobbs, Nicolai Gedda, and Joan Sutherland.
Later Career and Legacy
Votipka returned to the MET on April 16, 1966, to perform the quintet from "Carmen" at a farewell gala concert, marking the last performance in the old Broadway theater building, which was demolished in 1967. She passed away in New York City on October 24, 1972. Telma Votipka's impressive career included 1422 performances at the Metropolitan Opera, more than any other singer in the theater's history.
