Rise Stevens (pronounced REE-zah), American operatic mezzo-soprano of the 1940s and 1950s, has died:
Rise Stevens, an American mezzo soprano celebrated for her earthy interpretation of “Carmen,” whose career also encompassed television and movie appearances alongside matinee idols Bing Crosby and Nelson Eddy, died Wednesdayof natural causes at her home in New York. She was 99.
Her death was confirmed by her son, Nicolas Surovy.
Stevens sang for the Metropolitan Opera for more than two decades beginning in 1938. She was known for her sensuous voice, described by the International Dictionary of Opera as “pure velvet.”
She was most famous for her portrayal of the central character in Georges Bizet’s “Carmen,” a role she performed 124 times for the Met with tenor Richard Tucker, her frequent co-star, playing Don Jose.
Here she is in an appearance singing the “Habañ” from Bizet’s Carmen in what I believe is a Met performance broadcast on PBS in 1951:
That may have been the same performance as was shown in motion picture theaters in 1952. I’m not really sure.
Here she is with Nelson Eddy in the finale of The Chocolate Soldier (1941):
Most of the those who know of her nowadays probably remember her performance in the Bing Crosby perennial Going My Way.
One of the great talents. She was 99 years old.
I enjoyed the Carmen video, thanks! Carmen was my favorite opera as a kid, I listened to a record of it nearly every day which eventually wore on my mother.
My dad up in heaven will be pleased to see her again–he had the biggest crush on her. He saw her in “Carmen” a million years ago, and loved Carmen and her ever since. He passed away a few years ago. BTW, the RCA Victor Orchestra recording of “Carmen,” under the direction of Fritz Reiner, with her, Jan Peerce, Robert Merrill, is still THE BEST version. She was a great talent.