The American mezzo-soprano Patsy Okaya, a noted Carmen, has died in a Minnesota care home, aged 94.
She gave this account of her career:
... I studied voice at Northwestern University where I was hired by the Lyric Opera of Chicago to sing supporting roles. One of my most prized memories from those days was meeting and working with the world-famous diva, Maria Callas. She sang the title role in Tosca while | sang the familiar Shepherd Boy aria from that opera
After four years at the Lyric, I moved on to study voice in Vienna, where I sang the role of Eliza Doolittle in a performance of My Fair Lady, sponsored by the America House, a cultural center sponsored by the U.S. embassy. During my time in Vienna, I often performed in the historic concert hall that served as the home of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
When I returned to the U.S. I needed to choose between two operatic contracts that I was offered. I could have returned to the Lyric Opera, singing supporting roles or I could join the National Opera Company, singing title roles in Bizet’s Carmen and Rossini’s La Cenerentola (Cinderella). I chose the National Opera, spending six months singing both roles during a six-month national tour. Cenerentola was later filmed and shown on public television.
Patsy retired early from opera to marry and raise a family.
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