The American mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Russo, who sang Fricka in Fulham Opera’s Ring cycle, has died of cancer.
She was cantor and soloist at Saint Paul Roman Catholic Church in Greenwich, Ct., for 25 years.
The conductor Ben Woodward writes:
I met Liz in 2007 in New York, doing my first ever opera, Salome, in which Liz played Herodias. I had basically no idea what I was doing, and we mused over the correct pronunciation of “Kameltreiber”.
When the Fulham Ring came to be, I simply could not think of anyone else I wanted to be Fricka, and she came and joined us with great joy and panache, and for Walküre, famously walked Maud the pug down the aisle, as her ram.
I met up with her many times in subsequent years, gently berating her raw veganism, as she tried to get me to embrace beets and celery.
She came to our wedding in 2016, and I am amazed by how many people are speaking of her passing, having only met her that day.
She was a delight; loved by all who met her, and will always be our First Fricka.
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