Dorothy Warenskjold
Encyclopedia
Dorothy Warenskjold was an American lyric soprano
who had an active career in operas and concerts from the mid 1940s through the early 1960s. She made several recordings for Capital Records.
in Oakland, California. As an opera singer, she worked mainly with the San Francisco Opera
(SFO) where she made her debut in October 1948 as Nannetta in Giuseppe Verdi
's Falstaff
. She performed with the SFO for the next eight consecutive seasons, performing such roles as Antonia in The Tales of Hoffmann, Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro
, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi
, Liù in Turandot
, Marzelline in Fidelio
, Micaëla in Carmen
, Mimì in La bohème
, Pamina in The Magic Flute
, and Sophie in Werther
. Her final appearance at the SFO was in October 1955 as Sophie in Richard Strauss
's Der Rosenkavalier
with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
as the Marschallin and Frances Bible
as Octavian.
Warenskjold also appeared as a guest artist with several American opera companies and toured the United States with a few traveling opera companies. In addition to her work on stage, she also performed regularly on the radio and on television during the 1940s and 1950s. She was frequently heard on the programs Harvest of Stars
, The Voice of Firestone
and The Railroad Hour
. In 1950 she performed the roles of Antonia and Stella in the NBC Opera Theatre
's television production of The Tales of Hoffmann. After retiring from singing in the early 1960s, she joined the voice faculty of the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture
where she taught for many years as an adjunct faculty member.
Lyric soprano
A lyric soprano is a type of operatic soprano that has a warm quality with a bright, full timbre which can be heard over an orchestra. The lyric soprano voice generally has a higher tessitura than a soubrette and usually plays ingenues and other sympathetic characters in opera. Lyric sopranos have...
who had an active career in operas and concerts from the mid 1940s through the early 1960s. She made several recordings for Capital Records.
Life and career
Warenskjold studied music at Mills CollegeMills College
Mills College is an independent liberal arts women's college founded in 1852 that offers bachelor's degrees to women and graduate degrees and certificates to women and men. Located in Oakland, California, Mills was the first women's college west of the Rockies. The institution was initially founded...
in Oakland, California. As an opera singer, she worked mainly with the San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
(SFO) where she made her debut in October 1948 as Nannetta in Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
's Falstaff
Falstaff (opera)
Falstaff is an operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV. It was Verdi's last opera, written in the composer's ninth decade, and only the second of his 26 operas to be a comedy...
. She performed with the SFO for the next eight consecutive seasons, performing such roles as Antonia in The Tales of Hoffmann, Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro
Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi
Gianni Schicchi
Gianni Schicchi is a comic opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, composed in 1917–18. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's Divine Comedy. The work is the third and final part of Puccini's Il trittico —three one-act operas with...
, Liù in Turandot
Turandot
Turandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text Turandot...
, Marzelline in Fidelio
Fidelio
Fidelio is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora...
, Micaëla in Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
, Mimì in La bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
, Pamina in The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
, and Sophie in Werther
Werther
Werther is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann based on the German epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe....
. Her final appearance at the SFO was in October 1955 as Sophie in Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
's Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac...
with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, DBE was a German-born Austrian/British soprano opera singer and recitalist. She was among the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century, much admired for her performances of Mozart, Schubert, Strauss, and Wolf.-Early life:Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike...
as the Marschallin and Frances Bible
Frances Bible
Frances Lillian Bible was an American operatic mezzo-soprano who had a thirty long year career at the New York City Opera between 1948 and 1978. She also made a fair number of opera appearances with other companies throughout the United States, but only made a limited number of appearances abroad...
as Octavian.
Warenskjold also appeared as a guest artist with several American opera companies and toured the United States with a few traveling opera companies. In addition to her work on stage, she also performed regularly on the radio and on television during the 1940s and 1950s. She was frequently heard on the programs Harvest of Stars
Harvest of Stars
Harvest of Stars was a concert music series, produced and directed by Glen Heisch and starring James Melton. Sponsored by International Harvester, the program was broadcast on NBC and CBS from 1945 to 1950....
, The Voice of Firestone
The Voice of Firestone
The Voice of Firestone, is a long-running radio and television program of classical music. The show featured leading singers in selections from opera and operetta. Originally titled The Firestone Hour, it was first broadcast on the NBC Radio network December 3, 1928 and was later also shown on...
and The Railroad Hour
The Railroad Hour
The Railroad Hour was a radio series of musical dramas and comedies broadcast from the late 1940s to the mid-1950s.Sponsored by the Association of American Railroads, the series condensed musicals and operettas to shorter lengths, concentrating on those written before 1943. Singer-actor Gordon...
. In 1950 she performed the roles of Antonia and Stella in the NBC Opera Theatre
NBC Opera Theatre
The NBC Opera Theatre was an American opera company operated by the National Broadcasting Company from 1949 to 1964. The company was established specifically for the purpose of filming both established and new operas for television...
's television production of The Tales of Hoffmann. After retiring from singing in the early 1960s, she joined the voice faculty of the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture
UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture
The UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture is a professional school at the University of California, Los Angeles. The school plays a vital role in the cultural and artistic life of the campus and the community. Through the six degree-granting departments, it provides a full range of course...
where she taught for many years as an adjunct faculty member.