Elaine Malbin
Encyclopedia
Elaine Malbin is an American
soprano
who had a prolific international career singing in opera
s, musical
s, and concerts from 1949 through 1967. She appeared in a number of Broadway productions in the 1940s and 1950s. She was a regular at the New York City Opera
during the 1950s and 1960s and appeared with most of America's leading opera companies during this time as well, including the Houston Grand Opera
and the San Francisco Opera
. She also appeared in concert with several notable orchestras including the New York Philharmonic
and the Philadelphia Orchestra
. On the International stage she appeared at a number of opera house
s and major music festivals in the United Kingdom
, Italy
, and France
. She is perhaps best remembered for appearing in several opera roles live for television with the NBC Opera Theatre
and for recording several operatic duets with Mario Lanza
for an RCA Victor Red Seal album of selections from his 1950 film The Toast of New Orleans
.
Malbin retired at the height of her career in 1968 when her first daughter was born. She returned to the stage in 1979 but never achieved the level of success she enjoyed when she was younger. From 1980 up into the early 2000s she remained busy appearing in operas with smaller American companies and appearing in concerts with minor orchestras and music ensembles. Although she is mostly retired now, she still occasionally performs.
, Malbin started studying singing as a child and made her professional recital debut at the young age of 14 at New York City's Town Hall
on March 31, 1945. That same year she began to perform regularly on the radio on WNEW
singing popular songs to entertain the troops during the last year of World War II
. She made her Carnegie Hall
debut with The New York Pops
on May 7, 1947 in a concert entitled "Viennese Night" which featured her singing numerous songs and arias by Viennese composers. She performed in concert with The New York Pops several more times over the next year. From 1948-1951 Malbin sang in the NBC Chorus that performed in concerts and recordings with the NBC Symphony Orchestra
.
On May 15, 1949, Malbin made her professional opera debut with the San Carlo Opera Company
as Mussetta in Giacomo Puccini
's La bohème
. She made her Broadway
debut on the following October 4 as Peep-Bo in Gilbert and Sullivan
's The Mikado
at the Mark Hellinger Theatre
, notably the inaugural season of that theatre. She performed in two other Gilbert and Sullivan shows at that theatre through October 22: Edith in The Pirates of Penzance
and the Plaintiff in Trial By Jury
. Shortly thereafter she was cast as Violetta in C.B.S. Opera Television Theatre's production of Giuseppe Verdi
's La Traviata
which was first broadcast on March 12, 1950.
Malbin began 1950 singing in a concert of opera arias at the Detroit Opera House
with the Detroit Civic Opera. On April 18, 1950 she made her first appearance at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts
singing with the Robin Hood Dell Orchestra in an evening honoring Margaret Truman
. On July 12, 1950 she performed the role of Jenny in Kurt Weill
's Down in the Valley
in a concert version with the New York Philharmonic
under conductor Maurice Levine. In September 1950, she sang her first role with the New York City Opera
, Princess Ninetta in Sergei Prokofiev
's The Love for Three Oranges. The following month she sang with the company in two more productions, singing Frasquita in Georges Bizet
's Carmen
and Zerlina in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
's Don Giovanni
. On December 14, 1950 she debuted with the Philadelphia La Scala Opera Company
as Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto
. She closed out the year singing in more performances of Carmen with the New York City Opera, this time in the role of Micaela.
In March 1951 Malbin made her first performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra
singing the soprano solos in a production of Bach
's St Matthew Passion at Rutgers University
. That same month she returned to the New York City Opera to portray Javotte in Jules Massenet
's Manon
. Later that year she sang Liu in Puccini's Turandot
with the company and reprised the roles of Zerlina and Micaela. In October 1951 she appeared on television again as Nedda in NBC Opera Theatre
's production of Ruggero Leoncavallo
's Pagliacci
.
Malbin returned to Broadway in October 1952 to portray Aida in the musical My Darlin' Aida which was adapted by Charles Friedman from Giuseppe Verdi
's Aida
, resetting the opera during the American Civil War
. She portrayed the role through January 1953 when the show closed. In April 1953 she returned to the New York City Opera to sing her first Adele in Johann Strauss II
Die Fledermaus
. Shortly thereafter she returned to Broadway in the role of Marsinah (following Doretta Morrow) in the original production of Kismet
. She also played the role on the show's first national tour.
In 1954 Malbin appeared with NBC Television Opera Theatre again starring in the title role of a critically acclaimed production of Richard Strauss
's Salome
and in the title role of a production of Puccini's Suor Angelica
. That same year she made her first appearance at the Glyndebourne festival, portraying Colombina in Ferruccio Busoni
's s Arlecchino
and her debut at the Edinburgh Festival
as Echo in Strauss's Ariadne on Naxos. Shortly thereafter she made the first of many appearances in France
and in Italy
. In 1955 Malbin portrayed the title role in Puccini's Madama Butterfly
for the NBC Television Opera Theatre. The following year she portrayed the role of Joan of Arc
in the world premiere of Norman Dello Joio
's The Trial at Rouen which was composed for the NBC Television Opera Theatre. She appeared in two more television productions with the NBC Television Opera Theatre the following year, Violetta in La Traviata and Blanche in Poulenc
's Dialogues of the Carmelites
. On February 10, 1958 she performed the role of Mimi in La Bohème for the inaugural of the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company
opposite John Alexander
as Rodolfo. The following October she made her debut with the San Francisco Opera
singing the soprano solos in Carl Orff
's Carmina Burana
. In 1955, for NBC Opera Theatre, she performed the title role in Puccini's Madama Butterfly
.
In 1961 Malbin made her debut with the Opera Company of Boston
and sang for the first time with the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company
as Madama Butterfly. In 1962 she made her debut with the Pittsburgh Opera
and sang the title role in Massenet's Manon
for the first time with the New York City Opera
. That year was also her first appearance at the Scottish Opera
where she sang Madama Butterfly.
From 1963-1964 Malbin toured the United States with the San Carlo Opera Company portraying the roles of Madama Butterfly and Mimi. She also made her first appearance at the Houston Grand Opera
in 1967 singing Madama Butterfly. That same year she portrayed her first opera role with the San Francisco Opera, Leila in Bizet's Les Pêcheurs de Perles
.
In 1967 Malbin met and married her husband, George Emmanuel, and a year later they had their eldest daughter. At this point she decided to retire her career to focus on being a wife and mother and took an almost twelve year absence from the opera stage. In 1969 her youngest daughter was born. She returned to the opera stage in January 1979 singing Cleopatra in Handel
's Giulio Cesare
at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. She returned to New York City for a lauded recital at Alice Tully Hall
the following October. Malbin, however, was unable to excite the interest of the major opera companies like she was hoping to and spent the 1980s and 1990s appearing with minor American opera companies. One of her last appearances on the opera stage was in 2000 as the Barroness in Dicapo Opera
's production of Samuel Barber
's Vanessa
. Although she no longer appears in opera, Malbin still occasionally performs in concert.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
who had a prolific international career singing in opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s, musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
s, and concerts from 1949 through 1967. She appeared in a number of Broadway productions in the 1940s and 1950s. She was a regular at the New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
during the 1950s and 1960s and appeared with most of America's leading opera companies during this time as well, including the Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera was founded in 1955 through the joint efforts of Maestro Walter Herbert and cultural leaders Mrs. Louis G. Lobit, Edward Bing and Charles Cockrell...
and 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...
. She also appeared in concert with several notable orchestras including the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
and the Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
. On the International stage she appeared at a number of opera house
Opera house
An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...
s and major music festivals in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. She is perhaps best remembered for appearing in several opera roles live for television with 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...
and for recording several operatic duets with Mario Lanza
Mario Lanza
right|thumb|[[MGM]] still, circa 1949Mario Lanza was an American tenor and Hollywood movie star of the late 1940s and the 1950s. The son of Italian emigrants, he began studying to be a professional singer at the age of 16....
for an RCA Victor Red Seal album of selections from his 1950 film The Toast of New Orleans
The Toast of New Orleans
The Toast of New Orleans is a 1950 musical film directed by Norman Taurog and choreographed by Eugene Loring. It starred Mario Lanza, Kathryn Grayson, David Niven, J. Carroll Naish, James Mitchell and a teenaged Rita Moreno...
.
Malbin retired at the height of her career in 1968 when her first daughter was born. She returned to the stage in 1979 but never achieved the level of success she enjoyed when she was younger. From 1980 up into the early 2000s she remained busy appearing in operas with smaller American companies and appearing in concerts with minor orchestras and music ensembles. Although she is mostly retired now, she still occasionally performs.
Biography
Born and raised in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, Malbin started studying singing as a child and made her professional recital debut at the young age of 14 at New York City's Town Hall
The Town Hall
The Town Hall is a performance space, located at 123 West 43rd Street, between Sixth Avenue and Broadway, in New York City. It seats approximately 1,500 people.-History:...
on March 31, 1945. That same year she began to perform regularly on the radio on WNEW
WBBR
WBBR is a radio station broadcasting at 1130 AM in New York City. It airs Bloomberg Radio, a service of Bloomberg L.P. WBBR's format is general and financial news, offering local, national and international news reports along with financial market updates and interviews with corporate executives,...
singing popular songs to entertain the troops during the last year of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. She made her Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
debut with The New York Pops
The New York Pops
The New York Pops is the largest independent symphonic pops orchestra in the United States, and the only symphonic orchestra in New York City specializing in popular American music...
on May 7, 1947 in a concert entitled "Viennese Night" which featured her singing numerous songs and arias by Viennese composers. She performed in concert with The New York Pops several more times over the next year. From 1948-1951 Malbin sang in the NBC Chorus that performed in concerts and recordings with the NBC Symphony Orchestra
NBC Symphony Orchestra
The NBC Symphony Orchestra was a radio orchestra established by David Sarnoff of the National Broadcasting Company especially for conductor Arturo Toscanini...
.
On May 15, 1949, Malbin made her professional opera debut with the San Carlo Opera Company
San Carlo Opera Company
The San Carlo Opera Company was the name of two different opera companies active in the United States during the first half of the twentieth century.-History:...
as Mussetta in Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
's 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...
. She made her Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut on the following October 4 as Peep-Bo in Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
's The Mikado
The Mikado
The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations...
at the Mark Hellinger Theatre
Mark Hellinger Theatre
The Mark Hellinger Theatre is a generally used name of a former legitimate Broadway theater, located at 237 West 51st Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City. Since 1991, it has been known as the Times Square Church...
, notably the inaugural season of that theatre. She performed in two other Gilbert and Sullivan shows at that theatre through October 22: Edith in The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences...
and the Plaintiff in Trial By Jury
Trial by Jury
Trial by Jury is a comic opera in one act, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was first produced on 25 March 1875, at London's Royalty Theatre, where it initially ran for 131 performances and was considered a hit, receiving critical praise and outrunning its...
. Shortly thereafter she was cast as Violetta in C.B.S. Opera Television Theatre's production of 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 La Traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
which was first broadcast on March 12, 1950.
Malbin began 1950 singing in a concert of opera arias at the Detroit Opera House
Detroit Opera House
The Detroit Opera House is an opera house located in Detroit, Michigan. It is the venue for all Michigan Opera Theatre productions and it hosts a variety of other events. It opened on January 22, 1922....
with the Detroit Civic Opera. On April 18, 1950 she made her first appearance at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts
Mann Center for the Performing Arts
The Mann Center for The Performing Arts is a 14,000 seat summer musical venue located in Philadelphia's West Fairmount Park. The venue operates as both an indoor performance hall and an outdoor music venue...
singing with the Robin Hood Dell Orchestra in an evening honoring Margaret Truman
Margaret Truman
Mary Margaret Truman Daniel , also known as Margaret Truman or Margaret Daniel, was an American singer who later became a successful writer. The only child of US President Harry S...
. On July 12, 1950 she performed the role of Jenny in Kurt Weill
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
's Down in the Valley
Down in the Valley (opera)
Down in the Valley is a folk-opera in one act by composer Kurt Weill and librettist Arnold Sundgaard, initially composed and conceived for the radio in 1945 then rewritten and produced in 1948...
in a concert version with the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
under conductor Maurice Levine. In September 1950, she sang her first role with the New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
, Princess Ninetta in Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
's The Love for Three Oranges. The following month she sang with the company in two more productions, singing Frasquita in Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
's 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...
and Zerlina in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
's Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
. On December 14, 1950 she debuted with the Philadelphia La Scala Opera Company
Philadelphia La Scala Opera Company
The Philadelphia La Scala Opera Company was an American opera company located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was actively performing at the Academy of Music between 1925 and 1954...
as Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
. She closed out the year singing in more performances of Carmen with the New York City Opera, this time in the role of Micaela.
In March 1951 Malbin made her first performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
singing the soprano solos in a production of Bach
Bạch
Bạch is a Vietnamese surname. The name is transliterated as Bai in Chinese and Baek, in Korean.Bach is the anglicized variation of the surname Bạch.-Notable people with the surname Bạch:* Bạch Liêu...
's St Matthew Passion at Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
. That same month she returned to the New York City Opera to portray Javotte in Jules Massenet
Jules Massenet
Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet was a French composer best known for his operas. His compositions were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and he ranks as one of the greatest melodists of his era. Soon after his death, Massenet's style went out of fashion, and many of his operas...
's Manon
Manon
Manon is an opéra comique in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by the Abbé Prévost...
. Later that year she sang Liu in Puccini's 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...
with the company and reprised the roles of Zerlina and Micaela. In October 1951 she appeared on television again as Nedda in 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 production of Ruggero Leoncavallo
Ruggero Leoncavallo
Ruggero Leoncavallo was an Italian opera composer. His two-act work Pagliacci remains one of the most popular works in the repertory, appearing as number 20 on the Operabase list of the most-performed operas worldwide.-Biography:...
's Pagliacci
Pagliacci
Pagliacci , sometimes incorrectly rendered with a definite article as I Pagliacci, is an opera consisting of a prologue and two acts written and composed by Ruggero Leoncavallo. It recounts the tragedy of a jealous husband in a commedia dell'arte troupe...
.
Malbin returned to Broadway in October 1952 to portray Aida in the musical My Darlin' Aida which was adapted by Charles Friedman from 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 Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
, resetting the opera during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. She portrayed the role through January 1953 when the show closed. In April 1953 she returned to the New York City Opera to sing her first Adele in Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II , also known as Johann Baptist Strauss or Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, or the Son , was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas...
Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...
. Shortly thereafter she returned to Broadway in the role of Marsinah (following Doretta Morrow) in the original production of Kismet
Kismet (musical)
Kismet is a musical with lyrics and musical adaptation by Robert Wright and George Forrest, adapted from the music of Alexander Borodin, and a book by Charles Lederer and Luther Davis, based on Kismet, the 1911 play by Edward Knoblock...
. She also played the role on the show's first national tour.
In 1954 Malbin appeared with NBC Television Opera Theatre again starring in the title role of a critically acclaimed production of 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 Salome
Salome (opera)
Salome is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by the composer, based on Hedwig Lachmann’s German translation of the French play Salomé by Oscar Wilde. Strauss dedicated the opera to his friend Sir Edgar Speyer....
and in the title role of a production of Puccini's Suor Angelica
Suor Angelica
Suor Angelica is an opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an original Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. It is the second opera of the trio of operas known as Il trittico...
. That same year she made her first appearance at the Glyndebourne festival, portraying Colombina in Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni was an Italian composer, pianist, editor, writer, piano and composition teacher, and conductor.-Biography:...
's s Arlecchino
Arlecchino (opera)
Arlecchino, oder Die Fenster is a one-act opera with spoken dialog by Ferruccio Busoni, with a libretto in German written by the composer in 1913. He completed the music for the opera while living in Zurich in 1916...
and her debut at the Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
as Echo in Strauss's Ariadne on Naxos. Shortly thereafter she made the first of many appearances in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. In 1955 Malbin portrayed the title role in Puccini's Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
for the NBC Television Opera Theatre. The following year she portrayed the role of Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
in the world premiere of Norman Dello Joio
Norman Dello Joio
- Life :He was born Nicodemo DeGioio in New York City to Italian immigrants. He began his musical career as organist and choir director at the Star of the Sea Church on City Island in New York at age 14. His father was an organist, pianist, and vocal coach and coached many opera stars from the...
's The Trial at Rouen which was composed for the NBC Television Opera Theatre. She appeared in two more television productions with the NBC Television Opera Theatre the following year, Violetta in La Traviata and Blanche in Poulenc
Francis Poulenc
Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc was a French composer and a member of the French group Les six. He composed solo piano music, chamber music, oratorio, choral music, opera, ballet music, and orchestral music...
's Dialogues of the Carmelites
Dialogues of the Carmelites
Dialogues of the Carmelites , is an opera in three acts by Francis Poulenc. In 1953, M. Valcarenghi approached Poulenc to commission a ballet for La Scala in Milan; when Poulenc found the proposed subject uninspiring, Valcarenghi suggested instead a screenplay by Georges Bernanos, based on the...
. On February 10, 1958 she performed the role of Mimi in La Bohème for the inaugural of the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company
Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company
The Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company was an American opera company located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was active between 1958 and 1974. The company was led by a number of Artistic Directors during its history, beginning with Aurelio Fabiani. Other notable Artistic Directors include Julius...
opposite John Alexander
John Alexander (tenor)
John Alexander was an American operatic tenor who had a substantial career during the 1950s through the 1980s. He had a long standing relationship with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, singing with that company every year between 1961 and 1987 for a total of 379 performances...
as Rodolfo. The following October she made her debut 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...
singing the soprano solos in Carl Orff
Carl Orff
Carl Orff was a 20th-century German composer, best known for his cantata Carmina Burana . In addition to his career as a composer, Orff developed an influential method of music education for children.-Early life:...
's Carmina Burana
Carmina Burana
Carmina Burana , Latin for "Songs from Beuern" , is the name given to a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces were written principally in Medieval Latin; a few in Middle High German, and some with traces...
. In 1955, for NBC Opera Theatre, she performed the title role in Puccini's Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
.
In 1961 Malbin made her debut with the Opera Company of Boston
Opera Company of Boston
The Opera Company of Boston was an American opera company located in Boston, Massachusetts that was active during the late 1950s through the early 1990s. The company was founded by American conductor Sarah Caldwell in 1958 under the name Boston Opera Group. At one time, the touring arm of the...
and sang for the first time with the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company
Philadelphia Grand Opera Company
The Philadelphia Grand Opera Company was the name of four different American opera companies active at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the twentieth century. The last and most well known of the four was founded in November 1954 with the merger of the Philadelphia Civic...
as Madama Butterfly. In 1962 she made her debut with the Pittsburgh Opera
Pittsburgh Opera
Pittsburgh Opera is an American opera company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is one of two opera companies in the city, the other being Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh Opera gives performances in several venues, primarily at the Benedum Center, with other performances at the...
and sang the title role in Massenet's Manon
Manon
Manon is an opéra comique in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by the Abbé Prévost...
for the first time with the New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
. That year was also her first appearance at the Scottish Opera
Scottish Opera
Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies funded by the Scottish Government...
where she sang Madama Butterfly.
From 1963-1964 Malbin toured the United States with the San Carlo Opera Company portraying the roles of Madama Butterfly and Mimi. She also made her first appearance at the Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera was founded in 1955 through the joint efforts of Maestro Walter Herbert and cultural leaders Mrs. Louis G. Lobit, Edward Bing and Charles Cockrell...
in 1967 singing Madama Butterfly. That same year she portrayed her first opera role with the San Francisco Opera, Leila in Bizet's Les Pêcheurs de Perles
Les pêcheurs de perles
Les pêcheurs de perles is an opera in three acts by the French composer Georges Bizet, to a libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. It was first performed on 30 September 1863 at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris, and was given 18 performances in its initial run...
.
In 1967 Malbin met and married her husband, George Emmanuel, and a year later they had their eldest daughter. At this point she decided to retire her career to focus on being a wife and mother and took an almost twelve year absence from the opera stage. In 1969 her youngest daughter was born. She returned to the opera stage in January 1979 singing Cleopatra in Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
's Giulio Cesare
Giulio Cesare
Giulio Cesare in Egitto , commonly known simply as Giulio Cesare, is an Italian opera in three acts written for the Royal Academy of Music by George Frideric Handel in 1724...
at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. She returned to New York City for a lauded recital at Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. It is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assisted in the construction of the hall...
the following October. Malbin, however, was unable to excite the interest of the major opera companies like she was hoping to and spent the 1980s and 1990s appearing with minor American opera companies. One of her last appearances on the opera stage was in 2000 as the Barroness in Dicapo Opera
Dicapo Opera
Dicapo Opera Theatre was co-founded in 1981 by General Director Michael Capasso and Artistic Director Diane Martindale. Aside from the Metropolitan Opera and New York City Opera, it is the only professional non-profit opera company in New York City presenting an annual season of opera productions,...
's production of Samuel Barber
Samuel Barber
Samuel Osborne Barber II was an American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. His Adagio for Strings is his most popular composition and widely considered a masterpiece of modern classical music...
's Vanessa
Vanessa (opera)
Vanessa is an opera in three acts by Samuel Barber with an original English libretto by Gian-Carlo Menotti. It was composed in 1956–1957 and was first performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City on January 15, 1958 under the baton of Dimitri Mitropoulos in a production designed by...
. Although she no longer appears in opera, Malbin still occasionally performs in concert.