Frances Bible
Encyclopedia
Frances Lillian Bible was an American opera
tic 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. Martin Bernheimer
wrote in Opera News
that, "Frances Bible was cheated by destiny. She never quite achieved the international recognition she deserved. Bible had it all—a mellow, wide-ranging mezzo-soprano, an attractive stage presence, genuine theatrical flair, a probing mind and a technique that allowed her to sing bel-canto
filigree
one night, Verdian drama the next. She was one of the rare American singers who savor the English language. She understood the value of economy, never stooping to easy effects. Perhaps she was too versatile, too tasteful and — dare one say it? — too intelligent for her own good."
. She studied opera at the Juilliard School
in New York City
under Queena Mario and Belle Julie Soudant before making her professional opera debut in 1948 at the New York City Opera as the Shepherd in Giacomo Puccini
's Tosca
. Possessing a warm voice and vibrant stage presence, she became a favorite at that house during the time when Beverly Sills
and Norman Treigle
were also fixtures at the NYCO. She notably sang Cornelia to Sills's Cleopatra in the NYCO's 1967 production of Handel's Giulio Cesare
which made Sills an international opera star.
In 1949 Bible appeared in the world premiere of William Grant Still
's Troubled Island
. Her first major successes at the NYCO were in 1950 as Amneris in Aida
and Cherubino, a trouser role, in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro. Another major early triumph at the house was her first portrayal of Angelina in La Cenerentola
in 1953. Trouser roles became of specialty of her, an she was particularly popular in roles like Octavian in Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier
, Oberon in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream
, Nicklausse in Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann, Siebel in Charles Gounod
's Faust
and Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel. Other roles in which she excelled were, Dorabella in Così fan tutte
, Jocasta in Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex
, Herodias in Strauss's Salome
, Ottavia in L'Incoronazione di Poppea
, the title role in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia, and Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera
among many others.
During Bible's career at the NYCO she sang in several world premieres including the roles of Frade in David Tamkin
's The Dybbuk
in 1951, Elizabeth Proctor in Robert Ward's The Crucible
in 1961, and Mrs Tracy in Thea Musgrave
's The Voice of Ariadne in 1977. She also sang the role of Augusta Tabor in the original production of Douglas Moore's The Ballad of Baby Doe
at the Central City Opera
in Colorado in 1956 (although Martha Lipton
actually sang the role for the work's opening night). She later reprised the role of Augusta at the NYCO and recorded both the roles of Augusta and Elizabeth Proctor with the NYCO in 1961.
In addition to her work with the NYCO, Bible was a regular performed in America's second-tier houses, appearing in productions with the Baltimore Opera Company
, Cincinnati Opera
, Dallas Opera
(1978), Hawaii Opera Theatre
, Los Angeles Opera
, New Orleans Opera
, Philadelphia Grand Opera Company
(1959, 1970), and the Seattle Opera
(1968) among others. In 1955 she sang the role of Néris for the United States premiere of Luigi Cherubini
's Médée
, presented by the American Opera Society
in concert at Carnegie Hall
. In 1956 she toured the United States singing Cherubino with the NBC Opera Theatre
, also appearing in a handful of their opera recordings for television. More notably, she sang in a few production with two of America's more important opera houses: the Houston Grand Opera
and the San Francisco Opera
. She made her debut in Houston as Octavian in 1958. In San Francisco she notably portrayed Evadne in the United States premiere of William Walton
's Troilus and Cressida
in 1955. Her other appearances in San Francisco included Bersi in Andrea Chénier
(1955), Octavian (1955, 1960), Elizabeth Proctor (1965), Siebel (1955), and the Watercress Vendor and the Chair Mender in Louise
(1955). Two triumphs from the latter part of her career were performances of Mélisande in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande
at the Caramoor International Music Festival
and Eglantine in a concert performance of Weber's Euryanthe
with the New York Philharmonic
, both in 1970.
On the international stage Bible made appearances at the De Nederlandse Opera
and the Vancouver Opera
. She sang in one production with the Vienna State Opera
, the role of Amneris in 1963. She was on the roster of principal singers at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe
during the 1963-1964 season, and she sang the role of Cherubino with the Scottish Opera
in 1964. Her biggest success on the international stage were three lauded performances at the Glyndebourne Festival: the role of Cherubino in 1955 and the role of Ottavia at both the 1962 and 1963 festivals.
After her retirement from the stage, Bible taught on the voice faculty at Rice University
in Houston. She later retired to Hemet, California
where she died at the age of 82.
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...
tic mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
who had a thirty long year career 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...
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. Martin Bernheimer
Martin Bernheimer
Martin Bernheimer is an American music critic. He studied at Brown University and the Hochschule für Musik in Munich, along with the famous musicologist Gustave Reese at New York University....
wrote in Opera News
Opera News
Opera News is an American classical music magazine. It has been published since 1936 by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, a non-profit organization located at Lincoln Center which was founded to support the Metropolitan Opera of New York City...
that, "Frances Bible was cheated by destiny. She never quite achieved the international recognition she deserved. Bible had it all—a mellow, wide-ranging mezzo-soprano, an attractive stage presence, genuine theatrical flair, a probing mind and a technique that allowed her to sing bel-canto
Bel canto
Bel canto , along with a number of similar constructions , is an Italian opera term...
filigree
Coloratura
Coloratura has several meanings. The word is originally from Italian, literally meaning "coloring", and derives from the Latin word colorare . When used in English, the term specifically refers to elaborate melody, particularly in vocal music and especially in operatic singing of the 18th and...
one night, Verdian drama the next. She was one of the rare American singers who savor the English language. She understood the value of economy, never stooping to easy effects. Perhaps she was too versatile, too tasteful and — dare one say it? — too intelligent for her own good."
Biography
Bible was born and raised in Sackets Harbor, New YorkSackets Harbor, New York
Sackets Harbor is a village in Jefferson County, New York, United States. The population was 1,386 at the 2000 census. The village was named after land developer and owner Augustus Sackett, who founded it in the early 19th century.The Village of Sackets Harbor is within the western part of the...
. She studied opera at the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
under Queena Mario and Belle Julie Soudant before making her professional opera debut in 1948 at the New York City Opera as the Shepherd 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 Tosca
Tosca
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...
. Possessing a warm voice and vibrant stage presence, she became a favorite at that house during the time when Beverly Sills
Beverly Sills
Beverly Sills was an American operatic soprano whose peak career was between the 1950s and 1970s. In her prime she was the only real rival to Joan Sutherland as the leading bel canto stylist...
and Norman Treigle
Norman Treigle
Norman Treigle was an American operatic bass-baritone, who was acclaimed for his great abilities as a singing-actor, and specialized in roles that evoked villainy and terror....
were also fixtures at the NYCO. She notably sang Cornelia to Sills's Cleopatra in the NYCO's 1967 production of Handel'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...
which made Sills an international opera star.
In 1949 Bible appeared in the world premiere of William Grant Still
William Grant Still
William Grant Still was an African-American classical composer who wrote more than 150 compositions. He was the first African American to conduct a major American symphony orchestra, the first to have a symphony performed by a leading orchestra, the first to have an opera performed by a major...
's Troubled Island
Troubled Island
Troubled Island is an American opera in three acts composed by William Grant Still , with a libretto begun by poet Langston Hughes and completed by Verna Arvey...
. Her first major successes at the NYCO were in 1950 as Amneris in 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...
and Cherubino, a trouser role, in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro. Another major early triumph at the house was her first portrayal of Angelina in La Cenerentola
La Cenerentola
La Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the fairy tale Cinderella...
in 1953. Trouser roles became of specialty of her, an she was particularly popular in roles like Octavian in Strauss'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...
, Oberon in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream (opera)
A Midsummer Night's Dream is an opera with music by Benjamin Britten and set to a libretto adapted by the composer and Peter Pears from William Shakespeare's play, A Midsummer Night's Dream...
, Nicklausse in Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann, Siebel in Charles Gounod
Charles Gounod
Charles-François Gounod was a French composer, known for his Ave Maria as well as his operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette.-Biography:...
's Faust
Faust (opera)
Faust is a drame lyrique in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part 1...
and Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel. Other roles in which she excelled were, Dorabella in Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
, Jocasta in Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex
Oedipus rex (opera)
Oedipus rex is an "Opera-oratorio after Sophocles" by Igor Stravinsky, scored for orchestra, speaker, soloists, and male chorus. The libretto, based on Sophocles's tragedy, was written by Jean Cocteau in French and then translated by Abbé Jean Daniélou into Latin...
, Herodias in Strauss'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....
, Ottavia in L'Incoronazione di Poppea
L'incoronazione di Poppea
L'incoronazione di Poppea is an Italian baroque opera comprising a prologue and three acts, first performed in Venice during the 1642–43 carnival season. The music, attributed to Claudio Monteverdi, is a setting of a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Busenello...
, the title role in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia, and Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera
Un ballo in maschera
Un ballo in maschera , is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi with text by Antonio Somma. The libretto is loosely based on an 1833 play, Gustave III, by French playwright Eugène Scribe who wrote about the historical assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden...
among many others.
During Bible's career at the NYCO she sang in several world premieres including the roles of Frade in David Tamkin
David Tamkin
David Tamkin was an American composer of Jewish descent. He devoted much of his professional career as an arranger, composer [uncredited] and orchestrator of film scores for Hollywood movies. He worked on more than 50 films between 1939 and 1970.-Biography:Tamkin was born in Chernihiv, Ukraine...
's The Dybbuk
The Dybbuk (opera)
The Dybbuk is an opera in three acts by composer David Tamkin. The work uses an English libretto by Alex Tamkin, the composer's brother, which is based on S. Ansky’s Yiddish play of the same name. Composed in 1933, the work was not premiered until October 4, 1951 when it was mounted by the New York...
in 1951, Elizabeth Proctor in Robert Ward's The Crucible
The Crucible (opera)
The Crucible is an English language opera written by Robert Ward based on the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller. It won both the 1962 Pulitzer Prize for Music and the New York Music Critics Circle Citation. The libretto was lightly adapted from Miller's text by Bernard Stambler.Ward received a...
in 1961, and Mrs Tracy in Thea Musgrave
Thea Musgrave
Thea Musgrave CBE is a Scottish composer of opera and classical music.-Biography:Born in Barnton, Edinburgh, Thea Musgrave studied at the University of Edinburgh and in Paris as a pupil of Nadia Boulanger...
's The Voice of Ariadne in 1977. She also sang the role of Augusta Tabor in the original production of Douglas Moore's The Ballad of Baby Doe
The Ballad of Baby Doe
The Ballad of Baby Doe is an opera by the American composer Douglas Moore that uses an English-language libretto by John Latouche. It is Moore's most famous opera and one of the few American operas to be in the standard repertory...
at the Central City Opera
Central City Opera
Central City Opera is the fifth-oldest opera company in the United States, founded in 1932. Each festival is presented in the 550-seat historic Central City Opera House built in 1878 in the gold mining era town of Central City, Colorado. Pelham G...
in Colorado in 1956 (although Martha Lipton
Martha Lipton
Martha Lipton was an American operatic mezzo-soprano.-Biography:Lipton was born in New York City. She won a scholarship to the Juilliard School and made her debut as Pauline in Tchaikovsky's opera The Queen of Spades for the New Opera Company in Manhattan in 1941...
actually sang the role for the work's opening night). She later reprised the role of Augusta at the NYCO and recorded both the roles of Augusta and Elizabeth Proctor with the NYCO in 1961.
In addition to her work with the NYCO, Bible was a regular performed in America's second-tier houses, appearing in productions with the Baltimore Opera Company
Baltimore Opera Company
The Baltimore Opera Company was an opera company in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A., based at the Baltimore Lyric Opera House. On March 12, 2009, the 58-year-old opera company announced plans to pursue Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation....
, Cincinnati Opera
Cincinnati Opera
Cincinnati Opera is an American opera company based in Cincinnati, Ohio and the second oldest opera company in the United States .-History:...
, Dallas Opera
Dallas Opera
The Dallas Opera is an opera company located in Dallas, Texas . The company was founded in 1957 as the Dallas Civic Opera by Laurence Kelly and Nicolà Rescigno, both of whom had been active with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the first as administrator, the second as artistic director.-The company's...
(1978), Hawaii Opera Theatre
Hawaii Opera Theatre
The Hawaii Opera Theatre is an opera company located in Honolulu, Hawaii, which became active in 1961. The company typically performs three operas during February and March in Blaisdell Concert Hall...
, Los Angeles Opera
Los Angeles Opera
The Los Angeles Opera is an opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center.-Current leadership:...
, New Orleans Opera
New Orleans Opera
Opera has long been part of the musical culture of New Orleans, Louisiana. Operas have regularly been performed in the city since the 1790s, and for the majority of the city's history since the early 19th century, New Orleans has had a resident company regularly performing opera in addition to...
, 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...
(1959, 1970), and the Seattle Opera
Seattle Opera
The Seattle Opera is an opera company located in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1963 by Glynn Ross, who served as the company's first general director through 1983, Seattle Opera's season runs from August to late May, with five or six operas offered and with eight to ten performances each, often...
(1968) among others. In 1955 she sang the role of Néris for the United States premiere of Luigi Cherubini
Luigi Cherubini
Luigi Cherubini was an Italian composer who spent most of his working life in France. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethoven regarded Cherubini as the greatest of his contemporaries....
's Médée
Médée (Cherubini)
Médée is a French language opéra-comique by Luigi Cherubini.The libretto by François-Benoît Hoffmann was based on Euripides' tragedy of Medea and Pierre Corneille's play Médée....
, presented by the American Opera Society
American Opera Society
The American Opera Society was a New York City based musical organization that presented concert and semi-staged performances of operas between 1951 and 1970...
in concert at 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....
. In 1956 she toured the United States singing Cherubino 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...
, also appearing in a handful of their opera recordings for television. More notably, she sang in a few production with two of America's more important opera houses: 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 made her debut in Houston as Octavian in 1958. In San Francisco she notably portrayed Evadne in the United States premiere of William Walton
William Walton
Sir William Turner Walton OM was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera...
's Troilus and Cressida
Troilus and Cressida (opera)
Troilus and Cressida is the first of the two operas by William Walton. The libretto was by Christopher Hassall, his own first opera libretto, based on Chaucer's poem Troilus and Criseyde...
in 1955. Her other appearances in San Francisco included Bersi in Andrea Chénier
Andrea Chénier
Andrea Chénier is a verismo opera in four acts by the composer Umberto Giordano, set to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica. It is based loosely on the life of the French poet, André Chénier , who was executed during the French Revolution....
(1955), Octavian (1955, 1960), Elizabeth Proctor (1965), Siebel (1955), and the Watercress Vendor and the Chair Mender in Louise
Louise (opera)
Louise is an opera in four acts by Gustave Charpentier to an original French libretto by the composer, with some contributions by Saint-Pol-Roux, a symbolist poet and inspiration of the surrealists....
(1955). Two triumphs from the latter part of her career were performances of Mélisande in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande
Pelléas et Mélisande (opera)
Pelléas et Mélisande is an opera in five acts with music by Claude Debussy. The French libretto was adapted from Maurice Maeterlinck's Symbolist play Pelléas et Mélisande...
at the Caramoor International Music Festival
Caramoor International Music Festival
The Caramoor International Music Festival is a summer music festival founded in 1945 that is held on the estate of the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts Inc., which includes a Mediterranean-style stucco villa and is located about north of New York City in Katonah, New York.The Caramoor...
and Eglantine in a concert performance of Weber's Euryanthe
Euryanthe
Euryanthe is a German "grand, heroic, romantic" opera by Carl Maria von Weber, first performed at the Theater am Kärntnertor, Vienna on 25 October 1823...
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"...
, both in 1970.
On the international stage Bible made appearances at the De Nederlandse Opera
De Nederlandse Opera
De Nederlandse Opera , in Amsterdam, is a Dutch opera company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its present home base is the Het Muziektheater, a modern building designed by Cees Dam which opened in 1986....
and the Vancouver Opera
Vancouver Opera
Vancouver Opera is the second largest performing arts organization in British Columbia and the largest opera company in western Canada.It performs in the Queen Elizabeth Theatre accompanied currently by the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, one of two specialized opera orchestras in Canada...
. She sang in one production with the Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
, the role of Amneris in 1963. She was on the roster of principal singers at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe
Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe
The Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe is a theatre and opera house in Karlsruhe, Germany. It has existed in its present form and place at Ettlinger Tor since 1975...
during the 1963-1964 season, and she sang the role of Cherubino with 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...
in 1964. Her biggest success on the international stage were three lauded performances at the Glyndebourne Festival: the role of Cherubino in 1955 and the role of Ottavia at both the 1962 and 1963 festivals.
After her retirement from the stage, Bible taught on the voice faculty at Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
in Houston. She later retired to Hemet, California
Hemet, California
Hemet is a city in the San Jacinto Valley in Riverside County, California, United States. It covers a total area of , about half of the valley, which it shares with the neighboring city of San Jacinto. The population was 78,657 at the 2010 census....
where she died at the age of 82.