Gladys Childs Miller
Encyclopedia
Gladys Childs Miller was a highly influential voice teacher at the New England Conservatory of Music
in Boston for over fifty years.
She helped launch the careers of several international opera stars in the 20th century, including Rosalind Elias
, D'Anna Fortunato
, Florence Louise Pettitt
, Lucy Shelton and
Maria Spacagna
joined the Metropolitan Opera in 1958, and sang at the Paris and Vienna operas.
b) D'Anna Fortunato
sang at Lincoln Center, and performed with the Opera Company of Boston, as well as the New York City Opera. She teaches at New England Conservatory.
c) Florence Louise Pettitt
became founder and conductor of an opera company in Massachusetts, and sang in Boston for many years.
d) Maria Spacagna made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera opposite Luciano Pavarotti singing the title role in Verdi's Luisa Miller
. Other notable theaters are Teatro alla Scala, where she was the first American to have performed the role of Madama Butterfly
. She also performed at La Fenice (Venice), Arena di Verona (Verona), the Festival Pucciniana (Torre del Lago, summer home of Giacomo Puccini
), the Deutsche Opera (Berlin), New York City Opera
(Manhattan, New York), the Dallas Opera, the San Francisco Opera, the Opera Theater of Montreal, the Canadian Opera in Toronto as well as other venues.
New England Conservatory of Music
The New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, is the oldest independent school of music in the United States.The conservatory is home each year to 750 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate studies along with 1400 more in its Preparatory School as well as the School of...
in Boston for over fifty years.
She helped launch the careers of several international opera stars in the 20th century, including Rosalind Elias
Rosalind Elias
Rosalind Elias is an American mezzo-soprano, a rich-voiced singer of fine musicianship who enjoyed a long and distinguished career at the Metropolitan Opera.-Life and career:...
, D'Anna Fortunato
D'Anna Fortunato
D'Anna Fortunato is a noted American mezzo-soprano. Among her teachers were Phyllis Curtin and Gladys Childs Miller...
, Florence Louise Pettitt
Florence Louise Pettitt
Louise Pettitt , born Florence Louise Staples, was one of the first American female opera conductors. For over forty years, she simultaneously served as orchestral conductor, dramatic director, and vocal director for the Chaminade Opera Group, which she founded in 1959...
, Lucy Shelton and
Maria Spacagna
Alumnae
a) Rosalind EliasRosalind Elias
Rosalind Elias is an American mezzo-soprano, a rich-voiced singer of fine musicianship who enjoyed a long and distinguished career at the Metropolitan Opera.-Life and career:...
joined the Metropolitan Opera in 1958, and sang at the Paris and Vienna operas.
b) D'Anna Fortunato
D'Anna Fortunato
D'Anna Fortunato is a noted American mezzo-soprano. Among her teachers were Phyllis Curtin and Gladys Childs Miller...
sang at Lincoln Center, and performed with the Opera Company of Boston, as well as the New York City Opera. She teaches at New England Conservatory.
c) Florence Louise Pettitt
Florence Louise Pettitt
Louise Pettitt , born Florence Louise Staples, was one of the first American female opera conductors. For over forty years, she simultaneously served as orchestral conductor, dramatic director, and vocal director for the Chaminade Opera Group, which she founded in 1959...
became founder and conductor of an opera company in Massachusetts, and sang in Boston for many years.
d) Maria Spacagna made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera opposite Luciano Pavarotti singing the title role in Verdi's Luisa Miller
Luisa Miller
Luisa Miller is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play Kabale und Liebe by Friedrich von Schiller. The first performance was given at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples on December 8, 1849...
. Other notable theaters are Teatro alla Scala, where she was the first American to have performed the role of 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...
. She also performed at La Fenice (Venice), Arena di Verona (Verona), the Festival Pucciniana (Torre del Lago, summer home of 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...
), the Deutsche Opera (Berlin), 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...
(Manhattan, New York), the Dallas Opera, the San Francisco Opera, the Opera Theater of Montreal, the Canadian Opera in Toronto as well as other venues.
Sources
- New England Conservatory's "Measure by Measure", an institutional history published in 1995 by the New England Conservatory, Boston, Massachusetts.
- See also pages 40–41 of "Indeed Music" by Chester Williams, published in 1989 by the New England Conservatory, Boston.