Helena Bliss
Encyclopedia
Helena Bliss is a retired American actress and singer. A talented soprano
, she actively performed in musical
s, operetta
s, and opera
s in the United States, both on stage and on television and radio, from the 1930s through the 1950s. She is best known for her portrayal of Nina Hagerup in the original Broadway
production of Robert Wright
and George Forrest
's Song of Norway
. She also appeared successfully in a few productions on London's West End
.
on December 31, 1917. Her parents were Albert Lipp and Augusta Clemens. She was educated at Washington University in St. Louis
. In 1947 she married actor and singer John Tyers who starred opposite her is several productions and performed with several notable opera companies; including the Metropolitan Opera
. He died in 2007 after 60 years of marriage. The couple had two sons together: John and Michael Tyers.
Bliss began her career in the late 1930s singing opera on radio and television. She made her stage debut in November 1939 in the role of Helen in a production of Very Warm for May
at the Alvin Theatre. During the early 1940s she appeared in several musical and opera entertainments presented to American troops by the United Service Organizations
. In July 1943 she performed the title role in Rudolf Friml
's Rose-Marie
with the St. Louis Municipal Opera. In 1943-1944 she performed in the final season of Sylvan Levin
's Philadelphia Opera Company
, where she sang Marguerite in Charles Gounod
's Faust
, Micaela in Georges Bizet
's Carmen
, Mimi in Giacomo Puccini
's La bohème
, and Rosalinde in Johann Strauss II
's Die Fledermaus
.
After Levin's opera company folded, Bliss went to California to join the roster of artists at the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera
(LACLO). She made her debut with the company in May 1944 as Marianne Beaunoir in Sigmund Romberg
's The New Moon
opposite Walter Cassel
. This was followed in June 1944 by the role of Nina Hagerup in the world premiere of Robert Wright
and George Forrest
's Song of Norway
which adapted its music from works by Edvard Grieg
. A triumph with both audience and critics, this production became Bliss' first major success. In late June the show was presented to enthusiastic response by the LACLO's sister organization, the San Francisco Light Opera Company (SFLOC); after which it was transported by the LACLO to New York City. In August 1944 Bliss made her Broadway
debut as Nina Hagerup at the Imperial Theatre
to enthusiastic reviews. The show ran for more than 800 performances, and its cast recording was listed as one of Billboard
s most popular releases of March 1945. She later portrayed the role of Countess Louisa Giovanni in the 1952 revival of Song of Norway at the LACLO with Jean Fenn
in the part of Nina.
After leaving the New York production of Song of Norway in April 1946, Bliss returned to the California to star in another new production by Wright and Forrest, Gypsy Lady, which utilized music by Victor Herbert
. Commissioned by the LACLO, the show was presented successfully both in Los Angeles and at the SFLOC in San Francisco. The production also starred her future husband John Tyers whom she would later marry in June 1947. This show was also exported to Broadway by the LACLO where it opened in September 1946, but it was poorly received by critics, and its run lasted a mere 10 weeks. Bliss, and most of the rest of the Broadway cast, remained with the show when it moved from New York to London's West End
the following year. The show was revised somewhat and retitled Romany Love. While the production as a whole received mixed reviews, Bliss's performance was hailed by the London press as a major triumph.
In 1949 Bliss made her debut at the New York City Opera
(NYCO) as Claire, the Mulatto Empress, in the world premiere of William Grant Still
's Troubled Island
. She later returned to the NYCO as Nedda in Ruggero Leoncavallo
's Pagliacci
. In 1951 she toured the United States as Sarah Millick in a production of Noël Coward
's Bitter Sweet
. She returned to London's West End in 1951-1952 to assume the title role in Cole Porter
's Kiss Me, Kate
. She returned to Broadway for the last time as Julie in the 1954 revival of Show Boat
; a production which was mounted by the NYCO. She later toured the United States in that role in 1956-1957. In 1959 she starred in Rodgers and Hart
's Pal Joey at the Paper Mill Playhouse
in New Jersey. Other venues and organizations with whom Bliss performed include Forest Park in St. Louis, Grant Park
in Chicago, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra
, the Jones Beach Theater in New York, and the Pittsburgh Opera
. Her only major film work was as Valencienne in the 1955 television production of Franz Lehár
's The Merry Widow
.
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...
, she actively performed in 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, operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
s, and 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 in the United States, both on stage and on television and radio, from the 1930s through the 1950s. She is best known for her portrayal of Nina Hagerup in the original 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...
production of Robert Wright
Robert Wright (writer)
Robert [Craig] Wright was an American composer-lyricist for Hollywood and the musical theatre best known for the Broadway musical and musical film Kismet, for which he and his professional partner George Forrest adapted themes by Alexander Borodin and added lyrics...
and George Forrest
George Forrest (author)
George Forrest was a writer of music and lyrics for musical theatre best known for the show Kismet, adapted from the works of Alexander Borodin.-Biography:...
's Song of Norway
Song of Norway
Song of Norway is an operetta written in 1944 by Robert Wright and George Forrest, adapted from the music of Edvard Grieg and the book by Milton Lazarus and Homer Curran...
. She also appeared successfully in a few productions on London's West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
.
Life and career
Helena Bliss was born as Helena Louise Lipp in St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
on December 31, 1917. Her parents were Albert Lipp and Augusta Clemens. She was educated at Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations...
. In 1947 she married actor and singer John Tyers who starred opposite her is several productions and performed with several notable opera companies; including the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
. He died in 2007 after 60 years of marriage. The couple had two sons together: John and Michael Tyers.
Bliss began her career in the late 1930s singing opera on radio and television. She made her stage debut in November 1939 in the role of Helen in a production of Very Warm for May
Very Warm for May
Very Warm for May is a musical composed by Jerome Kern, with a libretto by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was the team's final score for Broadway, following their hits Show Boat, Sweet Adeline, and Music in the Air...
at the Alvin Theatre. During the early 1940s she appeared in several musical and opera entertainments presented to American troops by the United Service Organizations
United Service Organizations
The United Service Organizations Inc. is a private, nonprofit organization that provides morale and recreational services to members of the U.S. military, with programs in 160 centers worldwide. Since 1941, it has worked in partnership with the Department of Defense , and has provided support and...
. In July 1943 she performed the title role in Rudolf Friml
Rudolf Friml
Rudolf Friml was a composer of operettas, musicals, songs and piano pieces, as well as a pianist. After musical training and a brief performing career in his native Prague, Friml moved to the United States, where he became a composer...
's Rose-Marie
Rose-Marie
Rose-Marie is an operetta-style musical with music by Rudolf Friml and Herbert Stothart, and book and lyrics by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II. The story takes place in the Canadian Rockies and concerns Rose-Marie La Flemme, a French Canadian girl who loves miner Jim Kenyon...
with the St. Louis Municipal Opera. In 1943-1944 she performed in the final season of Sylvan Levin
Sylvan Levin
Sylvan Levin was an American concert pianist and conductor. He notably served as the assistant conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the New York City Symphony under Leopold Stokowski for many years...
's Philadelphia Opera Company
Philadelphia Opera Company
The Philadelphia Opera Company was the name of two different American opera companies active during the twentieth century in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The first company was founded by impresario Oscar Hammerstein I in 1908. That company disbanded only two years later as a result of financial...
, where she sang Marguerite 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...
, Micaela 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...
, Mimi 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...
, and Rosalinde 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...
's 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 :...
.
After Levin's opera company folded, Bliss went to California to join the roster of artists at the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera
Los Angeles Civic Light Opera
The Los Angeles Civic Light Opera was an American theatre/opera company in Los Angeles, California. Founded under the motto "Light Opera in the Grand Opera manner" in 1938 by impresario Edwin Lester, the organization presented fifty seasons of theatre before closing due to financial reasons in...
(LACLO). She made her debut with the company in May 1944 as Marianne Beaunoir in Sigmund Romberg
Sigmund Romberg
Sigmund Romberg was a Hungarian-born American composer, best known for his operettas.-Biography:Romberg was born as Siegmund Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Gross-Kanizsa during the Austro-Hungarian kaiserlich und königlich monarchy period...
's The New Moon
The New Moon
The New Moon is the name of an operetta with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Frank Mandel, and Laurence Schwab. The show was the third and last in a string of Broadway hits for Romberg written in the style of Viennese operetta...
opposite Walter Cassel
Walter Cassel
Walter Cassel was a renowned American operatic baritone and actor. He began his career singing on the radio during the mid 1930s and appeared in a couple of Hollywood musical films in the late 1930s. He made his first stage appearances in a handful of Broadway productions during the late 1930s and...
. This was followed in June 1944 by the role of Nina Hagerup in the world premiere of Robert Wright
Robert Wright (writer)
Robert [Craig] Wright was an American composer-lyricist for Hollywood and the musical theatre best known for the Broadway musical and musical film Kismet, for which he and his professional partner George Forrest adapted themes by Alexander Borodin and added lyrics...
and George Forrest
George Forrest (author)
George Forrest was a writer of music and lyrics for musical theatre best known for the show Kismet, adapted from the works of Alexander Borodin.-Biography:...
's Song of Norway
Song of Norway
Song of Norway is an operetta written in 1944 by Robert Wright and George Forrest, adapted from the music of Edvard Grieg and the book by Milton Lazarus and Homer Curran...
which adapted its music from works by Edvard Grieg
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
. A triumph with both audience and critics, this production became Bliss' first major success. In late June the show was presented to enthusiastic response by the LACLO's sister organization, the San Francisco Light Opera Company (SFLOC); after which it was transported by the LACLO to New York City. In August 1944 Bliss 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 as Nina Hagerup at the Imperial Theatre
Imperial Theatre
The Imperial Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 249 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan. The theatre seats up to 1417 people....
to enthusiastic reviews. The show ran for more than 800 performances, and its cast recording was listed as one of Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s most popular releases of March 1945. She later portrayed the role of Countess Louisa Giovanni in the 1952 revival of Song of Norway at the LACLO with Jean Fenn
Jean Fenn
Jean Fenn is an American soprano who had an active opera career in North America during the 1950s through the 1970s. An attractive blond with a statuesque figure, Fenn was a disciplined, well-schooled singer with an excellent technique, wide range, and a highly polished sound...
in the part of Nina.
After leaving the New York production of Song of Norway in April 1946, Bliss returned to the California to star in another new production by Wright and Forrest, Gypsy Lady, which utilized music by Victor Herbert
Victor Herbert
Victor August Herbert was an Irish-born, German-raised American composer, cellist and conductor. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and conductor, he is best known for composing many successful operettas that premiered on Broadway from the 1890s to World War I...
. Commissioned by the LACLO, the show was presented successfully both in Los Angeles and at the SFLOC in San Francisco. The production also starred her future husband John Tyers whom she would later marry in June 1947. This show was also exported to Broadway by the LACLO where it opened in September 1946, but it was poorly received by critics, and its run lasted a mere 10 weeks. Bliss, and most of the rest of the Broadway cast, remained with the show when it moved from New York to London's West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
the following year. The show was revised somewhat and retitled Romany Love. While the production as a whole received mixed reviews, Bliss's performance was hailed by the London press as a major triumph.
In 1949 Bliss made her debut 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...
(NYCO) as Claire, the Mulatto Empress, 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...
. She later returned to the NYCO as Nedda in 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...
. In 1951 she toured the United States as Sarah Millick in a production of Noël Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
's Bitter Sweet
Bitter Sweet
Bitter Sweet is an operetta in three acts written by Noël Coward and first produced in 1929 at Her Majesty's Theatre in London. It ran for a very successful 967 performances....
. She returned to London's West End in 1951-1952 to assume the title role in Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
's Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It is structured as a play within a play, where the interior play is a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. The original production starred Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang.Kiss...
. She returned to Broadway for the last time as Julie in the 1954 revival of Show Boat
Show Boat
Show Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was originally produced in New York in 1927 and in London in 1928, and was based on the 1926 novel of the same name by Edna Ferber. The plot chronicles the lives of those living and working...
; a production which was mounted by the NYCO. She later toured the United States in that role in 1956-1957. In 1959 she starred in Rodgers and Hart
Rodgers and Hart
Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership of composer Richard Rodgers and the lyricist Lorenz Hart...
's Pal Joey at the Paper Mill Playhouse
Paper Mill Playhouse
Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theatre with approximately 1200 seats, located in Millburn, New Jersey, less than 25 miles from Manhattan. Due to its location, it can draw from the pool of actors who live in New York City. Its location, as well as its focus on producing large-scale shows, makes...
in New Jersey. Other venues and organizations with whom Bliss performed include Forest Park in St. Louis, Grant Park
Petrillo Music Shell
James C. Petrillo Music Shell or simply Petrillo Music Shell or Petrillo Bandshell as it is more commonly known, is an outdoor amphitheater/bandstand in Grant Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States...
in Chicago, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra
Hartford Symphony Orchestra
The Hartford Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Hartford, Connecticut.-External links:* - Official site*...
, the Jones Beach Theater in New York, and 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...
. Her only major film work was as Valencienne in the 1955 television production of Franz Lehár
Franz Lehár
Franz Lehár was an Austrian-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas of which the most successful and best known is The Merry Widow .-Biography:...
's The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow is an operetta by the Austro–Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt to keep her money in the principality by finding her the right husband – on an 1861 comedy play,...
.