Muriel Costa-Greenspon
Encyclopedia
Muriel Costa-Greenspon was an American mezzo-soprano
who had a lengthy career at the New York City Opera
between 1963-1993. She portrayed a gallery of character roles that extended from twentieth-century works by Leonard Bernstein
, Benjamin Britten
, Carlisle Floyd
, Lee Hoiby
, Arthur Honegger
, Gian Carlo Menotti
, and Douglas Moore, to the contralto heroines of Gilbert and Sullivan
, and comic scene-stealers by Puccini, Mozart, and Donizetti. She was known not only for her abilities as a singer and musician but also as an accomplished actress; being able to create three-dimensional characters, rather than mere caricatures.
and later to the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she received bachelor’s (1959) and master’s (1960) degrees in vocal performance. She studied voice under Joseph Blatt at the University of Michigan and later with Sam Morgenstern in New York City. She made her professional debut with the Detroit Grand Opera Association at the Detroit Opera House
as Miss Todd in The Old Maid and the Thief
in 1960. Over the next decade she appeared with numerous opera companies around the United States, including performances at the Baltimore Opera Company
, the Opera Company of Boston
, the Connecticut Opera
, the Dallas Opera
, the Houston Grand Opera
, the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company
, and the San Antonio Opera among others.
In 1963 Greenspon joined the roster at the New York City Opera
, beginning her tenure with the company portraying Olga Olsen in Kurt Weill
's Street Scene
. Her repertoire with the company eventually encompassed a total of forty-five roles. She participated in some of the company’s landmark productions of the 1960s and 1970s, including Frank Corsaro
's La traviata
(as Flora Bervoix, with Patricia Brooks
), as well as Tito Capobianco
's production of Le coq d'or
(as Amelfa) and Corsaro's Faust
(as Marthe), both opposite Beverly Sills
and Norman Treigle
. Also in her repertoire were Geneviève in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande
, Dame Quickly in Sarah Caldwell
's production of Verdi's Falstaff
, Frau von Luber in Weill
's Der Silbersee
, and the name part in Offenbach's La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein
.
Costa-Greenspon also took on leading roles for NYCO in the American premieres of Prokofiev’s The Fiery Angel (1965) and von Einem’s Dantons Tod
(1966), and the 1964 world-premiere of Hoiby’s Natalia Petrovna
(A Month in the Country
). Her last performance with the company was as Grand Duchess Anastasia in The Student Prince
(1993).
In addition to her work with the New York City Opera, Costa-Greenspon occasionally traveled to perform with other opera companies. In 1970 she sang Ulrica in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera
at the New Orleans Opera
with Plácido Domingo
and Cornell MacNeil
. That same year she made her debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago
portraying Zita in Gianni Schicchi
and returned to the Opera Company of Boston to sing the Fisherman's Wife in the world premiere of Gunther Schuller
's The Fisherman and His Wife. In 1973 she sang the role of La marquise de Berkenfield in La fille du régiment
at the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company
with Beverly Sills
as Marie and Enrico di Giuseppe
as Tonio. Another notable production that year was of The Medium
in Detroit. Costa-Greenspon portrayed Madame Flora, and Sal Mineo
both directed and took the part of the mute, Toby. Menotti, who was an admirer of Costa-Greenspon, later invited her to sing Madame Flora at the Spoleto Festival in 1975.
In 1983 Costa-Greenspon and her husband Giorgio Costa, a carpenter for the Metropolitan Opera
, enjoyed a brief burst of extra-musical fame when they won $1.7 million in the state lottery. The winnings did not cause her to abandon City Opera, however; she continued to perform with the company through 1993 when she retired from singing. In 1995, Costa-Greenspon made her only appearance at the Metropolitan Opera
, as the Duchesse of Krakentorp, a speaking role, in La fille du régiment
with June Anderson
as Marie and Luciano Pavarotti
as Tonio.
After retiring from the stage, Costa-Greenspon served on the faculty of the prestigious Bronx High School of Science
. She died on December 26, 2005, aged 68, in New York City. Her death was due to natural causes, according to her son, Stefano Costa.
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 lengthy 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 1963-1993. She portrayed a gallery of character roles that extended from twentieth-century works by Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
, Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
, Carlisle Floyd
Carlisle Floyd
Carlisle Floyd is an American opera composer. The son of a Methodist minister, he based many of his works on themes from the South...
, Lee Hoiby
Lee Hoiby
Lee Henry Hoiby was an American composer and classical pianist. Best known as a composer of operas and songs, he was a disciple of composer Gian Carlo Menotti. Like Menotti, his works championed lyricism during a time when such compositions were deemed old fashioned and irrelevant to modern society...
, Arthur Honegger
Arthur Honegger
Arthur Honegger was a Swiss composer, who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. He was a member of Les six. His most frequently performed work is probably the orchestral work Pacific 231, which is interpreted as imitating the sound of a steam locomotive.-Biography:Born...
, Gian Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti was an Italian-American composer and librettist. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept his Italian citizenship. He wrote the classic Christmas opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors, among about two dozen other operas intended to appeal to popular...
, and Douglas Moore, to the contralto heroines of 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...
, and comic scene-stealers by Puccini, Mozart, and Donizetti. She was known not only for her abilities as a singer and musician but also as an accomplished actress; being able to create three-dimensional characters, rather than mere caricatures.
Biography
Born as Muriel Greenspon in Detroit, the daughter of deaf parents, she went to Cass Technical High SchoolCass Technical High School
The Cass Tech Technicians football team is a high school football program in Division 1 Public School League, representing the prestigious Cass Technical High School in Detroit, MI. Cass Tech High School has long been recognized nationwide for its extraordinary football program dating back to its...
and later to the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she received bachelor’s (1959) and master’s (1960) degrees in vocal performance. She studied voice under Joseph Blatt at the University of Michigan and later with Sam Morgenstern in New York City. She made her professional debut with the Detroit Grand Opera Association 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....
as Miss Todd in The Old Maid and the Thief
The Old Maid and the Thief
The Old Maid and the Thief is an opera in one act by Italian-American composer Gian Carlo Menotti. The work uses an English language libretto by the composer which tells a twisted tale of morals and evil womanly power...
in 1960. Over the next decade she appeared with numerous opera companies around the United States, including performances at 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....
, 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...
, the Connecticut Opera
Connecticut Opera
Connecticut Opera was a professional, non-profit, opera company based in Hartford, Connecticut, and a member of OPERA America. The company presented three fully staged opera productions during an annual season. It was founded in 1942 under the directorship of Frank Pandolfi and was the sixth oldest...
, the 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...
, 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...
, 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...
, and the San Antonio Opera among others.
In 1963 Greenspon joined the roster 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...
, beginning her tenure with the company portraying Olga Olsen 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 Street Scene
Street Scene (opera)
Street Scene is a Broadway musical or, more precisely, an "American opera" by Kurt Weill , Langston Hughes , and Elmer Rice...
. Her repertoire with the company eventually encompassed a total of forty-five roles. She participated in some of the company’s landmark productions of the 1960s and 1970s, including Frank Corsaro
Frank Corsaro
Frank Corsaro is one of America's foremost stage directors of opera and theatre. His Broadway productions include The Night of the Iguana ....
'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...
(as Flora Bervoix, with Patricia Brooks
Patricia Brooks
Patricia Brooks , was a lyric soprano, actress, and opera singer, who performed primarily with the New York City Opera. She was known for her acting ability as much as for her voice.-Biography:...
), as well as Tito Capobianco
Tito Capobianco
Tito Capobianco is a noted stage director of opera.He made his official debut with Aïda, at the Teatro Argentino, La Plata, in 1953, then worked at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires...
's production of Le coq d'or
The Golden Cockerel
The Golden Cockerel is an opera in three acts, with short prologue and even shorter epilogue, by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Its libretto, by Vladimir Belsky, derives from Alexander Pushkin's 1834 poem The Tale of the Golden Cockerel, which in turn is based on two chapters of Tales of the Alhambra by...
(as Amelfa) and Corsaro'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...
(as Marthe), both opposite 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....
. Also in her repertoire were Geneviève 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...
, Dame Quickly in Sarah Caldwell
Sarah Caldwell
Sarah Caldwell was a notable American opera conductor, impresario, and stage director of opera.- Life :Caldwell was born in Maryville, Missouri, and grew up in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She was a child prodigy and gave public performances on the violin by the time she was ten years old...
's production of Verdi's Falstaff
Falstaff (opera)
Falstaff is an operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV. It was Verdi's last opera, written in the composer's ninth decade, and only the second of his 26 operas to be a comedy...
, Frau von Luber in 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 Der Silbersee
Der Silbersee
Der Silbersee: ein Wintermärchen is a 'play with music' in three acts by Kurt Weill to a German text by Georg Kaiser -Premiere performances:...
, and the name part in Offenbach's La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein
La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein
La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein is an opéra bouffe , in three acts and four tableaux by Jacques Offenbach to an original French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy...
.
Costa-Greenspon also took on leading roles for NYCO in the American premieres of Prokofiev’s The Fiery Angel (1965) and von Einem’s Dantons Tod
Dantons Tod
Dantons Tod is an opera by composer Gottfried von Einem to a libretto by Boris Blacher and Gottfried von Einem after Georg Büchner's 1835 play Danton's Death. Its first performance took place in Salzburg, August 6, 1947...
(1966), and the 1964 world-premiere of Hoiby’s Natalia Petrovna
Natalia Petrovna
Grand Duchess Natalia Petrovna of Russia was the third daughter of Peter the Great and his second wife Catherine I. Natalia was born on 20 March 1713 and died on 27 May 1715....
(A Month in the Country
A Month in the Country (play)
A Month in the Country is a comedy in five acts by Ivan Turgenev. It was written in France between 1848 and 1850 and was first published in 1855...
). Her last performance with the company was as Grand Duchess Anastasia in The Student Prince
The Student Prince
The Student Prince is an operetta in four acts with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Dorothy Donnelly. It is based on Wilhelm Meyer-Förster's play Alt Heidelberg. The piece has elements of melodrama but lacks the swashbuckling style common to Romberg's other works...
(1993).
In addition to her work with the New York City Opera, Costa-Greenspon occasionally traveled to perform with other opera companies. In 1970 she sang Ulrica in Verdi's 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...
at the 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...
with Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
and Cornell MacNeil
Cornell MacNeil
Cornell MacNeil , was an American operatic baritone known for his exceptional voice and long career with the Metropolitan Opera, which spanned 642 performances in twenty-six roles. F...
. That same year she made her debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1952, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicolà Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma...
portraying Zita in Gianni Schicchi
Gianni Schicchi
Gianni Schicchi is a comic opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, composed in 1917–18. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's Divine Comedy. The work is the third and final part of Puccini's Il trittico —three one-act operas with...
and returned to the Opera Company of Boston to sing the Fisherman's Wife in the world premiere of Gunther Schuller
Gunther Schuller
Gunther Schuller is an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, and jazz musician.- Biography and works :...
's The Fisherman and His Wife. In 1973 she sang the role of La marquise de Berkenfield in La fille du régiment
La fille du régiment
La fille du régiment is an opéra comique in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. It was written while the composer was living in Paris, with a French libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-François Bayard.La figlia del reggimento, a slightly different Italian-language version , was...
at 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...
with 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...
as Marie and Enrico di Giuseppe
Enrico Di Giuseppe
Enrico Di Giuseppe was a celebrated Italian-American operatic tenor who had an active performance career from the late 1950s through the 1990s. He spent most of his career performing in New York City, juggling concurrent performance contracts with both the New York City Opera and the Metropolitan...
as Tonio. Another notable production that year was of The Medium
The Medium
The Medium is a short two-act dramatic opera with words and music by Gian Carlo Menotti. Commissioned by Columbia University, its first performance was there on 8 May 1946. The opera's first professional production was presented on a double bill with Menotti's The Telephone at the Heckscher...
in Detroit. Costa-Greenspon portrayed Madame Flora, and Sal Mineo
Sal Mineo
Salvatore "Sal" Mineo, Jr. , was an American film and theatre actor, best known for his performance as John "Plato" Crawford opposite James Dean in the film Rebel Without a Cause...
both directed and took the part of the mute, Toby. Menotti, who was an admirer of Costa-Greenspon, later invited her to sing Madame Flora at the Spoleto Festival in 1975.
In 1983 Costa-Greenspon and her husband Giorgio Costa, a carpenter for 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...
, enjoyed a brief burst of extra-musical fame when they won $1.7 million in the state lottery. The winnings did not cause her to abandon City Opera, however; she continued to perform with the company through 1993 when she retired from singing. In 1995, Costa-Greenspon made her only appearance at 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...
, as the Duchesse of Krakentorp, a speaking role, in La fille du régiment
La fille du régiment
La fille du régiment is an opéra comique in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. It was written while the composer was living in Paris, with a French libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-François Bayard.La figlia del reggimento, a slightly different Italian-language version , was...
with June Anderson
June Anderson
June Anderson is a Grammy Award-winning American coloratura soprano. Originally known for bel canto performances of Rossini, Donizetti, and Vincenzo Bellini, she was the first non-Italian ever to win the prestigious Bellini d'Oro prize...
as Marie and Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti
right|thumb|Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in [[Strelna]], 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of [[St...
as Tonio.
After retiring from the stage, Costa-Greenspon served on the faculty of the prestigious Bronx High School of Science
Bronx High School of Science
The Bronx High School of Science is a specialized New York City public high school often considered the premier science magnet school in the United States. Founded in 1938, it is now located in the Bedford Park section of the Bronx...
. She died on December 26, 2005, aged 68, in New York City. Her death was due to natural causes, according to her son, Stefano Costa.
Videography
- Donizetti: La fille du régiment (Sills, McDonald, Malas; Wendelken-Wilson, Mansouri, 1974) [live] VAI