Lorraine Hunt Lieberson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1954-03-01)1 March 1954 |
| Died | 3 July 2006(2006-07-03) (aged 52) |
| Occupation | Opera singer (mezzo-soprano) |
| Years active | 1985–2006 |
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (March 1, 1954 – July 3, 2006) was an Americanmezzo-soprano. She was noted for her performances of bothBaroque era and contemporary works. Her career path to becoming a singer was unconventional – formerly a professionalviolist, Lieberson did not shift her full-time focus to singing until she was in her thirties.
One of four children,[1] Lorraine Hunt was born to parents who were both involved with opera in theSan Francisco Bay Area. Her mother, Marcia, was a contralto and music teacher and her father, Randolph, taught music in high school and college. She performed as a child inEngelbert Humperdinck'sHänsel & Gretel, as a gingerbread boy. She returned to opera after taking part in a charity performance of the same work at a prison, this time taking Hänsel's role.[2] After this performance, she auditioned for theMet, at age 29.
While rehearsing in his operaAshoka's Dream at Santa Fe in 1997, she metcomposerPeter Lieberson. She married him two years later, changing her name to Lorraine Hunt Lieberson.[3] Peter Lieberson's song cyclesRilke Songs andNeruda Songs, both available on CD, were composed especially for his wife.
Hunt Lieberson died frombreast cancer inSanta Fe, New Mexico on July 3, 2006, at the age of 52. Only a few years previously, she had nursed her sister through her final illness with the same disease.[3] Her husband fell victim to cancer too, falling ill in 2007 and dying in April 2011.[4]
Hunt Lieberson began her musical career as a violist, and became principalviola with the San Jose Symphony. At age 26, she turned to studying voice seriously at theBoston Conservatory of Music. Her professional career as a singer began in 1984, and in 1985 she made her operatic debut after meetingPeter Sellars, appearing in his 1985 production ofHandel'sGiulio Cesare. She began her career as a soprano, singing roles such as Handel's Theodora and Donna Elvira in Sellars's notorious production ofDon Giovanni, but soon gravitated to the mezzo-soprano range. She began working withCraig Smith atEmmanuel Music as a violist, then sang in the chorus and began taking leading roles.[5] Her work with Emmanuel continued throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and a recording of her work there in Bach and Handel was released in 2008 by Avie Records, "Lorraine at Emmanuel."
Her debut performance at theMetropolitan Opera came during the 1999–2000 season, in eleven performances in the role of Myrtle Wilson in the world premiere ofJohn Harbison'sThe Great Gatsby (first performance on December 20, 1999).[1] During this same season, she also appeared as Sesto in theNew York City Opera's production ofMozart'sLa clemenza di Tito, as well as playing La Pelerin inKaija Saariaho'sClemence at the Salzburg Festival. Her only other appearances at the Met came in two gala performances where she sang the spiritual "Deep River" (1999), and the fourth act of Bizet'sCarmen in 2000, and finally four performances in February, 2003 in the role of Dido inBerlioz'sLes Troyens. She was scheduled to sing the role ofOrfeo in a new production ofGluck'sOrfeo ed Euridice. On her death, she was replaced bycountertenorDavid Daniels, and the four performances run in May 2007 were dedicated to her memory.
Among the roles she sang during her career are Sesto (Mozart'sLa clemenza di Tito), Carmen (Bizet'sopera of the same name), Beatrice (Berlioz'sBeatrice et Benedict), Mélisande inPelléas et Mélisande (concert performances underBernard Haitink), Médée (title role ofCharpentier'sMédée, withWilliam Christie andLes Arts Florissants), Phèdre (Jean-Philippe Rameau'sHippolyte et Aricie), Theodora and Irene (Handel'sTheodora; Theodora atGöttingen withNicholas McGegan, Irene atGlyndebourne withChristie), Minerva (Monteverdi'sIl ritorno d'Ulisse in patria withRené Jacobs), Ottavia (Monteverdi'sL'incoronazione di Poppea withMarc Minkowski) and the title roles ofHandel'sAriodante andSerse.
She made a number of recordings, including works ofBach andHandel, as well as modern works.
Those who worked with Hunt Lieberson have spoken of her intense commitment to the detail of bringing a piece to life. Canadian vocal coachDenise Massé said in aNew Yorker magazine interview,
Lorraine is likeCallas in her determination to dig as deeply as possible into the character — to find all the grain in the wood.
In June 2005, Hunt Lieberson made her last appearance in Amsterdam, performing the Sellars staging of Bach'sIch habe genug. Her final public performances were given on March 16, 17, and 18, 2006, atOrchestra Hall inChicago, inMahler'sSymphony No. 2 (Resurrection) with theChicago Symphony Orchestra andChorus,[6] conductorMichael Tilson Thomas and sopranoCelena Shafer.
In 2007, she posthumously received theGrammy Award forBest Classical Vocal Performance for her recording of her husband'sRilke Songs, and in 2008 won again posthumously for her performance of her husband'sNeruda Songs.
Besides those mentioned above, her most recent recordings include two ofJohann Sebastian Bach'sCantatas,BWV 82 (Ich habe genug) andBWV 199 (Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut), which made theNew York Times top 10 classical albums of the year and No. 3 on theBillboard classical chart.Musical America recognized her as the 2001 Vocalist of the Year.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, before her marriage to Peter Lieberson, Lorraine Hunt rose to prominence in the repertoire ofGeorge Frideric Handel. She performed and recorded opera and oratorios with theGöttingen International Handel Festival, underNicholas McGegan's direction. Her recordings includeAriodante,Serse,Messiah (as a soprano),Clori, Tirsi e Fileno,Theodora,Susanna, and two CDs of Handel arias. For the oratorioTheodora, she sang the roles of both Irene and the title character; she has also recordedHenry Purcell's incidental music forThe Fairy-Queen and the title role ofDido and Aeneas with McGegan.
Hunt Lieberson's 1999 debut atWigmore Hall, a performance of lieder bySchumann (Frauen-Liebe und Leben, Op. 42) andBrahms (Op. 57) with the pianistJulius Drake, was released as a live recording.
