Audrey Schuh (born June 11, 1931) is an American operatic soprano. She studied at Loyola University of the South. Schuh was born in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. Her first leading role with the

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 since the early 19th century, New Orleans has had a resident company regularly performing opera in ad ...

Association (at the age of eighteen) was the page-boy Oscar in ''Un ballo in maschera'', opposite

Jussi Björling Johan Jonatan "Jussi" Björling ( , ; 5 February 19119 September 1960) was a Swedish tenor. One of the leading operatic singers of the 20th century, Björling appeared for many years at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and less frequentl ...

, in 1950. She starred there in ''Don Giovanni'' (as Zerlina), ''Carmen'' (as Micaëla), ''Amelia al ballo'', ''Falstaff'' (as Nannetta), ''Die Fledermaus'' (as Roselinde von Eisenstein), ''Hänsel und Gretel'' (as Gretel), ''La bohème'' (as Musetta), ''La traviata'', ''La bohème'' (as Mimì), ''

Markheim "Markheim" is a short story by Robert Louis Stevenson, originally prepared for the ''Pall Mall Gazette'' in 1884, but published in 1885 in ''The Broken Shaft: Tales of Mid-Ocean'' as part of ''Unwin's Christmas Annual''. The story was later publi ...

'' (world premiere), ''Turandot'' (as Liù), ''Elektra'' (as Chrysothemis), ''Pagliacci'', and ''Il tabarro''. Schuh also sang Nannetta in ''Falstaff'' for the

San Francisco Opera San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California. History Gaetano Merola (1923–1953) Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 when he ...

. She sang with the Houston Grand Opera (''Madama Butterfly''), the New England Opera Theatre (''La traviata'' and ''La rondine''), the Jackson Opera Guild (''Pagliacci'', then ''Die Fledermaus'' with

Virginia MacWatters Virginia MacWatters (June 19, 1912 – November 5, 2005) was an American coloratura soprano and university professor. Early life MacWatters was born in Philadelphia on June 19, 1912 to Frederick K. and Idoleein ( Hallowell) MacWatters. She ...

) and the San Antonio Opera Guild (''Markheim''). In 1967, she appeared at the

New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, du ...

for a memorable season at its new theatre at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

: ''La bohème'' (as Mimì), ''Madama Butterfly'' (directed by

Frank Corsaro Frank Corsaro (December 22, 1924, New York City, New York – November 11, 2017, Suwanee, GeorgiaRobert ViagasNight of the Iguana Director Frank Corsaro Is Dead at 92/ref>) was one of America's foremost stage directors of opera and theatre. His Bro ...

), and ''Suor Angelica'' (conducted by

Julius Rudel Julius Rudel (6 March 1921 – 26 June 2014) was an Austrian-born American opera and orchestra conductor. He was born in Vienna and was a student at the city's Academy of Music. He emigrated to the United States at the age of 17 in 1938 after th ...

). She made a return to the New Orleans Opera in 1977, again as Micaëla, which was her Farewell. One of her sons, the tenor Kirk Redmann, appeared with the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

from 1983-90. From 1994 to 1999, VAI issued several of Schuh's New Orleans performances on Compact Discs.

Discography

* Verdi: ''Un ballo in maschera'' (S.Morris, Björling, Rothmüller; Herbert, 1950) iveVAI * Verdi: ''Falstaff'' (della Chiesa, Warren; Cellini, 1956) iveVAI * Puccini: ''La bohème'' (Albanese, di Stefano, Valdengo, Treigle; Cellini, 1959) iveVAI * Floyd: ''Markheim'' (Treigle; Andersson, 1966) iveVAI * Puccini: ''Turandot'': excerpts (Nilsson; Andersson, 1966) iveVAI * Strauss: ''Elektra'' (Borkh, Resnik, Crofoot, Rayson; Andersson, 1966) iveVAI

References

* ''The New York City Opera: An American Adventure'', by Martin L. Sokol (Annals by George Louis Mayer), Macmillan Publishing Co, Inc, 1981. * "Audrey Schuh: A Golden Tribute," by Brian Morgan, New Orleans Opera Association 2000-01 program booklet. * "New Orleans' Longtime Promotion of the Vocal Arts, A Prime Case: The Career of soprano Audrey Schuh," by Dan Shea, "Journal of the Jussi Björling Society," February 2019.

External links

Audrey Schuh in an excerpt from ''Un ballo in maschera'' (1950).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schuh, Audrey 1931 births Living people American operatic sopranos Musicians from New Orleans Loyola University New Orleans alumni Singers from Louisiana 20th-century American women opera singers 21st-century American women