Betty Jones (born 1930) was an American operatic

spinto soprano A spinto soprano (also lirico-spinto, spinto lyric soprano, or pushed lyric) is a type of operatic soprano voice that has the limpidity and easy high notes of a lyric soprano, yet can be "pushed" on to achieve dramatic climaxes without strain. This ...

, who did not begin her career until the age of forty-one. She died in Norwalk, Connecticut, on November 7, 2019 at the age of 89. Jones was born in

Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, known by its nickname as "The Queen City."

. Having been an Art major at

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York. The college models its approach to education after the Supervision system, Oxford/Cambridge system of one-on-one student-faculty tutorials. Sara ...

, in 1971 Jones made her professional debut in two secondary roles in the Boston Opera Group's production of ''Louise'', staged by

Sarah Caldwell Sarah Caldwell (March 6, 1924March 23, 2006) was an American opera conducting, conductor, impresario, and stage director. Early life Caldwell was born in Maryville, Missouri, and grew up in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She was a child prodigy and ...

, with

Carol Neblett Carol Lee Neblett (February 1, 1946 – November 23, 2017) was an American operatic soprano. Life and career Neblett was born in Modesto, California and raised in Redondo Beach. She studied at the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1969 ...

in the title role. She then appeared with the

Chicago Lyric Opera Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicola Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria ...

, as Marianne in ''Der Rosenkavalier'', with

Christa Ludwig Christa Ludwig (16 March 1928 – 24 April 2021) was a German mezzo-soprano and occasional dramatic soprano, distinguished for her performances of opera, lieder, oratorio, and other major religious works like masses, passions, and solos in symp ...

and

Judith Blegen Judith Blegen (April 27, 1943, Lexington, Kentucky) is an American soprano, particularly associated with light lyric roles of the French, Italian and German repertories. Life and career Blegen was raised and attended high school in Missoula, Monta ...

. Her first major role was the name part of ''Aida'', for the

Seattle Opera Seattle Opera is an opera company based in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1963 by Glynn Ross, who served as its first general director until 1983. The company's season runs from August through late May, comprising five or six operas of ...

. Her debut 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 ...

occurred in the fall of 1974, as Amelia in ''Un ballo in maschera''. She returned to that company in 1976, for the Contessa in ''Le nozze di Figaro'' (opposite

Susanne Marsee Susanne Marsee (born Susan Irene Dowell; November 26, 1941, San Diego, California) is an American mezzo-soprano of note, particularly acclaimed as a singing-actress. Her principal teacher was Nadine Conner, and her educational background includes ...

as Cherubino), Amelia again (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 ...

), and Eva in ''Die Meistersinger''. Jones also sang in Mexico City (''Un ballo in maschera''), Wiesbaden (''Tosca''), Opera/South (Senta in ''Der fliegende Holländer'', conducted by Walter Herbert),

Opera Orchestra of New York The Opera Orchestra of New York (also known as OONY) specializes in the performance of opera in concert form. It is particularly known for its work in presenting rarely performed repertory. Among the numerous American premieres it has presented are ...

(''Oberon'', at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

, with

Nicolai Gedda Harry Gustaf Nikolai Gädda, known professionally as Nicolai Gedda (11 July 1925 – 8 January 2017), was a Swedish operatic tenor. Debuting in 1951, Gedda had a long and successful career in opera until the age of 77 in June 2003, when he made h ...

), etc. In 1982, she performed Odabella in ''Attila'' (with

Samuel Ramey Samuel Edward Ramey (born March 28, 1942) is an American operatic bass. At the height of his career, he was greatly admired for his range and versatility, having possessed a sufficiently accomplished bel canto technique to enable him to sing t ...

) for the City Opera, which, following the discovery of a hearing loss, was her Farewell to opera.

References

* ''Who's Who in Opera'', edited by Maria F. Rich, Arno Press, 1976. * ''The New York City Opera: An American Adventure'', by Martin L. Sokol (Annals by George Louis Mayer), Macmillan Publishing Co, Inc, 1981. * ''The Music In My Life'', by Betty Jones, 2014. * "Opera singer's 'unusual' story will be told," ''Wilton Bulletin'', by Kendra Baker, February 2, 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Betty American operatic sopranos 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women opera singers African-American women opera singers Musicians from Plainfield, New Jersey Sarah Lawrence College alumni Classical musicians from New Jersey Singers from New Jersey 21st-century American women 1930 births