Florence Kirk (1909 – June 6, 1999) was an American

dramatic soprano A dramatic soprano is a type of operatic soprano with a powerful, rich, emotive voice that can sing over, or cut through, a full orchestra. Thicker vocal folds in dramatic voices usually (but not always) mean less agility than lighter voices but a ...

who had an active international performance career in operas and concerts from 1937 to 1954. Born in Philadelphia and trained at the Curtis Institute of Music by

Elisabeth Schumann Elisabeth Schumann (13 June 1888 – 23 April 1952) was a German soprano who sang in opera, operetta, oratorio, and lieder. She left a substantial legacy of recordings. Career Born in Merseburg, Schumann trained for a singing career in B ...

, she was particularly associated with the roles of Donna Anna in Mozart's '' Don Giovanni'' and the title heroine in Verdi's ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 Decemb ...

''. Her repertoire included other Verdi heroines like Leonora and Lady Macbeth, Santuzza from Mascagni's ''

Cavalleria rusticana ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (; Italian for "rustic chivalry") is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from an 1880 short story of the same name and subsequent play ...

'', Minnie in Puccini's ''

La fanciulla del West ''La fanciulla del West'' (''The Girl of the West'') is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by and , based on the 1905 play '' The Girl of the Golden West'' by the American author David Belasco. ''Fanciulla'' follow ...

'' and the title role in ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French-language drama ...

'', and several roles from Richard Wagner's ''Ring'' Cycle. Kirk sang leading roles with several American opera companies, including 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 oper ...

from 1943 to 1948. With the Met she recorded the role of Donna Anna in 1945. On the international stage, she appeared in opera houses in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Greece, Mexico, and Turkey. She also appeared on the concert stage, notably recording Mendelssohn's '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'' with Arturo Toscanini and the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1942 for

RCA Red Seal Records RCA Red Seal is a classical music label whose origin dates to 1902 and is currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment. History The first "Gramophone Record Red Seal" discs were issued in 1901. Other prominent orchestras she performed with included the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

, the

Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded originally as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall. History Em ...

, and the

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its primary concert venue is Music Hall. In addition to its symphony concerts, the orchestra gives pops concerts as the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. The Cinc ...

. After retiring from full-time performance in 1954, she worked as a music teacher for the Carroll County Public Schools system in Maryland.

Early life and education

Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, Kirk was a descendant of Revolutionary War naval officer Stephen Decatur. Raised in

Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Germantown (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Deitscheschteddel'') is an area in Northwest Philadelphia. Founded by German, Quaker, and Mennonite families in 1683 as an independent borough, it was absorbed into Philadelphia in 1854. The area, which is about ...

, she graduated from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in 1931 with degrees in fine arts and music education. While a student at the U of Penn she was president of the Women’s University Glee Club and held membership in the Chi Omega Beta Alpha Sorority and the

Theta Alpha Phi Theta Alpha Phi National Theatre Honors Fraternity () is an American honor society that accepts members who achieve excellence in the art of theatre. Membership is available to undergraduates and graduate students at member institutions. The His ...

honor society for theatre. She won a scholarship to the Curtis Institute of Music in 1936, where she studied voice with

Ernst Lert Ernst Joseph Maria Lert, originally Ernst Joseph Maria Levy (1883, Vienna – 1955, New York City) was an Austrian stage director, writer, composer, librettist, and music historian. He was the brother of conductor Richard Lert who was married to w ...

, Emilio de Gogorza, and

. She graduated from Curtis in 1939, shortly after placing second in the Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air.

Opera and concert career

Kirk began her professional singing career while a student at Curtis. She made her opera debut in 1937 portraying the title role in Menotti's '' Amelia Goes to the Ball'' in Baltimore, followed by further appearances at the

New Amsterdam Theatre The New Amsterdam Theatre is a Broadway theater on 214 West 42nd Street, at the southern end of Times Square, in the Theater District of Manhattan in New York City. One of the oldest surviving Broadway venues, the New Amsterdam was built fro ...

in New York. She sang Amelia again with the Saint Louis Grand Opera in 1939 under the baton of Laszlo Halasz. An important early success in her career was performing at the

's 1937 Wagner Festival which was led by music director

Fritz Reiner Frederick Martin "Fritz" Reiner (December 19, 1888 – November 15, 1963) was a prominent conductor of opera and symphonic music in the twentieth century. Hungarian born and trained, he emigrated to the United States in 1922, where he rose to ...

. She portrayed several roles in the Philharmonic's presentation of Wagner's ''Ring'' Cycle at the City College of New York's

Lewisohn Stadium Lewisohn Stadium was an amphitheater and athletic facility built on the campus of the City College of New York (CCNY). It opened in 1915 and was demolished in 1973. History The Doric-colonnaded amphitheater was built between Amsterdam and Conven ...

, including Freia and Woglinde in ''

Das Rheingold ''Das Rheingold'' (; ''The Rhinegold''), WWV 86A, is the first of the four music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's '' Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). It was performed, as a single opera, at the National ...

'' (July 12); the Voice of the Forest Bird in ''

Siegfried Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

'' (July 20); and Wellgunde in ''

Götterdämmerung ' (; ''Twilight of the Gods''), WWV 86D, is the last in Richard Wagner's cycle of four music dramas titled (''The Ring of the Nibelung'', or ''The Ring Cycle'' or ''The Ring'' for short). It received its premiere at the on 17 August 1876, as ...

''. Kirk was a member of the

Philadelphia Civic Grand Opera Company The Philadelphia Civic Grand Opera Company (PCGOC) was an American opera company located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was actively performing at the Academy of Music between 1950 and 1955. Fausta Cleva served as the company's first General ...

in Philadelphia between 1937 and 1939 where she sang such roles as Ines in ''

Il trovatore ''Il trovatore'' ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''El trovador'' (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez. It was García Gutiérrez's mos ...

'' and the title role in ''

''. In 1940 she was committed to the

Chicago Opera Company The Chicago Opera Company was a grand opera company in Chicago, organized from the remaining assets of the bankrupt Chicago City Opera Company, that produced six seasons of opera at the Civic Opera House from 1940 to 1946 (excluding 1943). Art ...

where she made her debut as Micaela in Bizet's '' Carmen''. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

she sang in "camp shows" with the

United Service Organizations The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

for the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...

. In 1942 she was a member of the New Opera Company in New York City, performing as Verdi's Aida and Lady Macbeth at the

Broadway Theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

. During her run as Lady Macbeth she had an infamous temperamental outburst in which she refused to perform over a dispute involving her costume. This led to opera star

Regina Resnik Regina Resnik (born Regina Resnick, August 30, 1922 – August 8, 2013) was an American opera singer who had an active international career that spanned five decades. She began her career as a soprano in 1942 and soon after began a lengthy and ...

's professional opera debut as Lady Macbeth, who music director

Fritz Busch Fritz Busch (13 March 1890 – 14 September 1951) was a German conductor. Busch was born in Siegen, Westphalia, to a musical family, and studied at the Cologne Conservatory. After army service in the First World War, he was appointed to senior p ...

had lined up just in case Kirk became difficult. Kirk went on to perform with several important American orchestras and opera companies during the 1940s, including concerts with the

and conductor

Dimitri Mitropoulos Dimitri Mitropoulos ( el, Δημήτρης Μητρόπουλος; The dates 18 February 1896 and 1 March 1896 both appear in the literature. Many of Mitropoulos's early interviews and program notes gave 18 February. In his later interviews, howe ...

; and the

with

Eugene Aynsley Goossens Sir Eugene Aynsley Goossens (; 26 May 189313 June 1962) was an English conductor and composer. Biography He was born in Camden Town, London, the son of the Belgian conductor and violinist Eugène Goossens (''fils'', 1867–1958) and Annie ...

. In 1942 she was the soprano soloist for the Philadelphia Orchestra's recording of Mendelssohn's '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'' with conductor Arturo Toscanini and contralto Edwina Eustis. She also sang under Toscanini's baton in several performances with the

that year, including performances of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and

Missa solemnis {{Audio, De-Missa solemnis.ogg, Missa solemnis is Latin for Solemn Mass, and is a genre of musical settings of the Mass Ordinary, which are festively scored and render the Latin text extensively, opposed to the more modest Missa brevis. In French ...

with Hardesty Johnson, Alexander Kipnis, and the

Westminster Choir , mottoeng = Let us be judged by our deeds , established = 1926 , type = Private , president = Gregory G. Dell'Omo , dean = Marshall Onofrio , city = Dayton, OH (1926–1929), Ithaca, NY (1929–1932), Princeton, NJ (1932–2020), Lawrencev ...

at Carnegie Hall. Kirk was committed to the

Theatro Municipal Teatro Municipal, Theatro Municipal, Théâtre Municipal or Teatro Municipale (= Municipal theatre) may refer to: * Théâtre municipal d'Albi * Teatro Municipal de Caracas * Teatro Municipal de Chacao * Théâtre municipal de Grenoble * Théâtre ...

in Rio de Janeiro and the

Teatro Colón The Teatro Colón (Spanish: ''Columbus Theatre'') is the main opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. According to a survey carried out by the acousti ...

in Buenos Aires for the 1942–1943 season where she portrayed the roles of Amelia in ''

Un ballo in maschera ''Un ballo in maschera'' ''(A Masked Ball)'' is an 1859 opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The text, by Antonio Somma, was based on Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's 1833 five act opera, '' Gustave III, ou Le bal masqué''. Th ...

'', Donna Anna, Leonora, and Maria in Verdi's ''

Simon Boccanegra ''Simon Boccanegra'' () is an opera with a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play ''Simón Bocanegra'' (1843) by Antonio García Gutiérrez, whose play ''El trovador'' had b ...

''. In 1943 she performed as Donna Anna for her debut at 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 h ...

(SFO). She also portrayed Minnie in Puccini's ''

'' at the SFO that year. She sang Donna Anna again under the baton of

Thomas Beecham Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (29 April 18798 March 1961) was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic and the Roya ...

at the

Palacio de Bellas Artes The Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts) is a prominent cultural center in Mexico City. It has hosted notable events in music, dance, theatre, opera and literature in Mexico and has held important exhibitions of painting, sculpture and p ...

in Mexico City in the summer of 1944. She also performed frequently as a leading soprano with the

Charles L. Wagner Opera Company Charles Ludwig Wagner (1869 - February 25, 1956) was a concert impresario. He managed John McCormack and Mary Garden and introduced Walter Gieseking. Biography He was born in 1869. Wagner authored a 1940 autobiography detailing his experiences ...

during the 1940s. In 1945 she portrayed Donna Anna at the

Boston Opera House The Boston Opera House, also known as the Citizens Bank Opera House, is a performing arts and esports venue located at 539 Washington St. in Boston, Massachusetts. It was originally built as the B.F. Keith Memorial Theatre, a movie palace in ...

with conductor

Bruno Walter Bruno Walter (born Bruno Schlesinger, September 15, 1876February 17, 1962) was a German-born conductor, pianist and composer. Born in Berlin, he escaped Nazi Germany in 1933, was naturalised as a French citizen in 1938, and settled in the U ...

leading the musical forces. Writing in ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'', music critic Cyrus Durgin stated:

In the role of Donna Anna the young
dramatic soprano A dramatic soprano is a type of operatic soprano with a powerful, rich, emotive voice that can sing over, or cut through, a full orchestra. Thicker vocal folds in dramatic voices usually (but not always) mean less agility than lighter voices but a ...
, Florence Kirk, made her Boston debut. Miss Kirk has a lovely voice, although it is not extraordinarily big. Her high tones gave her a little difficulty and tend to spread. The savage outcry, "Or sai chi l'onore," demands voice and more voice; Miss Kirk did quite well by it and made even better effect with Donna Anna's aria "Nom mi dir".

On November 29, 1944, Kirk made her debut at the

as Donna Anna with

Ezio Pinza Ezio Fortunato Pinza (May 18, 1892May 9, 1957) was an Italian opera singer. Pinza possessed a rich, smooth and sonorous voice, with a flexibility unusual for a bass. He spent 22 seasons at New York's Metropolitan Opera, appearing in more than 750 ...

as Don Giovanni,

Eleanor Steber Eleanor Steber (July 17, 1914October 3, 1990) was an American operatic soprano. Steber is noted as one of the first major opera stars to have achieved the highest success with training and a career based in the United States. Biography Eleanor ...

as Donna Elvira, and

George Szell George Szell (; June 7, 1897 – July 30, 1970), originally György Széll, György Endre Szél, or Georg Szell, was a Hungarian-born American conductor and composer. He is widely considered one of the twentieth century's greatest condu ...

conducting. She returned to the Met annually through 1948, enjoying particular success in the role of Aida. In 1945 she portrayed Santuzza in

Pietro Mascagni Pietro Mascagni (7 December 1863 – 2 August 1945) was an Italian composer primarily known for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece '' Cavalleria rusticana'' caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the ...

's ''

Cavalleria Rusticana ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (; Italian for "rustic chivalry") is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from an 1880 short story of the same name and subsequent play ...

'' at the

San Antonio Municipal Auditorium The San Antonio Municipal Auditorium was a building located at 100 Auditorium Circle, San Antonio, Texas. It was built as a memorial to American soldiers killed in World War I. The San Antonio Municipal Auditorium was also used as a concert venue ...

for the Symphony Society of San Antonio. In 1947 she replaced ailing Yugoslavian soprano Daniza Ilitsch as Aida mid performance at Houston's City Auditorium; singing Acts II, III, and IV. She replaced Ilitsch as Aida again mid performance at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1948, after a case of laryngitis made it impossible for Ilitsch to sing the final act of the opera. Kirk happened to be attending the performance that evening, and a Met official who saw her in the audience rushed her backstage to apply makeup and get in costume in just ten minutes to finish out the opera. Speaking in a 1948 interview in ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by T ...

'', Kirk stated: "As it was, I didn't have time to complete all of my leg makeup. And actually, I went on in two colors. But the last act is so dark, so I guess it was all right." Kirk also sang Aida for the Lyric Opera Association in 1948 for performances at the

Watergate Hotel The Watergate complex is a group of six buildings in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in the United States. Covering a total of 10 acres (4 ha) just north of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the buildings incl ...

in Washington, D.C., and the

Lyric Opera House The Lyric Performing Arts Center is a music venue in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, located close to the University of Baltimore law school. The building was modeled after the Concertgebouw concert hall in Amsterdam, and it was inaugurate ...

Baltimore. In 1946 she portrayed Leonora in Verdi's ''Il trovatore'' at the Rajah Theatre in Reading, Pennsylvania. Her first husband, the education administrator Elwood Kohl, was from the Reading area. She married a second time to Frederick Paul Keppel, a comptroller at the Metropolitan Opera, in 1948. She had one child with Keppel; a daughter named Lauren Keppel. From 1948 to 1954 she performed with opera houses outside of the United States. Notable among these international performances was a portrayal of Leonore in Beethoven's ''

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, wi ...

'' at the

Odeon of Herodes Atticus The Odeon of Herodes Atticus (Greek: Ωδείο Ηρώδου του Αττικού; also called Herodeion or Herodion; Greek: Ηρώδειο) is a stone Roman theatre structure located on the southwest slope of the Acropolis of Athens, Greece. Th ...

in 1949 and Santuzza at the Turkish State Opera in 1950. She also sang in operas with the

Opera Guild of Montreal Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

, including Leonora with

Mack Harrell Mack Kendree Harrell, Jr. (October 8, 1909 — January 29, 1960) was an American operatic and concert baritone vocalist who was regarded as one of the greatest American-born lieder singers of his generation. Growing up Harrell was born in ...

as the Count di Luna and Joseph Laderoute as Manrico in 1949. She portrayed the title role in Puccini's ''

'' with the Greek National Opera in 1950. One of her final concerts was a recital of Greek music, both ancient and modern, given at

Gettysburg College Gettysburg College is a private liberal arts college in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1832, the campus is adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg College has about 2,600 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women. ...

on April 25, 1958, in conjunction with a lecture series presented by classics scholar James A. Notopoulos at the Classical Association of the Atlantic States conference.

Later life

In 1954 Kirk retired from the opera stage and moved with her second husband to a 109-acre farm in

Taneytown, Maryland Taneytown ( , locally also ) is a city in Carroll County, Maryland, United States. The population was 6,728 at the 2010 census. Taneytown was founded in 1754. Of the city, George Washington once wrote, "Tan-nee town is but a small place with only ...

. In 1960 they sold the farm and moved to

Westminster, Maryland Westminster is a city in northern Maryland, United States. It is the seat of Carroll County. The city's population was 18,590 at the 2010 census. Westminster is an outlying community within the Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA, which is part of a great ...

. She lived there for the rest of her life, dedicating her time to her family, teaching singing, and performing in community musicals. She was a music teacher for Carroll County Public Schools from 1964 to 1972. Her second husband died in 1974. She married a third time in 1985 to Jerome Stern. She died of Alzheimer's disease at the age of 90.

Recordings

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Sources

1909 births 1999 deaths American operatic sopranos Curtis Institute of Music alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni Musicians from Philadelphia Neurological disease deaths in Maryland Deaths from Alzheimer's disease 20th-century American women opera singers Classical musicians from Pennsylvania {{authority control