Lucy Kelston (December 23, 1923 - April 28, 2010) was an American operatic soprano, primarily active in Italy during the 1950s. Born in New York City, she studied at

New York College of Music The New York College of Music was an American conservatory of music located in Manhattan that flourished from 1878 to 1968. The college was incorporated under the laws of New York and was empowered to confer diplomas and degrees ranging from a Bac ...

with

Giuseppe de Luca Giuseppe De Luca (25 December 1876 – 26 August 1950), was an Italian baritone who achieved his greatest triumphs at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. He notably created roles in the world premieres of two operas by Giacomo Puccini: Sha ...

and Samuel Margolis, and made her stage debut in 1947, as '' Madama Butterfly''. Noticed and helped by Arturo Toscanini, she entered the ''Vocal Contest of America'', which led to her debut at La Scala in Milan, as Leonora in '' La forza del destino'', opposite Mario Filippeschi, in 1949. The same year she sang Lady Macbeth on Italian radio (RAI), and in 1951, during the celebration of

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

's death anniversary, she sang the title role in ''

Luisa Miller ''Luisa Miller'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''Kabale und Liebe'' (''Intrigue and Love'') by the German dramatist Friedrich von Schiller. Verdi's initial idea for ...

'', opposite legendary tenor

Giacomo Lauri-Volpi Giacomo Lauri-Volpi (11 December 1892 – 17 March 1979) was an Italian tenor with a lyric voice of exceptional range and technical facility. He performed throughout Europe and the Americas in a top-class career that spanned 40 years. Caree ...

, again on Italian radio. She sang widely in Italy, notably at the

Maggio Musicale Fiorentino The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (English: Florence Musical May) is an annual Italian arts festival in Florence, including a notable opera festival, under the auspices of the Opera di Firenze. The festival occurs between late April into June annual ...

in 1955, where she sang ''

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'', alternating with

Anita Cerquetti Anita Cerquetti (13 April 193111 October 2014) was an Italian dramatic soprano who had a short but meteoric career in the 1950s. Her voice was very powerful and pleasing to audiences. Career Cerquetti was born in Montecosaro, near Macerata, Ital ...

. She also made guest appearances at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...

in London, the Liceo in Barcelona, the Teatro Nacional Sao Carlos in Lisbon, 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. She was also active in concerts, appearing in New York,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. Kelston was married to Italian conductor Franco Ferraris, and was also known as Lucy Kelston Ferraris. She can be heard on record in the aforementioned radio broadcast of ''Luisa Miller'', which was issued on vinyl longplay, and reissued on CD.

Sources

Operissimo.com

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelston, Lucy 1923 births American expatriates in Italy American operatic sopranos 2010 deaths New York College of Music alumni Singers from New York City Classical musicians from New York (state) 21st-century American women