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Lily Pons
Alice Joséphine Pons (April 12, 1898 – February 13, 1976), known professionally as Lily Pons, was a French-American operatic lyric coloratura soprano and actress who had an active career from the late 1920s through the early 1970s. As an opera singer, she specialized in the coloratura soprano repertoire and was particularly associated with the title roles in Lakmé and Lucia di Lammermoor. In addition to appearing as a guest artist with many opera houses internationally, Pons enjoyed a long association with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, where she performed nearly 300 times between 1931 and 1960. She also had a successful and lucrative career as a concert singer, which continued until her retirement from performance in 1973. From 1935 to 1937, she made three musical films for RKO Pictures. She also made numerous appearances on radio and on television, performing on variety programs such as The Ed Sullivan Show, The Colgate Comedy Hour, and The Dave Garroway Show. In 1955, she topped the bill for the first broadcast of what became an iconic television series, Sunday Night at the London Palladium. She made dozens of records, recording both classical and popular music. She was awarded the Croix de Lorraine and the Légion d'honneur by the government of France. Pons was also adept at making herself into a marketable cultural icon. Her opinions on fashion and home decorating were frequently reported in women's magazines, and she appeared as the face for Lockheed airplanes, Knox gelatin, and Libby's tomato juice advertisements. A town in Maryland named itself after her, and thereafter the singer contrived to have all her Christmas cards posted from Lilypons, Maryland. Opera News wrote in 2011, "Pons promoted herself with a kind of marketing savvy that no singer ever had shown before, and very few have since; only Luciano Pavarotti was quite so successful at exploiting the mass media." |
Birth and Death Data: Born April 12, 1898 (Draguignan), Died February 13, 1976 (Dallas)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1930 - 1940
Roles Represented in DAHR: soprano vocal
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 53 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BVE-59725 | 10-in. | 3/26/1930 | Où va la jeune Indoue | Lily Pons | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BVE-59726 | 10-in. | 3/26/1930 | Là bas, dans la forêt | Lily Pons | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BVE-59727 | 10-in. | 3/26/1930 | Aria of the Queen of the Night | Lily Pons | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | CVE-59807 | 12-in. | 3/12/1930 | Lucia di Lammermoor | Lily Pons | Soprano vocal solo, with flute obbligato | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | CVE-64398 | 12-in. | 12/8/1930 | Ardon gl'incensi | Lily Pons ; George Possell | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra and flute obbligato | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | CVE-64399 | 12-in. | 12/8/1930 | Spargi d'amaro pianto | Lily Pons ; George Possell | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | CVE-67459 | 12-in. | 2/19/1931 | Caro nome | Lily Pons | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | CVE-67460 | 12-in. | 2/19/1931 | Tutte le feste | Lily Pons | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BVE-67481 | 10-in. | 3/2/1931 | Una voce poco fa | Lily Pons | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BVE-67482 | 10-in. | 3/2/1931 | Una voce poco fa | Lily Pons | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | MVE-70856 | 16-in. | 10/18/1931 | Broadcast on unemployment relief | Herbert Hoover | Radio broadcast : Speeches and vocal and instrumental performances | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | MVE-70857 | 16-in. | 10/18/1931 | Broadcast on unemployment relief | Herbert Hoover ; Will Rogers | Radio broadcast : Speeches and vocal and instrumental performances | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | MVE-70858 | 16-in. | 10/18/1931 | Broadcast on unemployment relief | Herbert Hoover ; Will Rogers | Radio broadcast : Speeches and vocal and instrumental performances | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | MVE-70859 | 16-in. | 10/18/1931 | Broadcast on unemployment relief | Herbert Hoover ; Will Rogers | Radio broadcast : Speeches and vocal and instrumental performances | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BS-98185 | 10-in. | 12/2/1935 | The jockey on the carousel | Andre Kostelanetz ; Lily Pons | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BS-98186 | 10-in. | 12/2/1935 | I dream too much | Andre Kostelanetz ; Lily Pons | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra and male vocal chorus | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BS-98187 | 10-in. | 12/2/1935 | I'm the echo (You're the song that I sing) | Andre Kostelanetz ; Lily Pons | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BS-98188 | 10-in. | 12/2/1935 | I got love | Andre Kostelanetz ; Lily Pons | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BS-027220 | 10-in. | 9/26/1938 | La promessa | Frank La Forge ; Lily Pons | Soprano vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BS-027221 | 10-in. | 9/26/1938 | La pastorella delle Alpi | Frank La Forge ; Lily Pons | Soprano vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BS-027222 | 10-in. | 9/26/1938 | Comment disaient-ils? | Frank La Forge ; Lily Pons | Soprano vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BS-027223 | 10-in. | 9/26/1938 | Green (No. 5 from "Ariettes oubliées") | Frank La Forge ; Lily Pons | Soprano vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BS-027224 | 10-in. | 9/26/1938 | À des oiseaux (The birds) | Frank La Forge ; Lily Pons | Soprano vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BS-027235 | 10-in. | 9/28/1938 | Les Roses d'Ispahan | Frank La Forge ; Lily Pons | Soprano vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BS-027236 | 10-in. | 9/28/1938 | Les filles de Cadix | Frank La Forge ; Lily Pons | Soprano vocal solo, with piano | vocalist, soprano vocal |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Pons, Lily," accessed September 3, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103093.
Pons, Lily. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved September 3, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103093.
"Pons, Lily." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 3 September 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Lily Pons
Discogs: Lily Pons
Allmusic: Lily Pons
Grove: Lily Pons
IMDb: Lily Pons
Britannica: Lily Pons
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Pons, Lily, 1898-1976 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n81028139
Wikidata: Lily Pons - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q242387
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/17408598
MusicBrainz: Lily Pons - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/713873f8-eaaa-462a-bc41-04a9dd262ce6
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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