Blanche Thebom

Blanche Thebom (September 19, 1915 – March 23, 2010) was an American operatic mezzo-soprano, voice teacher, and opera director. She was part of the first wave of American opera singers that had highly successful international careers. In her own country she had a long association with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City which lasted 22 years. Opera News stated, "An ambitious beauty with a velvety, even-grained dramatic mezzo, Thebom was a natural for opera: she commanded the stage with the elegantly disciplined hauteur of an old-school diva, relishing the opportunity to play femmes du monde such as Marina in Boris Godunov, Herodias and Dalila."

While Thebom sang a wide repertoire which encompassed everything from Handel and Mozart to Verdi and Debussy, she was best known for her performances in the operas of Richard Wagner. Two Wagner roles with which she was particularly associated were Fricka in Die Walküre and Brangaene in Tristan und Isolde. She notably sang the latter role in the famous 1952 EMI recording made in London with Kirsten Flagstad, Ludwig Suthaus, and conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler. She is Didon in Les Troyens (world premiere 1957, conducted by Rafael Kubelik). In addition to several other recordings, she also appeared in two feature films during her career: Irish Eyes Are Smiling (1944) and The Great Caruso (1951).

After retiring from the stage in 1967, Thebom worked as an opera director in Atlanta for 6 years. She then taught singing both privately and on the music faculties of the University of Arkansas and San Francisco State University. She also co-founded the Opera Arts Training Program of the San Francisco Girls Chorus and served on the board of the Metropolitan Opera for nearly 40 years.

Birth and Death Data: Born September 19, 1915 (Monessen), Died March 23, 2010 (San Francisco)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1945

Roles Represented in DAHR: contralto

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor D5RB-0720 10-in. 4/3/1945 Cradle song Macklin Marrow ; Blanche Thebom ; Victor String Orchestra Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with orchestra vocalist, contralto  
Victor D5RB-0721 10-in. 4/3/1945 The Virgin's slumber song Macklin Marrow ; Blanche Thebom ; Victor String Orchestra Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with orchestra vocalist, contralto  
Victor D5RB-0722 10-in. 4/3/1945 I attempt from Love's sickness to fly Macklin Marrow ; Blanche Thebom ; Victor String Orchestra Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with orchestra vocalist, contralto  
Victor D5RB-0723 10-in. 4/3/1945 Siciliana (Let me wander, not unseen) Macklin Marrow ; Blanche Thebom ; Victor String Orchestra Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with orchestra vocalist, contralto  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Thebom, Blanche," accessed November 1, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103791.

Thebom, Blanche. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 1, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103791.

"Thebom, Blanche." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 1 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103791

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