Stahlman, Sylvia

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Stahlman, Sylvia

Stahlman, Sylvia, American soprano; b. Nashville, March 5, 1929; d. St. Petersburg, Fla., Aug. 19, 1998. She was a student at the Juilliard School of Music in N.Y. and of Toti Dal Monte. Under the name Giulia Bardi, she made her operatic debut at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels in 1951 as Elvira in I Puritani. After singing Lucia, Gilda, Amina, and Dinorah there, she returned to the U.S. and sang at the N.Y.C. Opera in 1956 under her real name. In 1957 she appeared at the San Francisco Opera. From 1958 to 1960 she sang with the Frankfurt am Main Opera. In 1959 she was engaged as Ilia at the Glyndebourne Festival, and then portrayed Sophie at the San Francisco Opera in 1960. In 1964 she appeared as Daphne at the Santa Fe Opera. She also was active as a concert artist. She retired from the operatic stage in 1971.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire