Dunn, Mignon

views updated

Dunn, Mignon

Dunn, Mignon, American mezzo-soprano; b. Memphis, Term., June 17, 1931. She attended Southwestern Univ. in Memphis and the Univ. of Lausanne; at 17 she was awarded a Metropolitan Opera scholarship and pursued vocal training in N.Y. with Karin Branzell and Beverley Johnson. In 1955 she made her operatic debut as Carmen in New Orleans, and then appeared as Maddalena in Chicago later that year; on March 28, 1956, she made her N.Y.C. Opera debut as the 4th Lady in Walton’s Troilus and Cressida. She remained on the City Opera’s roster until 1957 and sang there again in 1972 and 1975. On Oct. 29, 1958, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as the Nurse in Boris Godunov; in subsequent seasons she appeared in more than 50 roles there, including Amneris, Azucena, Fricka, Herodias, Marina, and Ortrud. She also made guest appearances in San Francisco, London, Paris, Berlin, Hamburg, Milan, and Vienna. In 1972 she married the conductor Kurt Klippstatter.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire