Hurley, Laurel

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Hurley, Laurel

Hurley, Laurel, American soprano; b. Allentown, Pa., Feb. 14, 1927. Of a musical family, she studied with her mother, a church organist, and at 16 appeared on Broadway (Aug. 21, 1943) as Kathie in Romberg’s operetta The Student Prince; then toured with the company that produced it. In 1952 she made her N.Y.C. Opera debut as Zerlina. She was the winner of the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation Award, which enabled her to give a song recital in N.Y. (Nov. 6, 1952). She made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in N.Y. on Feb. 8, 1955, as Oscar; she remained at the Metropolitan until 1967, singing such roles as Musetta, Susanna, Périchole, Adele, Mimi, and Despina.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire