Tangeman, Nell

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Tangeman, Nell

Tangeman, Nell, American mezzo-soprano; b. Columbus, Ohio, Dec. 23, 1917; d. Washington, D.C., Feb. 15, 1965. She studied violin at Ohio State Univ. (M.A., 1937) and received vocal instruction at the Cleveland Inst. of Music and from Fritz Lehmann, Schorr, and Matzenauer in N.Y. In 1945 she made her debut as a soloist in Das Lied von der Erde with Goossens and the Cincinnati Sym. Orch. In 1948 she made her N.Y. recital debut, and then spent a year studying in Italy on a Fulbright scholarship. She created the role of Mother Goose in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress in Venice in 1951. In subsequent years, she sang throughout the U.S. and Europe in a repertoire extending from the 16th century to the contemporary era.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire