Thebom, Blanche

views updated

Thebom, Blanche

Thebom, Blanche, American mezzo-soprano; b. Monessen, Pa., Sept. 19, 1918. She studied singing with Margaret Matzenauer and Edyth Walker in N.Y. She made her concert debut there in 1941 and her operatic debut, with the Metropolitan Opera, as Fricka on Dec. 14, 1944; remained on its roster until 1959, and sang there again from 1960 to 1967; also sang in various opera houses in America and Europe, with increasing success. In 1967 she was appointed head of the Southern Regional Opera Co. in Atlanta; it folded in 1968; in 1980 she was appointed director of the opera workshop of San Francisco State Univ. Among her best roles were Ortrud, Azucena, Amneris, Laura in La Gioconda, and Carmen.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

More From encyclopedia.com