Warfield, Sandra
Warfield, Sandra
Warfield, Sandra , American mezzo-soprano; b. Kansas City, Mo., Aug. 6, 1929. After training at the Kansas City Cons., she began her career singing in operettas. She then pursued her studies in N.Y. with Fritz Lehmann. In 1953 she won the Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air and made her debut with the company in N.Y. as a peasant girl in Le nozze di Figaro on Nov. 20,1953. By 1955 she was singing major roles there, most notably Ulrica. When her husband, James Mc-Cracken, left the Metropolitan Opera in 1957, Warfield did likewise and made her debut at the Vienna State Opera as Ulrica. In 1961 she created the role of Katerina in Martinû’s Greek Passion at the Zürich Opera. She sang Dalila at the San Francisco Opera in 1963. She was again on the roster of the Metropolitan Opera in 1965-66, 1967-68, and 1971-72. As a guest artist, she sang with various American and European opera houses. She also toured extensively as a concert artist, frequently appearing with her husband. Warfield was especially admired for her dramatic vocal gifts. Among her best roles were Dalila, Amneris, Carmen, Ulrica, Marcellina, and Fricka. With her husband, she publ. the autobiographical vol. A Star in the Family (N.Y, 1971). —NS/LK/DM
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire