Rosemary Kuhlmann (January , â€" August , ) was an American operatic
mezzo-soprano and Broadway musical actress best known for originating
the role of the Mother in Gian Carlo Menotti's Amahl and the Night
Visitors, the first opera commissioned for television. Kuhlmann
portrayed the role on the annual live NBC broadcast of the production
from through .Rosemary Kuhlmann was born in New York City. She
attended high school in Staten Island, graduating in . After
graduating from high school she worked as a model for Lord & Taylor
and then later as a secretary at Chase Manhattan. With the outbreak of
World War II she joined the WAVES. While in the WAVES, Kuhlman was
sent to the University of Wisconsinâ€"Madison where she and a hundred
and ten other women learned Morse code for three months.Kuhlmann then
returned to New York and worked six days a week "sending Morse code to
the ships at sea." She also performed on radio programs promoting the
WAVES and soon had her own weekly show, Navy Serenade, on WNEW where
she would sing popular songs of the day.Following the war, Kuhlmann
was accepted into the Juilliard School on a full scholarship through
the GI Bill. While at Juilliard, Kuhlmann studied with Lucia Dunham
and participated in several opera productions including playing the
part of Polly in John Gay's The Beggar's Opera. At this time in her
life, although she loved to sing, she was not in love with opera. She
remarked, "[In opera] it seemed like people stood for hours saying
'goodbye' and 'goodbye,' and nothing happened. My friend Pat Neway
took me to Die Walküre at the Metropolitan Opera. I hated it." In ,
Kuhlmann graduated from the Juilliard School with a degree in Vocal
Performance.
mezzo-soprano and Broadway musical actress best known for originating
the role of the Mother in Gian Carlo Menotti's Amahl and the Night
Visitors, the first opera commissioned for television. Kuhlmann
portrayed the role on the annual live NBC broadcast of the production
from through .Rosemary Kuhlmann was born in New York City. She
attended high school in Staten Island, graduating in . After
graduating from high school she worked as a model for Lord & Taylor
and then later as a secretary at Chase Manhattan. With the outbreak of
World War II she joined the WAVES. While in the WAVES, Kuhlman was
sent to the University of Wisconsinâ€"Madison where she and a hundred
and ten other women learned Morse code for three months.Kuhlmann then
returned to New York and worked six days a week "sending Morse code to
the ships at sea." She also performed on radio programs promoting the
WAVES and soon had her own weekly show, Navy Serenade, on WNEW where
she would sing popular songs of the day.Following the war, Kuhlmann
was accepted into the Juilliard School on a full scholarship through
the GI Bill. While at Juilliard, Kuhlmann studied with Lucia Dunham
and participated in several opera productions including playing the
part of Polly in John Gay's The Beggar's Opera. At this time in her
life, although she loved to sing, she was not in love with opera. She
remarked, "[In opera] it seemed like people stood for hours saying
'goodbye' and 'goodbye,' and nothing happened. My friend Pat Neway
took me to Die Walküre at the Metropolitan Opera. I hated it." In ,
Kuhlmann graduated from the Juilliard School with a degree in Vocal
Performance.
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