Teresa Stratas, OC (born May 26, 1938 in Toronto, Ontario), is a
retired operatic soprano from Canada of Greek descent. She is
especially well known for her award-winning recording of Alban Berg's
Lulu.[1]Stratas was born Anastasia Stratakis to a struggling immigrant
Cretan family in Oshawa, near Toronto, Ontario. At age 13, she
performed Greek pop songs on the radio. She graduated from The Royal
Conservatory of Music in Toronto. At age 20, Stratas made her
professional opera debut as Mimì in La bohème at the Toronto Opera
Festival. One year later in 1959, she co-won the Metropolitan Opera
National Council Auditions, appearing later that year with the
Metropolitan Opera as Poussette in Manon. She created the title role
in Peggy Glanville-Hicks' Nausicaa at the Herod Atticus Theatre in
Athens in 1961, made her Covent Garden debut as Mimì that same year
and in 1962, she made her La Scala debut as Isabella in Manuel de
Falla's L'Atlántida. She continued her career with the Metropolitan
Opera, moved into leading roles and performed with leading opera
houses around the world, including the Bolshoi, Vienna State, Berlin,
Bavarian State (Munich), Paris and San Francisco Operas as well as the
Salzburg Festival.Her repertoire also included Zerlina in Don
Giovanni, Despina in Così fan tutte, Cherubino and Susanna in The
Marriage of Figaro, Liù in Turandot, Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly,
Micaëla in Carmen, Marguerite in Faust, the title role in La
Périchole, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, Lisa in The Queen of Spades,
The Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos, Antonia in Les contes d'Hoffmann,
Mélisande in Pelléas et Mélisande, Marenka in The Bartered Bride,
Desdemona in Otello, Mme Lidoine in Dialogues des Carmélites, the
title roles of Salome and Lulu, Jenny Smith in Rise and Fall of the
City of Mahagonny (directed by John Dexter) and Marie Antoinette in
John Corigliano's The Ghosts of Versailles. She is regarded as one of
the foremost singing actresses of the twentieth century.In March of
1962, she appeared as a contestant on the CBS Game Show "To Tell The
Truth." Stratas and two other contestants had to convince the
panelists that each of them was the real Teresa Stratas. Dorothy
Kilgallen and Johnny Carson appeared on the episode as panelists along
with Tom Poston and Dina Merrill. None of the panelists believed
Stratas was really herself; giving all three contestants the top
$1,000 prize to split among themselves and each received a carton of
Salem cigarettes, due to that brand's sponsorship of the program.[2]
retired operatic soprano from Canada of Greek descent. She is
especially well known for her award-winning recording of Alban Berg's
Lulu.[1]Stratas was born Anastasia Stratakis to a struggling immigrant
Cretan family in Oshawa, near Toronto, Ontario. At age 13, she
performed Greek pop songs on the radio. She graduated from The Royal
Conservatory of Music in Toronto. At age 20, Stratas made her
professional opera debut as Mimì in La bohème at the Toronto Opera
Festival. One year later in 1959, she co-won the Metropolitan Opera
National Council Auditions, appearing later that year with the
Metropolitan Opera as Poussette in Manon. She created the title role
in Peggy Glanville-Hicks' Nausicaa at the Herod Atticus Theatre in
Athens in 1961, made her Covent Garden debut as Mimì that same year
and in 1962, she made her La Scala debut as Isabella in Manuel de
Falla's L'Atlántida. She continued her career with the Metropolitan
Opera, moved into leading roles and performed with leading opera
houses around the world, including the Bolshoi, Vienna State, Berlin,
Bavarian State (Munich), Paris and San Francisco Operas as well as the
Salzburg Festival.Her repertoire also included Zerlina in Don
Giovanni, Despina in Così fan tutte, Cherubino and Susanna in The
Marriage of Figaro, Liù in Turandot, Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly,
Micaëla in Carmen, Marguerite in Faust, the title role in La
Périchole, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, Lisa in The Queen of Spades,
The Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos, Antonia in Les contes d'Hoffmann,
Mélisande in Pelléas et Mélisande, Marenka in The Bartered Bride,
Desdemona in Otello, Mme Lidoine in Dialogues des Carmélites, the
title roles of Salome and Lulu, Jenny Smith in Rise and Fall of the
City of Mahagonny (directed by John Dexter) and Marie Antoinette in
John Corigliano's The Ghosts of Versailles. She is regarded as one of
the foremost singing actresses of the twentieth century.In March of
1962, she appeared as a contestant on the CBS Game Show "To Tell The
Truth." Stratas and two other contestants had to convince the
panelists that each of them was the real Teresa Stratas. Dorothy
Kilgallen and Johnny Carson appeared on the episode as panelists along
with Tom Poston and Dina Merrill. None of the panelists believed
Stratas was really herself; giving all three contestants the top
$1,000 prize to split among themselves and each received a carton of
Salem cigarettes, due to that brand's sponsorship of the program.[2]
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