Lily Pons

Lily Pons, born Alice-Josephine, first pursued piano studies before enrolling at the Paris Conservatory. Albert di Gorostiaga, upon hearing her sing, convinced her that vocal work suited her gifts more closely and took her on as his student there. A 1917 Paris concert marked her initial public appearance. Ten additional years of training followed before her operatic bow in Mulhouse in the title role of Lakmé. Engagements at regional French theaters brought her to the notice of tenor Giovanni Zenatello and soprano Maria Gay, who secured her an audition at the Metropolitan Opera. In 1931 she opened there as Lucia di Lammermoor, the part that defined her Met career and served as her farewell vehicle in 1962. Although the Metropolitan became her principal stage, she also sang at the Paris Opera, Royal Opera Covent Garden, Chicago Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Teatro Colon Buenos Aires. Her repertory stayed narrow, limited to roles that matched her voice and temperament: Lucia di Lammermoor, Gilda in Rigoletto, Rosina in The Barber of Seville, Lakmé, and Marie in La fille du régiment. She ventured only sporadically into Tales of Hoffmann, Mignon, La Sonnambula, Linda di Chamounix, and Le Coq d'or. Two performances of Violetta in La Traviata in 1951 remained an isolated foray into heavier material. Each year she spent months on the road presenting recitals and orchestral concerts. During World War II she performed in numerous combat zones, sometimes close to the front. While her symphony programs favored familiar arias and coloratura display pieces, she gave the first performance of Milhaud’s Chanson de Ronsard. In recital she regularly included songs by Fauré and Debussy together with the complete Mad Scene from Lucia di Lammermoor. She also appeared in the films I Dream Too Much and That Girl From Paris. Her final appearance took place with the New York Philharmonic under Andre Kostelanetz in May 1972. Pons possessed a light, very high coloratura soprano whose strength lay in the extreme upper register and whose lower notes remained comparatively weak; this imbalance led her to transpose the Mad Scene from Lucia di Lammermoor upward by a whole step, matching the key of the original French edition. Pitch difficulties surfaced in later years, yet audiences overlooked them because of her personal appeal. Standing barely five feet tall and of slight build, she projected a fragile image while retaining firm command over her professional and private affairs. She wed conductor Andre Kostelanetz in 1938; the marriage ended in 1958. During her time she ranked among the era’s most widely admired classical vocalists.