- Reri Grist
Reri Grist (
February 29 ,1932 ) is an Americancoloratura soprano , one of the pioneer black singers to enjoy a major international career inopera .Grist was born in
New York City , and grew up in an East River housing project in what we now callSpanish Harlem . She obtained a solid voice training with Claire Gelda, and started singing in Broadwaymusicals as a teenager. Her first quasi-operatic engagement came in 1956, when she sang the role of Cindy Lou inOscar Hammerstein 's "Carmen Jones ". She created the role of Consuela in the original production ofLeonard Bernstein 's classic musical, "West Side Story ", in 1957, introducing the haunting song "Somewhere" to the public. Her first breakthrough in classical music, came shortly after, when Bernstein invited her to sing the soprano part inGustav Mahler 's fouth symphony.Her official operatic debut took place at the
Santa Fe Opera in 1959, as Adele inJohann Strauss 's "Die Fledermaus ", followed by Blondchen inMozart 's "The Abduction from the Seraglio ". Shortly after she was invited to the opera ofCologne to sing the Queen of the Night in Mozart's "The Magic Flute ", which marked her European debut in 1960. She became a regular performer atZurich Opera where she sang in many light coloratura roles, such as Sophie in "Der Rosenkavalier " and Zerbinetta in "Ariadne auf Naxos ". After her success in Zurich, she found herself much in demand, making her debut at theRoyal Opera House and theGlyndebourne Festival , in 1962, followed by theVienna State Opera and theSan Francisco Opera , in 1963, theSalzburg Festival , in 1965, where she sang frequently theMozart soubrette roles, such as Susanna in "Le nozze di Figaro ", Zerlina in "Don Giovanni ", and Despina in "Cosi fan tutte ".Her
Metropolitan Opera debut took place on February 25, 1966, as Rosina in "Il barbiere di Siviglia ". Her other roles at the Met included, Adina in "L'elisir d'amore ", Norina in "Don Pasquale ", Gilda in "Rigoletto ", Olympia in "Les contes d'Hoffmann ", Oscar in "Un ballo in maschera ", as well as Sophie in "Der Rosenkavalier" and Zerbinetta in "Ariadne auf Naxos".Grist ended her stage career in
Amsterdam in 1991, in "Neither ", a one-woman opera byMorton Feldman , to a text bySamuel Beckett .Grist was also active teaching at the Munich
Hochschule , and giving numerous masterclasses in centers such as Zurich, Ravinia, Bloomington, San Francisco. She currently lives in Hamburg with her husband, notedmusicologist, Ulf Thomson.Reri Grist possessed a sweet and agile voice, and a most enchanting presence on stage. She made relatively few recordings, but can be heardas Aminta in "
Il re pastore ", oppositeLucia Popp , Blondchen in "Die Entfuhrung aus dem serail", oppositeArleen Auger , Gilda in "Rigoletto", oppositeCornell MacNeil andNicolai Gedda , and as Oscar in two recordings of "Un ballo in maschera", the first in 1966, oppositeLeontyne Price , and the second in 1975, oppositeMartina Arroyo , two African-American sopranos like Grist. She appears as Zerbinetta in a Salzburg Festival film of "Ariadne auf Naxos" (conducted by Karl Böhm, available on DVD) and sang Susanna in Otto Klemperer's recording of "Le Nozze die Figaro".Sources
* "The Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia", edited by David Hamilton, (Simon and Schuster, New York 1987). ISBN 0-671-16732-X
* "Opera News Magazine", February 2006 issue.Filmography
*
Ariadne auf Naxos (1965), Zerbinetta
*Le nozze di Figaro (1966), Susanna
*Don Pasquale (1972), Norina
*Un ballo in maschera (1975), Oscar
*Die Entführung aus dem Serail (1980), BlondeExternal links
* [http://www.usoperaweb.com/2003/spring/grist.htm Interview at US Operaweb]
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