Elinor Ross
Elinor Ross (August 1, 1926 – March 6, 2020) was an American opera singer, a dramatic soprano particularly associated with the Italian repertory. She made an international career, appearing regularly at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and at major opera houses in Europe and the Americas, in roles such as Puccini's Tosca and Turandot. “Miss Ross has the dramatic metal of a Raisa, Ponselle, Traubel, Flagstad, or Nilsson!” [John Rosenfield, Dallas Morning News] Career. Born Elinor Marilyn Rosenthal in Tampa, Florida, Ross studied at Syracuse University, and later came to New York to study with William  Herman, Stanley Sontag and Leo Resnick. She made her debut with the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1958, as Leonora in "Il trovatore", alongside Jussi Björling, Giulietta Simionato and Ettore Bastianini. She went on to sing at the opera houses of Boston, Chicago, Baltimore, Philadelphia, San Francisco, New Orleans, Houston, and Hartford, among others. In 1968, she appeared at Carnegie Hall in New York, in the American premiere of Verdi's "Alzira". She sang regularly at the Metropolitan Opera, first in 1970 in the title role of Puccini's "Turandot", stepping in on short notice for Birgit Nilsson, alongside Franco  Corelli as Calaf and Pilar Lorengar as Liu. A reviewer for "The New York Times" wrote: She also appeared at the Met as Donna Anna in Mozart's "Don Giovanni", in the title role of Verdi's "Aida", as Amelia in "Un ballo in maschera", Elisabetta in "Don Carlo", Lady Macbeth in "Macbeth", Leonora in "Il trovatore", Puccini's Tosca and Turandot, Ponchielli's Gioconda, and Santuzza in Mascagni's "Cavalleria rusticana". Ross also enjoyed a successful international career. In 1963, she made her European debut in London, singing under Carlo Maria Giulini in the Verdi Requiem, with Rita Gorr , Nicolai Gedda, and Nicolai Ghiaurov. Ross appeared at La Fenice in Venice as Bellini's Norma in 1965 and as Leonora in "La forza del destino" in 1967, and as Sinaïde in Rossini's "Mosè in Egitto" in 1968. She performed at the Vienna State Opera as Amelia and Santuzza in 1967, and at La Scala in Milan as Santuzza in 1970. She performed at the opera houses of Bologna, Palermo, Florence, Verona, the Berlin State Opera, and the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, among others. Her repertoire included additional roles such as Abigaille in Verdi's "Nabucco", Maddalena in  Giordano's "Andrea Chénier" and Cherubini's Médée. "Tom Schippers took me to Scala to understudy Callas in Medea. I figured it was good experience, and I needed the money, so I did all the rehearsals, and she came back and canceled my performance. She paid off the whole orchestra, the chorus, even me! The whole house was dark, because she didn't want me to sing in her stead. We actually became friends, because I was this little nothing, and we spoke all the time. As a young singer, there was nothing to be done. I wanted to sing  leading roles in leading houses, and I did." In November 1979, Ross was forced to stop stage performances, following a diagnosis of Bell's palsy. She sang in concert performances during the 1980s. She underwent surgery with muscle and nerve transfer to stabilise her face, which eventually allowed for a return to live performance in 1996. Ross died on March 6, 2020, of kidney failure.