{{Short description|American opera singer (1926–2020)}} {{Similar names| Eleanor Ross (disambiguation)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2020}} {{Infobox person | name = Elinor Ross | image = Elinor Ross 12.jpg | caption = Elinor Ross, publicity photo, 1960s | birth_name = Elinor Marilyn Rosenthal | birth_date = {{Birth date |1926|08|01}} | birth_place = Tampa, Florida, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age |2020|03|06|1926|08|01}} | death_place = Manhattan, New York City | years_active = 1958–1979 | occupation = Operatic soprano | awards = }} '''Elinor Ross''' (August 1, 1926<ref name="Kutsch/Riemens" /> – 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, ''The Dallas Morning News''{{full citation needed|date=December 2023}}
== Career == Born Elinor Marilyn Rosenthal in Tampa, Florida,<ref name="Kutsch/Riemens" /> 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.<ref name="Kutsch/Riemens" />
[[File:Ross Elinor Turandot Melancon photo.jpg|thumb|Elinor Ross in the title role of ''Turandot'', Metropolitan Opera, 1970s]] [[File:Elinor Ross & Jussi Bjoerling The Chicago American 10.20.1958.jpg|thumb|Ross with tenor Jussi Björling prior to her Lyric Opera of Chicago debut as Leonora in ''Il trovatore'', 1958]] In the summer of 1959, Ross sang the American premiere of Heitor Villa-Lobos’ “Songs of the Tropical Forest” under the composer’s baton. 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''.<ref name="Kutsch/Riemens" /> 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.<ref name="Hughes" /> A reviewer for ''The New York Times'' wrote: {{blockquote|Her voice is big and assertive in the upper range and it can be quite effective when put to powerhouse use. In this performance, however, it was not smoothly produced at all times nor equally attractive in all registers. Nevertheless, Miss Ross achieved a vocal and dramatic interpretation of the role of the haughtly princess that was substantial and admirable.<ref name="Hughes" />}} 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''.<ref name="Merker" />
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.<ref name="Kutsch/Riemens" /> 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.<ref name="Kutsch/Riemens" />
"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."<ref name="Barnes" />
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.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2020/3/News/Elinor_Ross,_Who_Possessed_a_Dramatic_Soprano_of_Uncommon_Warmth_and_Beauty,_has_Died.html | title=Elinor Ross, 93, Who Possessed a Dramatic Soprano of Uncommon Warmth and Beauty, has Died | work=Opera News | author=Brian Kellow | date=2020-03-07 | accessdate=2020-03-14 | archive-date=September 13, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200913063845/https://operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2020/3/News/Elinor_Ross,_Who_Possessed_a_Dramatic_Soprano_of_Uncommon_Warmth_and_Beauty,_has_Died.html | url-status=dead }}</ref>
Ross died on March 6, 2020, of kidney failure.<ref>{{cite news |title=Elinor Ross, Met Soprano with Illness-Shortened Career, Dies at 93 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/arts/music/elinor-ross-dead.html |url-access=registration |last=Genzlinger |first=Neil|author-link=Neil Genzlinger|date=March 17, 2020 |newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=March 17, 2020}}</ref><ref name="Platea" />
== References == <references>
<ref name="Hughes">{{cite news | last = Hughes | first = Allen | author-link = Allen Hughes | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1970/06/08/archives/elinor-ross-displays-big-voice-in-her-met-debut-as-turandot.html | title = Elinor Ross Displays Big Voice in Her Met Debut as 'Turandot' | newspaper = The New York Times | date = June 8, 1970 | access-date = December 27, 2023 }}</ref>
<ref name="Kutsch/Riemens">{{cite book | last1 = Kutsch | first1 = K.-J. | author1-link = Karl-Josef Kutsch | last2 = Riemens | first2 = Leo | author2-link = Leo Riemens | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dsfq_5dFeL0C&pg=PA4015 | chapter = Ross, Elinor | title = Großes Sängerlexikon | publisher = Walter de Gruyter | edition = 4th | language = de | year = 2012 | pages = 4015–4016 | isbn = 978-3-59-844088-5 }}</ref>
<ref name="Barnes">{{cite news | last = Barnes | first = Scott | url = https://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2008/7/Departments/08.html | title = Reunion: Elinor Ross | magazine = Opera News | date = July 2008 | access-date = March 18, 2020 | archive-date = March 18, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200318194714/https://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2008/7/Departments/08.html | url-status = dead }}</ref>
<ref name="Merker">{{cite web | url = https://onlinemerker.com/geburtstage-im-august-2017/ | title = Geburtstage im August 2017 – 1.8. Elinor Ross wird 90 | website = Online Merker | language = de | date = 2017 | access-date = March 8, 2020 }}</ref>
<ref name="Platea">{{cite web | url = https://www.plateamagazine.com/noticias/8504-fallece-la-soprano-estadounidense-elinor-ross-a-los-93-anos-de-edad | title = Fallece la soprano estadounidense Elinor Ross a los 93 años de edad | website = plateamagazine.com | language = es | date = March 7, 2020 | access-date = March 8, 2020 }}</ref>
</references>
==External links== * {{discogs artist}} * {{official|https://www.elinorross.net/}} * [https://www.belcantosociety.org/elinor-ross-biography/ Elinor Ross Biography] belcantosociety.org * Ken Benson: [https://www.csmusic.net/content/articles/the-graceful-elinor-ross/ The Graceful Elinor Ross] csmusic.net February 1, 2012 * {{YouTube|TCnirejucTY|Vincenzo Bellini, ''Norma'' (Berlin, 1967)}} * {{YouTube|Rkfrd69a2vA|Elinor Ross – ''La forza del destino'' – "Pace, pace, mio Dio", Teatro La Fenice, 1966|link=no}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Elinor}} Category:1932 births Category:American operatic sopranos Category:Musicians from Tampa, Florida Category:2020 deaths Category:Singers from Florida Category:Syracuse University alumni Category:20th-century American women opera singers Category:21st-century American women