# Florence Kirk > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Florence_Kirk > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Florence_Kirk.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Kirk > Source revision: 1274768666 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American opera singer (1909–1990}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Florence Kirk | image = | caption = | birth_date = {{birth year|1909}} | birth_place = [Philadelphia](/source/Philadelphia), Pennsylvania, U.S. | death_date = {{death-date|June 6, 1999}} (aged 90) | death_place = [Westminster, Maryland](/source/Westminster%2C_Maryland) | education = {{plainlist| * [University of Pennsylvania](/source/University_of_Pennsylvania) * [Curtis Institute of Music](/source/Curtis_Institute_of_Music) }} | occupation = Operatic [dramatic soprano](/source/dramatic_soprano) | known_for = | organizations = [Metropolitan Opera](/source/Metropolitan_Opera) | awards = }} '''Florence Kirk''' (1909 – June 6, 1999) was an American [dramatic soprano](/source/dramatic_soprano) who had an active international performance career in operas and concerts from 1937 to 1954. Born in Philadelphia and trained at the [Curtis Institute of Music](/source/Curtis_Institute_of_Music) by [Elisabeth Schumann](/source/Elisabeth_Schumann), she was particularly associated with the roles of Donna Anna in Mozart's ''[Don Giovanni](/source/Don_Giovanni)'' and the title heroine in Verdi's ''[Aida](/source/Aida)''. Her repertoire included other Verdi heroines like [Leonora](/source/Il_trovatore) and [Lady Macbeth](/source/Macbeth_(Verdi)), Santuzza from Mascagni's ''[Cavalleria rusticana](/source/Cavalleria_rusticana)'', Minnie in Puccini's ''[La fanciulla del West](/source/La_fanciulla_del_West)'' and the title role in ''[Tosca](/source/Tosca)'', and several roles from Richard Wagner's [''Ring'' Cycle](/source/Der_Ring_des_Nibelungen). Kirk sang leading roles with several American opera companies, including the [Metropolitan Opera](/source/Metropolitan_Opera) from 1943 to 1948. With the Met she recorded the role of Donna Anna in 1945. On the international stage, she appeared in opera houses in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Greece, Mexico, and Turkey. She also appeared on the concert stage, notably recording Mendelssohn's ''[A Midsummer Night's Dream](/source/A_Midsummer_Night's_Dream_(Mendelssohn))'' with [Arturo Toscanini](/source/Arturo_Toscanini) and the [Philadelphia Orchestra](/source/Philadelphia_Orchestra) in 1942 for [RCA Red Seal Records](/source/RCA_Red_Seal_Records).{{cite web|url=http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/pacscl/ead.pdf?id=PACSCL_UPENN_RBML_PUSpMsColl410|title=Eugene Ormandy commercial sound recordings|work=Ms. Coll. 410|publisher=[University of Pennsylvania Library](/source/University_of_Pennsylvania_library)|date=October 31, 2018}} Other prominent orchestras she performed with included the [New York Philharmonic](/source/New_York_Philharmonic), the [Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra](/source/Minneapolis_Symphony_Orchestra), and the [Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra](/source/Cincinnati_Symphony_Orchestra). After retiring from full-time performance in 1954, she worked as a music teacher for the [Carroll County Public Schools](/source/Carroll_County_Public_Schools_(Maryland)) system in Maryland. ==Early life and education== Born in [Philadelphia](/source/Philadelphia), Kirk was a descendant of [Revolutionary War](/source/American_Revolutionary_War) naval officer [Stephen Decatur](/source/Stephen_Decatur).{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19460924&id=bostAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MZ0FAAAAIBAJ&pg=5288,1995190|title=Wife of Berks Man to Sing in Leading Role in Opera Here|work=[Reading Eagle](/source/Reading_Eagle)|date=September 24, 1946}} Raised in [Germantown, Philadelphia](/source/Germantown%2C_Philadelphia), she graduated from the [University of Pennsylvania](/source/University_of_Pennsylvania) in 1931 with degrees in fine arts and music education. While a student at UPenn she was president of the Women's [University Glee Club](/source/University_of_Pennsylvania_Glee_Club) and held membership in the Chi Omega Beta Alpha Sorority and the [Theta Alpha Phi](/source/Theta_Alpha_Phi) honor society for theatre.{{cite book|title=The Eleusis of Chi Omega|volume=47|issue=1|year=1945|page=108}} She won a scholarship to the [Curtis Institute of Music](/source/Curtis_Institute_of_Music) in 1936, where she studied voice with [Ernst Lert](/source/Ernst_Lert), [Emilio de Gogorza](/source/Emilio_de_Gogorza), and [Elisabeth Schumann](/source/Elisabeth_Schumann).{{cite web|url=https://www.curtis.edu/contentassets/5bad961754ce4fc6b29d747fce6842db/life-at-curtis-before-the-war-full-text.pdf|title=Life at Curtis Before the War: The Photographs of Fritz Henle, 1938|publisher=[Curtis Institute of Music](/source/Curtis_Institute_of_Music)|year=2013|access-date=April 11, 2021}} She graduated from Curtis in 1939, shortly after placing second in the [Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air](/source/Metropolitan_Opera_Auditions_of_the_Air). ==Opera and concert career== Kirk began her professional singing career while a student at Curtis. She made her opera debut in 1937 portraying the title role in Menotti's ''[Amelia Goes to the Ball](/source/Amelia_Goes_to_the_Ball)'' in Baltimore, followed by further appearances at the [New Amsterdam Theatre](/source/New_Amsterdam_Theatre) in New York. She sang Amelia again with the Saint Louis Grand Opera in 1939 with [Laszlo Halasz](/source/Laszlo_Halasz_(conductor)) conducting.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o0gkWvxB-bYC&dq=%22Florence+Kirk%22+%22Menotti%22&pg=PA81|title=Gian Carlo Menotti: A Bio-bibliography|year=2000|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=0-313-26139-3}} An important early success in her career was performing at the [New York Philharmonic](/source/New_York_Philharmonic)'s 1937 Wagner Festival which was led by music director [Fritz Reiner](/source/Fritz_Reiner). She portrayed several roles in the Philharmonic's presentation of Wagner's [''Ring'' Cycle](/source/Der_Ring_des_Nibelungen) at the [City College of New York](/source/City_College_of_New_York)'s [Lewisohn Stadium](/source/Lewisohn_Stadium), including Freia and Woglinde in ''[Das Rheingold](/source/Das_Rheingold)'' (July 12); the Voice of the Forest Bird in ''[Siegfried](/source/Siegfried_(opera))'' (July 20); and Wellgunde in ''[Götterdämmerung](/source/G%C3%B6tterd%C3%A4mmerung)''.{{cite thesis|title=Music for the (American) People: The Concerts at Lewisohn Stadium, 1922–1964|pages=143, 480–484|author=Jonathan Stern|date=2009|type=PhD thesis|publisher=[The Graduate Center, City University of New York](/source/CUNY_Graduate_Center)|url=https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/2239}} Kirk was a member of the [Philadelphia Civic Grand Opera Company](/source/Philadelphia_Civic_Grand_Opera_Company) in Philadelphia between 1937 and 1939 where she sang such roles as Ines in ''[Il trovatore](/source/Il_trovatore)'' and the title role in ''[Aida](/source/Aida)''.{{cite news|title=Music-Concerts: Bouqet|work=[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine))|volume=132|issue=11|date=November 23, 1938|page=38}} In 1940 she was committed to the [Chicago Opera Company](/source/Chicago_Opera_Company) where she made her debut as Micaela in Bizet's ''[Carmen](/source/Carmen)''.{{cite news|title=''Carmen'' Made Great Show in New Staging|last=Smith|first=Cecil|newspaper=[Chicago Daily Tribune](/source/Chicago_Daily_Tribune)|date=November 13, 1940|page=21}} During [World War II](/source/World_War_II) she sang in "camp shows" with the [United Service Organizations](/source/United_Service_Organizations) for the [United States Armed Forces](/source/United_States_Armed_Forces).{{cite magazine|title=War Activities: Longhairs on 1-Niters|magazine=[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine))|volume=153|issue=13|year=1944}} In 1942 she was a member of the New Opera Company in New York City, performing as Verdi's Aida and [Lady Macbeth](/source/Macbeth_(Verdi)) at the [Broadway Theatre](/source/Broadway_Theatre_(53rd_Street)).{{cite news|title=New Opera Gives Verdi's ''Macbeth''|author=[Olin Downes](/source/Olin_Downes)|date=December 3, 1942|page=32|newspaper=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)}} During her run as Lady Macbeth she had an infamous temperamental outburst in which she refused to perform over a dispute involving her costume.{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k3165uj1pxUC&dq=%22Florence+Kirk%22+%22angry%22&pg=PA104|title=From Johnson's Kids to Lemonade Opera: The American Classical Singer Comes of Age|author=Victoria Etnier Villamil|year=2004|page=104|isbn=9781555536350}} This led to opera star [Regina Resnik](/source/Regina_Resnik)'s professional opera debut as Lady Macbeth, who music director [Fritz Busch](/source/Fritz_Busch) had lined up just in case Kirk became difficult. Kirk went on to perform with several important American orchestras and opera companies during the 1940s, including concerts with the [Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra](/source/Minneapolis_Symphony_Orchestra) and conductor [Dimitri Mitropoulos](/source/Dimitri_Mitropoulos); and the [Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra](/source/Cincinnati_Symphony_Orchestra) with [Eugene Aynsley Goossens](/source/Eugene_Aynsley_Goossens).{{cite magazine|title=50th Season in Cincinnati|magazine=Musical Digest|volume=26–27|page=44|author=Alfred Pierre Van Renssalaer|year=1944}}{{cite work|title=The Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra|volume=40–41|year=1943|publisher=[University of Michigan Press](/source/University_of_Michigan_Press)|page=53, 77}} In 1942 she was the soprano soloist for the [Philadelphia Orchestra](/source/Philadelphia_Orchestra)'s recording of Mendelssohn's ''[A Midsummer Night's Dream](/source/A_Midsummer_Night's_Dream_(Mendelssohn))'' with conductor [Arturo Toscanini](/source/Arturo_Toscanini) and contralto [Edwina Eustis](/source/Edwina_Eustis). She also sang under Toscanini's baton in several performances with the [New York Philharmonic](/source/New_York_Philharmonic) that year, including performances of Beethoven's [Ninth Symphony](/source/Symphony_No._9_(Beethoven)) and [Missa solemnis](/source/Missa_solemnis_(Beethoven)) with Hardesty Johnson, [Alexander Kipnis](/source/Alexander_Kipnis), and the [Westminster Choir](/source/Westminster_Choir_College) at [Carnegie Hall](/source/Carnegie_Hall).{{cite news|title=Concert Notes|work=[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine))|volume=145|issue=3|date=December 24, 1941|page=35}} Kirk was committed to the [Theatro Municipal](/source/Theatro_Municipal_(Rio_de_Janeiro)) in Rio de Janeiro and the [Teatro Colón](/source/Teatro_Col%C3%B3n) in Buenos Aires for the 1942–1943 season where she portrayed the roles of Amelia in ''[Un ballo in maschera](/source/Un_ballo_in_maschera)'', Donna Anna, Leonora, and Maria in Verdi's ''[Simon Boccanegra](/source/Simon_Boccanegra)''.{{cite news|title=To Sing in Rio De Janeiro: Leonard Warren, Florence Kirk Engaged for Opera Season|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|date=March 11, 1942}} In 1943 she performed as Donna Anna for her debut at the [San Francisco Opera](/source/San_Francisco_Opera) (SFO). She also portrayed Minnie in Puccini's ''[La fanciulla del West](/source/La_fanciulla_del_West)'' at the SFO that year.{{cite web|title=Florence Kirk|work=San Francisco Opera Archives|url=http://archive.sfopera.com/qry3WebCastlist.asp?psearchall=on&psearch=Florence%20Kirk&psearchtype=|access-date=April 10, 2021}} She sang Donna Anna again with [Thomas Beecham](/source/Thomas_Beecham) conducting at the [Palacio de Bellas Artes](/source/Palacio_de_Bellas_Artes) in Mexico City in the summer of 1944.{{cite book|title=Sir Thomas Beecham: A Centenary Tribute|page=221|author=Alan Jefferson|year=1979|publisher=[University of Michigan Press](/source/University_of_Michigan_Press)}} She also performed frequently as a leading soprano with the [Charles L. Wagner Opera Company](/source/Charles_L._Wagner_Opera_Company) during the 1940s. In 1945 she portrayed Donna Anna at the [Boston Opera House](/source/Boston_Opera_House) with conductor [Bruno Walter](/source/Bruno_Walter) leading the musical forces. Writing in ''[The Boston Globe](/source/The_Boston_Globe)'', music critic Cyrus Durgin stated:
In the role of Donna Anna the young [dramatic soprano](/source/dramatic_soprano), Florence Kirk, made her Boston debut. Miss Kirk has a lovely voice, although it is not extraordinarily big. Her high tones gave her a little difficulty and tend to spread. The savage outcry, "{{lang|it|Or sai chi l'onore|italic=no}}", demands voice and more voice; Miss Kirk did quite well by it and made even better effect with Donna Anna's aria "Nom mi dir".{{cite news|title=Opera in Review: ''Don Giovanni''|author=Cyrus Durgin|date=April 10, 1945|newspaper=[The Boston Globe](/source/The_Boston_Globe)}}
On November 29, 1944, Kirk made her debut at the [Metropolitan Opera](/source/Metropolitan_Opera) as Donna Anna with [Ezio Pinza](/source/Ezio_Pinza) as Don Giovanni, [Eleanor Steber](/source/Eleanor_Steber) as Donna Elvira, and [George Szell](/source/George_Szell) conducting. She returned to the Met annually through 1948, enjoying particular success in the role of Aida.{{cite web|title=Florence Kirk|work=Metropolitan Opera Performance Archives|url=https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/search.jsp?q=%22Florence%20Kirk%22&sort=PDATE|access-date=March 28, 2024}} In 1945 she portrayed Santuzza in [Pietro Mascagni](/source/Pietro_Mascagni)'s ''[Cavalleria rusticana](/source/Cavalleria_rusticana)'' at the [San Antonio Municipal Auditorium](/source/San_Antonio_Municipal_Auditorium) for the Symphony Society of San Antonio.{{cite magazine|title=San Antonio Music Makes|date=March 5, 1945|magazine=[Newsweek](/source/Newsweek)|volume=25|issue=10|page=88}} In 1947 she replaced ailing Yugoslavian soprano {{ill|Daniza Ilitsch|de}} as Aida mid performance at Houston's City Auditorium; singing acts 2, 3, and 4.{{cite work|url=https://scholarship.rice.edu/bitstream/handle/1911/109389/wrc14932.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|title=Music in Houston, 1930–1971|author=Donald William Looser|year=2020|publisher=[Rice University](/source/Rice_University) Press}} She replaced Ilitsch as Aida again mid performance at the [Metropolitan Opera House](/source/Metropolitan_Opera_House_(39th_Street)) in 1948, after a case of [laryngitis](/source/laryngitis) made it impossible for Ilitsch to sing the final act of the opera. Kirk happened to be attending the performance that evening, and a Met official who saw her in the audience rushed her backstage to apply makeup and get in costume in just ten minutes to finish out the opera. Speaking in a 1948 interview in ''[The Baltimore Sun](/source/The_Baltimore_Sun)'', Kirk stated: "As it was, I didn't have time to complete all of my leg makeup. And actually, I went on in two colors. But the last act is so dark, so I guess it was all right." Kirk also sang Aida for the Lyric Opera Association in 1948 for performances at the [Watergate Hotel](/source/Watergate_complex) in Washington, D.C., and the [Lyric Opera House](/source/Modell_Performing_Arts_Center) Baltimore.{{cite news|title=Watergate 'Aida' Fine Opera Show|newspaper=[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)|date=August 9, 1948|page=B2}} In 1946 she portrayed Leonora in Verdi's ''Il trovatore'' at the [Rajah Theatre](/source/Santander_Performing_Arts_Center) in Reading, Pennsylvania. Her first husband, the education administrator Elwood Kohl, was from the Reading area. She married a second time to Frederick Paul Keppel, a comptroller at the Metropolitan Opera, in 1948. She had one child with Keppel; a daughter named Lauren Keppel. From 1948 to 1954 she performed with opera houses outside of the United States. Notable among these international performances was a portrayal of Leonore in Beethoven's ''[Fidelio](/source/Fidelio)'' at the [Odeon of Herodes Atticus](/source/Odeon_of_Herodes_Atticus) in 1949 and Santuzza at the [Turkish State Opera](/source/Turkish_State_Opera_and_Ballet) in 1950.{{cite magazine|title=Opera Abroad|magazine=[Opera News](/source/Opera_News)|volume=15|year=1950|page=5}} She also sang in operas with the [Opera Guild of Montreal](/source/Op%C3%A9ra_de_Montr%C3%A9al), including Leonora with [Mack Harrell](/source/Mack_Harrell) as the Count di Luna and Joseph Laderoute as Manrico in 1949.{{cite magazine|title=Opera Abroad|magazine=[Opera News](/source/Opera_News)|volume=13|issue=13|page=2}} She portrayed the title role in Puccini's ''[Tosca](/source/Tosca)'' with the [Greek National Opera](/source/Greek_National_Opera) in 1950.{{cite web|title=Florence Kirk|url=https://virtualmuseum.nationalopera.gr/en/virtual-exhibition/persons/kirk-florence-2378/|publisher=[Greek National Opera](/source/Greek_National_Opera)|access-date=April 11, 2021}} One of her final concerts was a recital of Greek music, both ancient and modern, given at [Gettysburg College](/source/Gettysburg_College) on April 25, 1958, in conjunction with a lecture series presented by classics scholar James A. Notopoulos at the Classical Association of the Atlantic States conference.{{cite journal|title=Books Received: C. A. A. S. Spring Meeting|journal=[Classical World](/source/Classical_World_(journal))|volume=51|number=5|date=February 1958|pages=145–146|publisher=[Johns Hopkins University Press](/source/Johns_Hopkins_University_Press)}} ==Later life== In 1954 Kirk retired from the opera stage and moved with her second husband to a {{convert|109|acre|adj=on}} farm in [Taneytown, Maryland](/source/Taneytown%2C_Maryland). In 1960 they sold the farm and moved to [Westminster, Maryland](/source/Westminster%2C_Maryland). She lived there for the rest of her life, dedicating her time to her family, teaching singing, and performing in community musicals. She was a music teacher for [Carroll County Public Schools](/source/Carroll_County_Public_Schools_(Maryland)) from 1964 to 1972. Her second husband died in 1974. She married a third time in 1985 to Jerome Stern. She died of [Alzheimer's disease](/source/Alzheimer's_disease) at the age of 90.{{cite news|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1999-06-10-9906100206-story.html|title=Florence Kirk Keppel, 90, soprano with N.Y. company, Carroll teacher|author=Frederick N. Rasmussen|work=[The Baltimore Sun](/source/The_Baltimore_Sun)|date=June 10, 1999}} ==Recordings== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="margin-right: 0;" |- |+ |- ! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Conductor / Choir / Orchestra ! scope="col" | Soloists ! scope="col" | Label ! scope="col" | Year {{Cantata discography row | id = Mendelssohn | title = ''[A Midsummer Night's Dream](/source/A_Midsummer_Night's_Dream_(Mendelssohn))'' | conductor = [Arturo Toscanini](/source/Arturo_Toscanini) | orchestra = [Philadelphia Orchestra](/source/Philadelphia_Orchestra), [Women's Glee Club of the University of Pennsylvania](/source/University_of_Pennsylvania) | soloists = {{plainlist| * Florence Kirk * [Edwina Eustis](/source/Edwina_Eustis) }} | label = [RCA Red Seal Records](/source/RCA_Red_Seal_Records) | year = 1942 }} {{Cantata discography row | id = Mozart | title = ''[Don Giovanni](/source/Don_Giovanni)'' | conductor = [George Szell](/source/George_Szell) | orchestra = [Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra](/source/Metropolitan_Opera) | soloists = {{plainlist| * [Ezio Pinza](/source/Ezio_Pinza) * [Salvatore Baccaloni](/source/Salvatore_Baccaloni) * Florence Kirk * [Charles Kullman](/source/Charles_Kullman) * [Eleanor Steber](/source/Eleanor_Steber) * [Bidu Sayão](/source/Bidu_Say%C3%A3o) }} | label = Golden Melodram{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=oQzItLSQWtUC&pg=PA275|title=American Opera Singers And Their Recordings |author= Clyde T. McCants|year=2004|publisher=[McFarland & Company](/source/McFarland_%26_Company)|page=275|isbn=9780786419524 }} | year = 1944 }} {{End}} ==Sources== {{reflist}} {{Portal bar|Biography|Opera}} {{authority control|state=collapsed}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirk, Florence}} Category:1909 births Category:1999 deaths Category:American operatic sopranos Category:Curtis Institute of Music alumni Category:University of Pennsylvania alumni Category:Singers from Philadelphia Category:Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Maryland Category:20th-century American women opera singers Category:Classical musicians from Pennsylvania --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Florence Kirk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Kirk) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Kirk?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.