Ann Ayars (July 23, 1918 – February 27, 1995) was an American soprano and actress. Early in her career she acted in several TV series and non musical films. Later, she sang with the

New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through its 2013 bankruptcy, and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, dubbed "the peopl ...

(NYCO), and became known worldwide when she sang and acted the part of Antonia in the 1951

British film British cinema has significantly influenced the global film industry since the 19th century. The oldest known surviving film in the world, ''Roundhay Garden Scene'' (1888), was shot in England by French inventor Louis Le Prince. Early colour ...

The Tales of Hoffmann ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died in ...

''. From 1968 to 1987 she taught voice and piano and staged 19 full-length opera productions at Mt. San Jacinto College in California, where she was made a professor emerita.

Biography

Ann Ayars was born in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...

. She began as a singer in the late 1930s and started acting in the early 1940s. She had parts in several television series, including ''Batman'', ''Hazel'', ''Mission: Impossible'', ''The Alfred Hitchcock Hour'', ''Perry Mason'', ''The Virginian'' and ''The Monroes''. She starred as Cholita in the 1941 film '' Fiesta'' and in 1942 she was Cynthia Cookie Charles in ''

Dr. Kildare's Victory ''Dr. Kildare's Victory'' is a 1942 film directed by W. S. Van Dyke. It stars Lew Ayres and Lionel Barrymore. It is the ninth and last of the MGM Dr. Kildare movie series. Plot Dr. Kildare is involved in a dispute between two competing hospit ...

''. Also in 1942, she appeared as Constance Selden in ''

Apache Trail The Apache Trail in Arizona was a stagecoach trail that ran through the Superstition Mountains. It was named the Apache Trail after the Apache Indians who originally used this trail to move through the Superstition Mountains. The historic ...

'', Kaaren de Relle in '' Nazi Agent'' and Juliette in ''

Reunion in France ''Reunion in France'' is a 1942 American war film distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer starring Joan Crawford, John Wayne, and Philip Dorn in a story about a woman in occupied France who, learning her well-heeled lover has German connections, aids ...

''. In 1943 she was Mrs Sandoval in '' The Human Comedy'' and Susan Thayer in ''

The Youngest Profession ''The Youngest Profession'' is a 1943 film directed by Edward Buzzell, and starring Virginia Weidler, Edward Arnold, John Carroll, Scotty Beckett, and Agnes Moorehead. Based on a short story series and book written by Lillian Day, it contains ...

''. She left Hollywood in 1943 to join the newly formed

, becoming one of its leading lyric sopranos. Her operatic roles included Monica in ''

The Medium ''The Medium'' is a short (one-hour-long) two-act dramatic opera with words and music by Gian Carlo Menotti. Commissioned by the Alice M. Ditson Fund at Columbia University, its first performance was there on 8 May 1946, with Claramae Turner a ...

'', Mimi in ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...

'' and Violetta in '' La traviata''. Her friend,

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

Frances Bible Frances Lillian Bible (January 26, 1919 – January 29, 2001) was an American operatic mezzo-soprano who had a thirty-year career at the New York City Opera between 1948 and 1978. She also made a number of opera appearances with other companies t ...

, said "Her work with the opera has inspired many young singers, many of whom went on to professional careers." Courtesy of MGM, Ayars helped entertain the troops in February 1944 at

Camp Roberts, California Camp Roberts is a California National Guard post in central California, located on both sides of the Salinas River in Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties, now run by the California Army National Guard. It was opened in 1941 and is named afte ...

, starring in '' Rio Rita'' along with

Janis Paige Janis Paige (born Donna Mae Tjaden; September 16, 1922 – June 2, 2024) was an American actress and singer. With a career spanning nearly 60 years, she was one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Born in Tacoma, Wash ...

. She had a star part as Antonia in the 1951

Powell and Pressburger The British film-making partnership of Michael Powell (1905–1990) and Emeric Pressburger (1902–1988)—together often known as The Archers, the name of their production company—made a series of influential films in the 1940s and 1950s. T ...

film ''

'', which was based on the opéra fantastique by

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ''The Tales of Hoffmann''. He was a p ...

. Although all the parts in the film are sung, only

Robert Rounseville Robert Rounseville (25 March 19146 August 1974) was an American actor and tenor, who appeared in opera, operetta, Broadway musicals, and motion pictures. Career Rounseville was born in Attleboro, Massachusetts. He made his Broadway debut in a sm ...

(Hoffmann) and Ayars sang their own parts, the others being dubbed. In 1968 she returned to California and took a post teaching voice and piano at Mt. San Jacinto College in San Jacinto, California, where she staged 19 full-length opera productions.

Last years and death

She retired in 1987. She died on February 27, 1995 at her home in

Hemet Hemet is a city in the San Jacinto Valley in Riverside County, California, United States. It covers a total area of , about half of the valley, which it shares with the neighboring city of San Jacinto. The population was 89,833 at the 2020 ...

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Unit ...

, aged 76, following complications from diabetes.

Selected Filmography

* '' The Virginian'' (1963) (Season 2 Episode 7: "Brother Thaddeus") as Sister St. Luke * ''

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 a ...

'' (1964) (Season 2 Episode 14: "Beyond the Sea of Death") as Lucy Barrington * ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and four short stories, all of which involve a ...

'' (1964) (Season 8 Episode 2: "The Case of the Paper Bullets") as Woman Reporter * ''

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

'' (1966) (Season 1 Episode 23: "The Ring of Wax") as Madame Soleil * '' Mission: Impossible'' (1966) (Season 1 Episode 13: "Elena") as Señora Del Barra

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ayars, Ann 1918 births 1995 deaths 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American singers American operatic sopranos Actresses from Beverly Hills, California People from Hemet, California 20th-century American women singers Singers from California Classical musicians from California Deaths from diabetes in California Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players