Jean Madeira, née Jean Browning (November 14, 1918 – July 11, 1972) was an American

contralto A contralto () is a classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range is the lowest of their voice type, voice types. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare, similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to ...

, particularly known for her work in late-romantic German repertoire such as the operas of

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

and

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

. Madeira was born in Christopher, Illinois. Her father was half-Cherokee coal miner. When she was a child her family moved to East St. Louis, Illinois, where she attended high school, and she later studied with Florence Kimball at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

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. She made her debut in opera in Chatauqua, as Nancy in ''Martha'', by Flotow. In 1955, the singer and actress successfully sang the title role in ''Carmen'' with the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...

. She sang approximately 300 times at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

in forty-one roles, between 1948 and 1971. Her last appearance there was in ''Elektra'', opposite Birgit Nilsson and Leonie Rysanek. Jean Madeira was a second-cousin of the composer Amy Beth Kirsten. Madeira's television debut occurred on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...

'' on February 19, 1956. She married Francis Madeira in 1947 and thereafter used her married name as her professional name. Madeira had been ill for two years when she died on July 11, 1972, at her home in Providence, Rhode Island, aged 53.

Abridged discography

* Bizet: ''Carmen'' as Carmen (Filacuridi; Dervaux, 1957) Pathé * Britten: ''Peter Grimes'' (Jon Vickers; 1967) Immortal Performances * Falla: ''Three Cornered Hat'' (Vienna Symphony) Tuxedo Music * Mozart: ''Le nozze di Figaro'' as Marcellina (Siepi, Conner, Valdengo, de los Angeles; Met, Fritz Reiner, 1952) Myto * Mozart: ''Requiem in D Minor, K.626'' (NBC Symphony, Arturo Toscanini, 1950) RCA Victor * Pochielli: ''La Gioconda'' as La Cieca (Milanov, Warren, Barbieri, Siepi; Met, Cleva, 1953) Gala * Puccini: ''Madama Butterfly'' as Suzuki (Steber, Tucker, Valdengo; Met, Rudolf, 1949)

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

* Puccini: ''Manon Lescaut'' (Kirsten, J.Björling, Valdengo; Met, Antonicelli, 1949) Myto * Saint-Saëns: ''Samson et Delilah'' as Delilah (Del Monaco; Teatro di San Carlo, Molinari-Pradelli, 1959) Hardy Classic * Strauss: ''Elektra'' as Clytemnestra (Borkh, Schech, Uhl, Fischer-Dieskau; Böhm, 1960) DG * Strauss: ''Elektra'', as Clytemnestra (Nilsson, Rysanek, Nagy, Stewart; Met, Bohm, 1971
Met On Demand
* Verdi: ''Aida'' as Amneris (Rysanek, London, Frick, Hopf; Vienna State Opera, Kubelik, 1955) Orfeo * Verdi: ''Requiem'' (Vienna Symphony, Erich Kleiber 1955) Melodram * Verdi: ''Un ballo in maschera'' as Ulrica (Bergonzi, Rysanek, Merrill; Santi, 1962) Living Stage * Wagner: ''Das Rheingold'' as Erda (Flagstad, London; Solti, 1958) Decca *Wagner: ''Die Walkure'' as Fricka (Nilsson, Rysanek, Ludwig, Hotter, Frick, Suthaus; La Scala, Karajan, 1958) Myto; IDIS * Wagner: ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' as Erda, Rossweisse & First Norn (Bayreuth, Knappertsbusch, 1956) Orfeo * Wagner ''Parsifal'' (Svanholm, Varnay, London, Hotter; Met, Stiedry, 1954)

Adonis In Greek mythology, Adonis (; ) was the mortal lover of the goddesses Aphrodite and Persephone. He was considered to be the ideal of male beauty in classical antiquity. The myth goes that Adonis was gored by a wild boar during a hunting trip ...

References

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Elektra (27 February 1971), Metropolitan Opera Archives">">[3
Elektra (27 February 1971), Metropolitan Opera Archivesbr>Madeira, Jean (Mezzo-soprano)
on the MetOpera Database

External links

Villecco, Tony. A Voice Like Velvet; Remembering Contralto Jean Madeira. ''Classical Singer Magazine'' Oct. 2012. * (1958). * (1958).
Jean Madeira fan page on FacebookJean Madeira's Final Opera Performance (alongside Birgit Nilsson and Leonie Rysanek in Elektra, 27 February 1971)Francis Madeira Dies At 100
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madeira, Jean American operatic mezzo-sopranos 1918 births 1972 deaths Juilliard School alumni 20th-century American women opera singers