Maralin Niska (November 16, 1926 – July 9, 2016) was an American

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

tic

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

. Well known as a singing-actress, she was a mainstay of 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 ...

during the 1960s and 1970s. She was also a regular performer 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 ...

from 1970 to 1977.

Early life, education, and early career

Born in

San Pedro, California San Pedro ( ; ) is a neighborhood located within the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay and Los Angeles Harbor Region, Harbor region of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los ...

, Niska earned a Bachelor of English Literature from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

and began her professional life as a second grade public school teacher for seven years. She then returned to school to study voice at the Thornton School of Music at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

and U.C.L.A. She studied under Louise Mansfield,

Lotte Lehmann Charlotte "Lotte" Pauline Sophie Lehmann (February 27, 1888 – August 26, 1976) was a German-American dramatic soprano noted for her successful performances with international opera houses, on the recital stage and in teaching.She gave memorable ...

, Vladimir Rosing, and Ernest St. John Metz. She performed extensively in southern California during the 1950s, including performances with the

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

Opera,

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

Opera,

Los Angeles Opera The Los Angeles Opera, originally called the Los Angeles Music Center Opera, is an American opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth-largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler P ...

, Riverside Opera Association, Redlands Bowl and other regional companies. Her extensive national and international career began at the opening of the Metropolitan Opera National Company as

Susannah ''Susannah'' is an opera in two acts by the American composer Carlisle Floyd, who wrote the libretto and music while a member of the piano faculty at Florida State University. Floyd adapted the story from the Apocryphal tale of Susannah and the ...

in the

Carlisle Floyd Carlisle Sessions Floyd (June 11, 1926September 30, 2021) was an American composer primarily known for his operas. These stage works, for which he wrote not only the music but also the librettos, typically engage with themes from the American So ...

work in Indianapolis in 1965. After retiring from the stage, she lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and was married to William Mullen.

New York City Opera

The soprano was first heard at the

in the fall of 1967, as the Contessa Almaviva in ''Le nozze di Figaro'', with

Norman Treigle Norman Treigle (né Adanelle Wilfred Treigle (March 6, 1927February 16, 1975) was an American operatic bass-baritone, who was acclaimed for his great abilities as a singing-actor, and specialized in roles that evoked villainy and terror. Biograp ...

in the title role. She went on to perform with that company in many productions, including ''La bohème'' (now as Musetta), ''La traviata'' (opposite

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...

), ''Madama Butterfly'', ''Pagliacci'', ''Suor Angelica'', ''Faust'' (in

Frank Corsaro Frank Corsaro (December 22, 1924, New York City, New York – November 11, 2017, Suwanee, GeorgiaRobert ViagasNight of the Iguana Director Frank Corsaro Is Dead at 92/ref>) was one of America's foremost stage directors of opera and theatre. His Br ...

's production, with whom she would often collaborate), ''Prince Igor'', ''The Turn of the Screw'' (as the Governess), ''La bohème'' (as Mimì, with

George Shirley George Irving Shirley (born April 18, 1934) is an American operatic tenor, and was the first African-American tenor to perform a leading role at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Early life Shirley was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and r ...

and Carol Neblett), '' The Makropoulos Case'' (with Harry Theyard and

Chester Ludgin Chester Ludgin (May 20, 1925 – August 9, 2003) was an American operatic baritone. Biography Chester Ludgin was a native of Brooklyn, New York. He made his professional debut in 1956 with The Experimental Opera Theatre of America (affiliated wi ...

, directed by Corsaro), ''Susannah'' (with Treigle), ''Tosca'' (with

José Carreras Josep Maria Carreras Coll (; born 5 December 1946), better known as José Carreras (, ), is a Catalan operatic tenor from Spain who is particularly known for his performances in the operas of Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini. Born in Barcelona, ...

), ''Don Giovanni'' (as Donna Anna, conducted by

Bruno Maderna Bruno Maderna (born Bruno Grossato, 21 April 1920 – 13 November 1973) was an Italian composer, conductor and academic teacher. Life Maderna was born Bruno Grossato in Venice but later decided to take the name of his mother, Caterina Carolina M ...

), ''Don Giovanni'' (now as Donna Elvira, with Richard Fredricks and Richard Stilwell alternating in the name part), ''Ariadne auf Naxos'' (as the Composer, staged by Sarah Caldwell), ''Médée'' (in the Italian version), ''Manon Lescaut'', ''Salome'' (conducted by Julius Rudel), ''Idomeneo'' (as Elettra), a double-bill of ''Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' (in which she sang both Santuzza and Nedda), ''La voix humaine'', ''La fanciulla del West'', ''Die Fledermaus'' (as Rosalinde), and ''Maria Stuarda'' (as Elisabetta). In all she sang 29 leading roles with the company,"Maralin Niska, Lyric Soprano at New York City Opera Who Won Hearts, Dies at 89"
by William Grimes, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', July 13, 2016 the most of any singer in its history.

Metropolitan Opera

Niska debuted at the

in 1970, in ''La traviata'', and went on to appear in ''La bohème'' (as Musetta, with

Montserrat Caballé María de Montserrat Bibiana Concepción Caballé i Folch or Folc (12 April 1933 – 6 October 2018), also known as Montserrat Caballé (i Folch), was a Spanish operatic soprano from Catalonia. Widely considered to be one of the best sopranos ...

, Franco Corelli, and Matteo Manuguerra), ''Tosca'', ''Les vêpres siciliennes'' (in John Dexter's production, with Domingo, Sherrill Milnes, and Paul Plishka, conducted by

James Levine James Lawrence Levine ( ; June 23, 1943 – March 9, 2021) was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera from 1976 to 2016. He was terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March ...

), and ''Salome'' (with

Astrid Varnay Ibolyka Astrid Maria Varnay (25 April 1918 – 4 September 2006) was a Swedish-born American dramatic soprano of Hungarian descent. She spent most of her career in the United States and Germany. She was one of the leading Wagnerian heroic soprano ...

, conducted by Erich Leinsdorf). On March 15, 1977, Niska sang Musetta in ''La bohème'', for the first of the series, "Live From the Met," with

Renata Scotto Renata Scotto (24 February 1934 – 16 August 2023) was an Italian soprano, opera director, and voice teacher. Recognised for her sense of style, her musicality, and as a remarkable singer-actress, Scotto is considered to have been one of the pr ...

and

Luciano Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...

. She then sang ''Pagliacci'' with the company. Her final performance with the Met was on their 1978 tour to Wolf Trap Farm Park, in ''Don Giovanni'', in which she portrayed Donna Elvira opposite James Morris, Rockwell Blake, Roberta Peters,

Donald Gramm Donald John Gramm (February 26, 1927 – June 2, 1983) was an American bass-baritone whose career was divided between opera and concert performances. His appearances were primarily limited to the United States, which at the time was unusual for an ...

, and John Macurdy. The soprano sang with various other companies in America, as well.

Videography

* Puccini: ''La bohème'' (Scotto, Pavarotti, Wixell, Monk, Plishka, Tajo; Levine, Melano, 1977) ive

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

References

* ''The Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia'', edited by David Hamilton,

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

, 1987.

External links

* , with Renata Scotto, Luciano Pavarotti, and Ingvar Wixell (1977)
Maralin Niska
Oberon's Grove, August 18, 2006 * A favorite Niska rol

{{DEFAULTSORT:Niska, Maralin 1926 births 2016 deaths American operatic sopranos People from San Pedro, Los Angeles Singers from Los Angeles University of California, Los Angeles alumni USC Thornton School of Music alumni 20th-century American women opera singers Classical musicians from California 21st-century American women