It is so sad to tell that American opera singer Rose Bampton has died just a few months short of her one-hundredth birthday. She died in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania suburb of Bryn Mawr on Tuesday (21Aug07), aged 99. Bampton moved from mezzo-soprano to soprano and sang both ranges so well that she was considered one the most distinctive singers of her generation.
Bampton made her professional debut in 1929 sang with some of her era’s most significant opera figures like Arturo Toscanini, Kirsten Flagstad and Giovanni Martinelli.
Bampton, who remained a striking figure at musical events in New York later stopped singing and turned to teaching. She taught at the Manhattan School of Music and Juilliard School and performed in recitals and concerts.
Source: Femalefirst
