Helen Traubel

American operatic dramatic soprano and novelist. Born June 16, 1899 in St. Louis, Missouri. Died July 28, 1972 (aged 73) in Santa Monica, California. She is best known for her Wagnerian roles, especially those of Brünnhilde and Isolde. She first sang with the St. Louis Symphony in 1923. She made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in 1937 and worked there for sixteen years, taking over as the primary soprano for Wagnerian roles in 1941. She collaborated with Leonard Bernstein on a concert version of Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” in 1949. She appeared 176 times on the Met stage (168 times in Wagner operas). She began singing in night clubs and appearing on television, performing non-operatic works in an attempt to reach a larger audience, often as a straight woman alongside comedian Jimmy Durante. She also wrote novels including "The Metropolitan Opera Murders" (written with a little help from ghostwriter Harold Q. Masur) (1951) and "The Ptomaine Canary" (1959). In her post-Met era, Traubel appeared in films like “Deep in My Heart” and "The Ladies Man" with Jerry Lewis and debuted on Broadway in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “Pipe Dream.” In 1959, she published an autobiography, “St. Louis Woman.” Two years later, she sang “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” at a gala the night before John F. Kennedy’s inauguration. She never completely stopped performing, making appearances on occasion throughout the rest of her life. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and had a variety of roses named after her.

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