Dorothy Kirsten

Like her fellow soprano Eileen Farrell, Kirsten started in radio and throughout her career, sang both popular music and opera, but Kirsten was also one of the glamour figures at the Met, following in the footsteps of such sopranos as Geraldine Farrar and Grace Moore, who became her mentor. Her voice was not the most distinctive or powerful instruments of the time, but by focusing on the roles that best suited her, including the light to medium Puccini heroines and her most famous role, Charpentier's Louise, she had a lengthy and distinguished career, though she rarely appeared...