Geraldine Farrar

Farrar was one of the early stars of the Metropolitan Opera, with a glamorous voice richly matched by her physical presence, and her insistence that she was not a singer but a singing actress. Her recordings were widely popular, and she also made several silent films, including the famous 1915 Carmen with Cecil B. DeMille. Her singing ranged from the technically brilliant to the severely flawed, but the essential charm of her voice and her magnetic personality (together with a near-genius for publicity), were enough to ensure her fame. She made her public singing debut at ag...