Regina Resnik

A mezzo-soprano of such power and authority that she became a dominant figure in opera through the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, Regina Resnik began her career as a soprano. At the Metropolitan Opera, short on dramatic singers during WWII, Resnik was drafted for assignments no young singer should ever be asked to undertake. She survived, but as the high tessitura of these heavy soprano roles placed increasing strain on her constantly darkening voice, she stepped into the dramatic mezzo-soprano repertory in the mid-'50s with revelatory results. Her acuity as an actress enabled her t...