Bampton, Rose (Elizabeth)

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Bampton, Rose (Elizabeth)

Bampton, Rose (Elizabeth), American soprano; b. Cleveland, Nov. 28, 1909. She studied with Queena Mario at the Curtis Inst. of Music in Philadelphia; also took academic courses at Drake Univ. in Des Moines, Iowa, where she obtained a doctorate of fine arts. She sang as a contralto with the Philadelphia Opera (1929–32), then changed to mezzo-soprano and finally to soprano, so that she could sing the roles of both Amneris and Aida. She made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in N.Y. on Nov. 28, 1932, as Laura in La Gioconda, and continued on its staff until 1945 and again from 1947 to 1950. She made annual appearances at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires from 1942 to 1948; then returned to N.Y., where she taught voice at the Manhattan School of Music (1962–82) and at the Juilliard School (from 1974). She was married toWilfrid Pelletier.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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