Gayer (Ashkenasi), Catherine

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Gayer (Ashkenasi), Catherine

Gayer (Ashkenasi), Catherine, American soprano; b. Los Angeles, Feb. 11, 1937. She studied at the Univ. of Calif, at Los Angeles and in Berlin. She made her operatic debut in Venice in the premiere of Intolleranza as the Companion on April 13, 1961; then joined the Deutsche Oper in West Berlin, and was made a Kammersangerin in 1970; also appeared at the East Berlin Komische Oper. She made guest appearances in Vienna, Salzburg, and Milan. She excelled in the modern operatic repertoire, but also was admired for her Queen of the Night, Constanze, Sophie, Gilda, Melisande, and Zerbinetta.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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