Peters, Roberta (1930—)

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Peters, Roberta (1930—)

American soprano. Born Roberta Peterman in New York City on May 4, 1930; daughter of Sol Peterman (a shoe salesman) and Ruth (Hirsch) Peterman (a milliner); Elmira College, Litt.D., 1967; Ithaca College, Mus.D, 1968; married Robert Merrill (an opera singer), in 1952 (divorced); married Bertram Fields, in 1955; children: (second marriage) Paul Adam; Bruce Eric.

Studied with William Pierce Hermann; made Metropolitan debut as Zerlina in Don Giovanni (1950); remained at the Met for 35 seasons; debuted at Salzburg (1963), and Kirov Opera, Leningrad, and Bolshoi Opera, Moscow (1972); also appeared in recital, musical comedy, and film.

Born in New York City in 1930 of Austrian parents, Roberta Peters was musical at an early age, although no one in the family shared this inclination. Her father was a shoe salesman; her mother a milliner. Her grandfather, who was a head waiter at Jennie Grossinger 's hotel in the Catskill Mountains, came to know Jan Peerce, the tenor. When Peters was very young, her grandfather asked Peerce to assess her voice. Impressed, he arranged for voice lessons with William Pierce Hermann who immediately recognized Roberta's potential. Hermann urged her parents to withdraw her from school at age 13 and during the next six years she learned 20 operatic roles. He also arranged for her to learn ballet, acting, French, German, and Italian. Offered an opportunity to appear on Broadway at age 16, Peters declined because she was interested only in opera.

When Roberta was 19, Peerce took her to see Sol Hurok, the noted concert manager, who signed her to a contract and arranged for auditions at the Metropolitan Opera. Within a week, Rudolf Bing engaged her to sing in performances scheduled nearly a year later. Her opportunity came much earlier, however. When Nadine Conner , who was singing Zerlina in Mozart's Don Giovanni, became indisposed, Peters was given six hours' notice to fill in for her and had to hurry to her debut via the subway. Though she had never before appeared on the stage, she received rave reviews and became, literally, an overnight sensation. After this triumph, Peters appeared frequently on television (including commercials and some 65 visits to "The Ed Sullivan Show") and in film and musical comedy, as well as on the opera stage. She remained at the Met for 35 seasons, much loved by her audiences; among the operas in which she sang most frequently were Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Don Pasquale, Lucia di Lammermoor, Die Zauberflöte (as the Queen of the Night), and Rigoletto. Peters performed beside

Marian Anderson in Anderson's historic debut at the Met in 1954, and created the role of Kitty in the American premiere of Menotti's The Last Savage. She also sang at the White House for numerous presidents.

Happily married since 1955 to Bertram Fields, Peters retired from the Metropolitan Opera in 1987, but has continued to take small film roles and to give up to two dozen concerts a year. On November 20, 2000, 50 years and a few days after her fairy-tale debut in Don Giovanni, Peters was awarded the Handel Medallion, New York City's top arts award.