Marguerite Piazza
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marguerite Piazza (née Luft, on 6 May 1926 [?], in New Orleans) is a famous American operatic soprano and entertainer. A 1940 graduate of Loyola University of the South's College of Music, she then studied at Louisiana State University, where she was a student of the baritone Pasquale Amato.
In 1944, Piazza joined the New York City Opera, in its first Spring Season, as the youngest member of the company. Her first role at the City Center was Nedda in Pagliacci, and in subsequent seasons she appeared in La bohème (as Musetta), Der Zigeunerbaron, Don Giovanni (as Donna Elvira), Amelia al ballo (conducted by Julius Rudel), and Still's Troubled Island (opposite Robert Weede). In her native city, she made her first appearance with the New Orleans Opera Association in Martha (in 1945), followed by Hänsel und Gretel (as Gretel), and the title part in Il segreto di Susanna.
In 1950, Piazza made her Broadway debut, in Happy as Larry, with Burgess Meredith directing and starring in the title rôle, and Alexander Calder designing. As a result of that production, the soprano was invited to join the cast of the NBC television program "Your Show of Shows," with Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca, which was seen from 1950 to 1954.
La Piazza made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1951, as Rosalinde von Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus. Following the end of "Your Show of Shows," the soprano embarked on a career in supper and night clubs, bringing her further acclaim as an entertainer.
During the 1950's, before the connection of cigarette smoking with cancer was widely accepted, Piazza was a paid spokeswoman for Camel cigarettes. She said that Camels had "a mildness that agree with my throat." In 1968, she endured three operations on her face to remove cancer, and, in 1973, she was treated for cervical and uterine cancer. Piazza, now a widow, has had four marriages and six children. In 1975, one of her sons, suffering from depression, was the victim of a suicide.
Piazza is celebrated for her extensive efforts regarding various charities, especially the annual Marguerite Piazza Gala[1] and Auction for the benefit of St Jude Children's Research Hospital. On January 15, 1973, the Willis Music Company published "Marguerite Piazza's Christmas Carol Sing-Along Party." The prima donna's autobiography (co-authored with her daughter, Marguerite Bonnett) was published by Lulu in 2007, and is titled Pagliacci Has Nothing on Me! (ISBN 978-1-84728-394-8).
[edit] External link
- Marguerite Piazza on IMDB
- [2] YouTube: Marguerite Piazza in an excerpt from La bohème (1950).
