Evelyn Lear obit

Evelyn Lear dies at 86

 

She was not on the list.

The celebrated American soprano Evelyn Lear died Sunday in Sandy Spring, Maryland at the age of 86.

Among her most celebrated roles were two dramatic unhinged heroines: the title femme fatale in Alban Berg’s Lulu, which sparked her career in 1960, and the role of Lavinia Mannon in Marvin David Levy’s Mourning Becomes Electra, which served as her Metropolitan Opera debut.

“I doubt that I’ll ever hear Lavinia sung with such beauty, intelligence, and dramatic honesty,” said Levy, a Fort Lauderdale resident. “She set the standard for the role.”

Like her husband, acclaimed Wagnerian baritone Thomas Stewart who passed away in 2006, the Brooklyn-born singer built her career in Europe before being recognized at home. Lear later turned to more traditional opera roles, achieving successes as the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro, Tatiana in Eugene Onegin, and the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier (her Met farewell role in 1985).

Lear and Stewart were married 51 years and the long-time Florida seasonal residents were often in attendance at local classical events. The couple also gave regular master classes for Florida Grand Opera’s Young Artist studio.

“If Evelyn thought a young singer had talent and a genuine passion for singing, she could be fiercely loyal and supportive, making sure they were heard by the ‘right people,’ said Justin Moss, director of Broward operations for FGO.

“On the other hand, if she felt a singer was less than serious about working hard and developing their talent, she was quick to point that out to them, sometimes scaring the daylights, or worse, out of him or her in the process.  Her career and her life were incredibly rich and productive.”

She appeared in more than forty operatic roles, appeared with every major opera company in the United States and won a Grammy Award in 1966. She was well known for her musical versatility, having sung all three main female roles in Der Rosenkavalier. Lear was also known for her work on 20th century pieces by Robert Ward, Alban Berg, Marvin David Levy, Rudolf Kelterborn and Giselher Klebe. She was married to the American bass-baritone Thomas Stewart until his death in 2006.

Lear started her opera career as a member of the Städtische Oper Berlin in Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos playing the Composer, a lead role which she would later play at a number of leading opera houses. She played the title role in Alban Berg's Lulu in 1960 in its Austrian debut in concert form. She had only three weeks to learn the role, having been called in as a late replacement. Her performance was so well received that she played the role in the first staged version since World War II at the Theater an der Wien at the Vienna Festival of 1962 with Karl Böhm conducting. The performance was repeated in 1964 and recorded by Deutsche Grammophon. She also performed in Lulu in the late 1980s, albeit in the mezzo-soprano supporting role of the Countess Geschwitz. She appeared as Nina Cavallini in Robert Altman's 1976 film Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson. In 1989, she played the role of Queen Elizabeth I of England in the musical Elizabeth and Essex, based on Maxwell Anderson's 1930 play.

Lear enjoyed success performing Richard Strauss's works. She made her London debut in a performance of the Four Last Songs. Her longest association, however, has been with Der Rosenkavalier having performed all three major female roles. She sang the role of Sophie in regional German opera houses with the Berlin State Opera, progressing to sing the role of Octavian in major opera houses in Vienna, Berlin and New York. Her greatest success in this opera was her role as the Marschallin which she debuted in 1971 and played in leading opera houses including La Scala and her farewell performance at the Metropolitan in 1985.

The Senate of Berlin gave Lear the title of Kammersängerin for her contribution to the opera in that city while the Salzburg Festival honored her with the Max Reinhardt Award. She won a Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording in the Grammy Awards of 1966 for her work with Karl Böhm, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Fritz Wunderlich and the German Opera and Chorus for their performance of Berg's Wozzeck.

She is survived by her son Jan Stewart, daughter Bonni Stewart and two grandchildren.