Loretta Di Franco obit

Obituary: Metropolitan Opera Soprano Loretta Di Franco Dies at 82

 She was not on the list.

On Dec. 30, 2024, American soprano Loretta Di Franco has died at the age of 82.

Born in New York, Di Franco began her career as a Met’s opera chorus member and eventually got promoted to singing small comprimario roles.

In 1961, she sang her first comprimario role as one of the pages in Wagner’s “Tannhäuser” and the peasant girl in “The Marriage of Figaro.”

In 1965, she won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and sang her first substantial role, Chloe, in “The Queen of Spades.” Throughout her career, she performed at the Salzburg Festival, the Theatre de L’Odeon in Paris, the Chautauqua Opera, the Mobile Opera, and festivals in Ravinia, Newport, and Tanglewood.

However, Di Franco made her career mostly at the Met singing 929 performances becoming the 36th artist with the most appearances with the company. She sang during 35 seasons in more than 50 roles including two Japan tours, 13 new productions, and three Metropolitan Opera premieres. She also appeared in many telecasts, CD and DVD recordings from the Metropolitan Opera.

Di Franco appeared in such productions as “La Traviata,” “Jenůfa,” “The Marriage of Figaro,” “The Barber of Seville,” “Rigoletto,” “Hansel and Gretel,” “Káťa Kabanová,” “The Magic Flute,” “Elisir d’Amore,” “Il Trovatore,” and “Adriana Lecouvreur,” among others. Among her leading roles included Musetta in “La bohème,” Oscar in “Un ballo in Maschera,” Xenia in “Boris Godunov,” Zerlina in “Don Giovanni,” and the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor. In 1991 she created the role of the Woman with Child in the world premiere of John Corigliano’s “The Ghosts of Versailles.” Her final performance with the company was on April 21, 1995, in the Corigliano opera.

Following her performing career, she has also served as a judge for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the Liederkranz Auditions, and the Bel Canto Vocal Scholarship Foundation, among others. She also worked as an Italian Diction Coach for Martina Arroyo’s Prelude and as an English Diction Coach for the new production of “Peter Grimes” at the Metropolitan Opera during the 2007-2008 season. Di Franco also worked with many international artists as the Italian Diction Coach of the Metropolitan Opera.