Table of Biography
Blanche Thebom was a talented American operatic mezzo-soprano, opera director, and voice teacher. Blanche Thebom was also the co-founder of the Opera Arts Training Program of the San Francisco Girls Chorus with Elizabeth Appling.
Early Life
Blanche Thebom was born on 19 September 1915. She was originally from Monessen, Pennsylvania, and her zodiac sign was Virgo. Talking about her family, this personality’s parents were Swedish and immigrated to the United States.
This personality’s year of birth is sometimes incorrectly given as 1918. Moreover, she grew up in Canton, Ohio. There, she studied ballet as well as was active in her church’s choir as a singer. This personality continued taking ballet lessons into her 40s.
Death
She was 94 years old at the time of her passing on 23 March 2010. However, her exact cause of death is not available. However, she might have died due to aging.
Career
Professionally, Blanche Thebom was an operatic mezzo-soprano, voice teacher, as well as an opera director. This popular personality was part of the 1st wave of American opera singers. As such, she had a highly successful international career.
Additionally, this personality had a long association with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. The opera lasted 22 years. This personality sang a broad repertoire that encompassed everything from Handel and Mozart to Verdi and Debussy. Besides that, people recognized Thebom best for her performances in the operas of Richard Wagner.
Caption: Blanche Thebom posing for a photo. Source: SFGATE
Fricka in Die Walküre and Brangaene in Tristan und Isolde were the two Wagner roles with which this personality was particularly associated. Notably, this singer sang the latter role in a famous 1952 recording made in London. This recording was made with Kirsten Flagstad, Ludwig Suthaus, and conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler.
More Details
Moreover, the singer also appeared in two feature films during her career besides several other recordings. The two feature films were Irish Eyes Are Smiling released in 1944 and The Great Caruso released in 1951. For the latter, this singer worked alongside Mario Lanza.
She retired from the stage in the year 1967. Following this, this personality worked as an opera director in Atlanta for 6 years. Subsequently, she taught singing both privately and on the music faculties of the University of Arkansas and San Francisco State University. Additionally, this personality was the co-founder of the Opera Arts Training Program of the San Francisco Girls Chorus.
Also, Thebom served on the board of the Metropolitan Opera for nearly four decades. Likewise, she was the chair of the Pacific Region Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions for 15 years. Moving on, this operatic mezzo-soprano had a net worth estimation of around $1.5 million US dollars at the time of her death.
The Beginning
Caption: Blanche Thebom alongside Dorothy Kirsten and Mario Lanza in THE GREAT CARUSO in 1951. Source: IMAGO
Thebom completed business college and worked as a secretary at an industrial firm. Moreover, in the year 1938, she was still working as a secretary. That year, this personality traveled with her parents to Sweden. During her boat trip from America to Europe, pianist Kosti Vehane overheard this personality singing in the ship’s lounge. The pianist was Marian Anderson’s regular accompanist and vocal coach. As such, this pianist was highly impressed with the singer’s talent.
Subsequently, the pianist arranged for this personality to become a pupil of Giuseppe Boghetti in New York. Boghetti was Marian Anderson’s voice teacher. Additionally, the pianist eventually got this singer signed with talent manager Sol Hurok. This manager also managed Anderson’s career. After her teacher- Boghetti’s demise in July 1941, the singer then studied with retired Metropolitan Opera mezzo-sopranos – Edyth Walker and Margarete Matzenauer.
Personal Life
Blanche Thebom was a divorcee at the time of her demise. Previously, she was married to Richard Metz. However, there are no details related to her exact marriage date and divorce date. Nevertheless, the ex-couple tied the knot in the year 1951. The ex-couple then honeymooned in Iceland as part of the singer’s European tour. However, this popular operatic mezzo-soprano passed away on Tuesday – 23 March 2010. At the time of her death, no immediate family members survived. This shows that Thebom didn’t have any children throughout her life.
Blanche Thebom – Body Measurements 2022
Caption: Blanche appears in a newspaper. Source: Flickr
Blanche Thebom stood at an approximate height of 5 feet 7 inches or 170 cm. Likewise, her weight was around 54 kgs or 119 lbs. Thebom had a chest-waist-hip measurement of 36-24-35 inches respectively. Moreover, this opera singer had brown eyes and long hair of the same color that turned grey with aging.
Blanche Thebom – Social Media 2022
Moving on, this singer didn’t have personal or professional profiles on any social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc.