Tatiana Troyanos was born on September 12, 1938, and passed away on August 21, 1993. She was an American mezzo-soprano known as "one of the defining singers of her generation." Her voice was described as "a paradoxical voice — larger than life yet intensely human, brilliant yet warm, lyric yet dramatic." Cori Ellison of Opera News wrote that her voice was so unique that people recognized it after hearing just one note and never forgot it.

Troyanos performed in operas from many different time periods during her 30-year international career. She recorded several operas, including Carmen, which featured Plácido Domingo and was conducted by Georg Solti. This recording was considered the best Carmen performance almost 40 years after it was made. After working at the Hamburg State Opera for ten years, Troyanos joined the Metropolitan Opera in 1976. She performed more than 270 times there, with many of these performances broadcast or televised. She played 22 major roles during her time at the Met.

Early life

Troyanos was born in New York City. She spent her earliest days in the Manhattan neighborhood where Lincoln Center, the new home of the Metropolitan Opera, would later be built. She grew up in Forest Hills, Queens, and attended Forest Hills High School. Her early childhood was difficult because her parents, who were both hopeful opera singers, separated when she was very young and later divorced. Her father was born on the Greek island of Cephalonia and was a tenor. Her mother was from Stuttgart and was a coloratura soprano. They were not well-suited for each other or for raising children.

She was cared for by Greek relatives and lived for about ten years at the Brooklyn Home for Children, which had moved to Forest Hills. She described her childhood as difficult to overcome. She called the children’s home “bleak but marvelous.” It was there that her musical journey began. She studied piano for seven years, first at the home, where her teacher was Metropolitan Opera bassoonist Louis Pietrini. He volunteered to teach the children various instruments and introduced them to solfège, which Troyanos later said was the foundation of her musical education. Her studies continued, on scholarship, at the Brooklyn Music School. In several interviews, she recalled early goals of becoming a concert pianist. She sang in school choirs and New York’s All City High School Chorus. When she was sixteen, a teacher heard her voice in the chorus, found out who the voice belonged to, and helped her get into Juilliard Preparatory School and her first voice teacher.

In her late teens, she moved to the Girls’ Service League in Manhattan and later to a co-ed boarding house near the old Metropolitan Opera. She frequently attended the opera as a standee. She worked as a secretary to the director of publicity at Random House and performed in choruses, including church choirs (with a scholarship at the First Presbyterian Church) and musical theater. In September 1958, Kevin Kelly of The Boston Globe wrote that “Tatiana Troyanos, almost hidden in the chorus, came soaring through with a pellucid and magnificent quality of tone as the Arab Singing Girl” in a summer stock production of Fanny.

Continuing at the Juilliard School, Troyanos was chosen as a soloist for Bach’s St. John Passion in 1959 and for the Verdi Requiem in 1962. By that time, she had begun vocal studies with Hans Heinz, who “understood my voice and helped me open it up at the top… and gradually I found all my top notes.” She described Heinz, with whom she continued to study after graduating in 1963, as “the major influence in my life… Our work together built the foundation that was so essential to my career.”

Operatic career: 1963–93

After performing in the nuns' chorus in the original Broadway production of The Sound of Music, Troyanos joined the New York City Opera and gave her first professional opera performance in April 1963. She played the role of Hippolyta in the New York premiere of Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream. That same season, she performed as Jocasta in Stravinsky's Oedipus rex. The next year, she sang Marina in the company's first production of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, and she took on other roles through 1965. During this time, she also performed as Dorabella in Così fan tutte at the Aspen Music Festival, as Carmen at the Kentucky Opera, and in low-voiced roles in Iolanthe and The Yeomen of the Guard at the Boston Arts Festival. She also sang Herodias in Salome with the Toronto Symphony.

In 1965, Troyanos accepted a contract with the Metropolitan Opera, but she chose to leave in search of more performance opportunities in Europe. After successfully auditioning for three companies, she joined the Hamburg State Opera, where she worked under the guidance of Rolf Liebermann for the next decade. She began as a member of the opera company and later became a guest artist. She described Hamburg as a place where she could learn roles slowly and without pressure. Her early roles there included Lola in Cavalleria rusticana and Preziosilla in a new production of La forza del destino. By the end of that year, she was performing the role of Carmen, which she later sang in Geneva, London, and at the Metropolitan Opera. Eventually, she performed nearly every mezzo-soprano role available in Hamburg.

Her breakthrough came in 1966 at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, where she performed the role of the Composer in Richard Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos. This performance, which followed her recommendation by Liebermann, was widely praised. In 1968, she made her debut as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier at London's Covent Garden, marking the start of her international career. Despite her success, she returned to Hamburg and continued her regular performances as if nothing had changed. A recording of her Aix performance was preserved on French television.

British record producer Walter Legge noted that Troyanos had a rich voice, sharp intelligence, and strong determination to succeed. She agreed, saying her drive helped her overcome past challenges. In 1967, a tour by the Hamburg Opera brought her to the Metropolitan Opera's new home at Lincoln Center, where she performed in modern operas like Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress.

In 1971, she returned to the United States, performing Handel's Ariodante at the Kennedy Center. This helped reintroduce her to American audiences. She later made her debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Charlotte in Werther, at the Dallas Opera as Dido in Dido and Aeneas, and at the Opera Company of Boston as Romeo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi. At the San Francisco Opera, she performed Poppea in L'incoronazione di Poppea, a role praised for her powerful singing.

Troyanos made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1976 as Octavian, followed by her performance as the Composer. Critics praised her singing and described her as a standout performer. Octavian and the Composer became her most famous roles at the Met, along with other roles like Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus and Eboli in Don Carlos.

From 1976 until her death in 1993, Troyanos was a respected and beloved performer at the Metropolitan Opera. She was known for her rich, expressive voice and her ability to perform a wide range of roles. Her performances were noted for their intensity and emotional depth.

Some listeners found her vibrato, or the slight shaking in her voice, to be distinctive. While some preferred a smoother sound, others appreciated how it added energy to her performances. As her career progressed, she took on more challenging roles, including Wagnerian operas like Tannhäuser and Parsifal.

Between 1981 and 1983, she performed in three different opening nights at the Met, each in a different style and language. She also appeared in seven new productions, including the Met's first performances of Lulu and Oedipus Rex. In 1977, she made her debut at La Scala, singing in Norma alongside Montserrat Caballé in a globally televised performance.

Troyanos was known for her passionate performances in both male and female roles. Critics praised her ability to portray characters with depth and emotion, whether as a young woman or a powerful figure. Her career spanned decades, and she left a lasting legacy in the world of opera.

Audio and video discography

Troyanos had a very flexible career as a recording artist. Her first time performing as a soloist in a recording hall was as Dorabella, singing alongside Leontyne Price’s Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, conducted by Erich Leinsdorf. This recording was made in London in 1967, released in 1968, and won the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording in 1969. She later performed many other roles, including Cherubino in Karl Böhm’s recording of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, the main character in Bizet’s Carmen for Sir Georg Solti, the Composer in Ariadne for both Böhm and Solti, Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas for Charles Mackerras and Raymond Leppard, and Anita in Leonard Bernstein’s operatic version of West Side Story. David Anthony Fox, writing in the St. James Opera Encyclopedia, noted that many of Troyanos’s recordings "capture her faithfully—or as faithfully as possible without her physical presence. In every recording, she added something unique and memorable."

These recordings were released on LP and/or CD:

• Bartók, Bluebeard's Castle – Judith (Boulez, 1976, Columbia/Sony)
• Beethoven, Symphony No. 9 (Böhm, 1970, DG)
• Bellini, I Capuleti e i Montecchi – Romeo (Caldwell/Scott, live 1975, VAI)
• Bellini, Norma – Adalgisa (Cillario, live 1975, Gala)
• Bellini, Norma – Adalgisa (Levine, 1979, Columbia/Sony)
• Berlioz: Les Troyens – Plácido Domingo, Allan Monk, John Cheek, Paul Plishka, Douglas Ahlstedt, Philip Creech, Claudia Catania, Jessye Norman, Tatiana Troyanos, Jocelyne Taillon; Metropolitan Opera orchestra and chorus, James Levine (DVD: Deutsche Grammophon Cat: 00440 073 4310; CD: Laser Disc: Pioneer Artists Cat: PA-85-137, 1983)
• Bernstein, West Side Story – Anita (Bernstein, 1985, DG)
• Bizet, Carmen (Solti, 1975, Decca/London)
• Cavalieri, Rappresentatione di Anima, e di Corpo – Anima (Mackerras, 1970, DG Archiv)
• Donizetti, Lucrezia Borgia – Orsini (Rescigno, live 1974, Melodram)
• Handel, Giulio Cesare in Egitto – Cleopatra (Richter, 1969, DG)
• Mahler, Symphony No. 2, "Resurrection" (Boulez, live 1973, Documents)
• Mascagni, Cavalleria rusticana – Santuzza (Schermerhorn, live 1976, Gala)
• Massenet, Werther – Charlotte (Plasson, 1979, EMI/Angel)
• Mozart, Così fan tutte – Dorabella (Leinsdorf, 1967, RCA/BMG)
• Mozart, Così fan tutte – Dorabella (Maag, live 1968, Mondo Musica)
• Mozart, Die Gärtnerin aus Liebe (La Finta Giardiniera) – Ramiro (Schmidt-Isserstedt, 1972, Philips)
• Mozart, Le nozze di Figaro – Cherubino (Böhm, 1968, DG)
• Mozart, Le nozze di Figaro – Marcellina (Levine, 1990, DG)
• Mozart, Missa Brevis in C, "Sparrow Mass" (Kubelik, 1973, DG)
• Penderecki, Die Teufel von Loudun – Jeanne (Janowski, 1969, DG)
• Purcell, Dido and Aeneas – Dido (Mackerras, 1967, DG Archiv)
• Purcell, Dido and Aeneas – Dido (Leppard, 1977, Erato/Apex)
• Scarlatti, A., Endimione e Cintia – Cintia (Lange, 1969, DG Archiv)
• Schoenberg, Gurre-Lieder – Wood Dove (Ozawa, 1979, Philips)
• Strauss, Ariadne auf Naxos – Composer (Böhm, live 1967, Melodram)
• Strauss, Ariadne auf Naxos – Composer (Böhm, 1969, DG)
• Strauss, Ariadne auf Naxos – Composer (Solti, 1977, Decca/London)
• Strauss, Capriccio – Clairon (Böhm, 1971, DG)
• Strauss, Der Rosenkavalier – Octavian (Böhm, live 1969, DG)
• Stravinsky, Oedipus Rex – Jocasta (Abbado, live 1969, Opera d'Oro/Memories)
• Stravinsky, Oedipus Rex – Jocasta (Bernstein, 1972, Columbia/Sony)
• Wagner, Götterdämmerung – Second Norn (Levine, 1989, DG)
• Auger, Janowitz and Troyanos in Concert – Handel, Mozart, Strauss (Eichhorn, live 1968, Originals/Bella Voce)
• Troyanos and Valente – Handel and Mozart, Arias & Duets (Rudel, 1991, MusicMasters/Musical Heritage)
• A Salute to American Music, Richard Tucker Music Foundation Gala XVI – Copland, "At the River" (

Other voices

Soprano Benita Valente shared a special view of Tatiana Troyanos as a dedicated musician. "I don’t know any singer who spent as much time deeply studying the music," Valente said. "I don’t think she even realized how strongly she influenced every role she performed. She never talked about this. But we spent many hours preparing our recitals, and when I visited her New York apartment, seeing the music on the piano was a surprising discovery." The scores were "filled with notes and symbols she wrote herself … in a large, slanted handwriting" covering "every space and margin … It was like a diary in those scores," Valente explained.

Mezzo-soprano Susan Graham remembered, "After I began performing, I became very familiar with the art of Tatiana Troyanos, another artist who taught me complete dedication." Early in her career, Graham sang the role of Annio while Troyanos performed Sesto in La clemenza di Tito. Years later, when Graham prepared to sing Sesto herself, "I opened my Clemenza score and the smell of the paper reminded me of Tatiana. Isn’t that strange? Seeing certain phrases, I can still hear her voice in my mind. It’s not that we were close. But I was deeply affected by her performance and the strength of performing with her, so looking at the score and remembering the Annio/Sesto duet, I can still hear her voice in my ear, the way she sang specific parts of the recitative."

"When I first performed Sesto … there were certain phrases I found myself singing just like she did, because they were already in my mind that way," Graham said. "I was never as inspired by a colleague on stage as I was by Tatiana, because she gave everything."

Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato admitted that before the role of the Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos finally made sense to her, "my preparation for Strauss’s naive Composer seemed too slow. I had also been listening to the excellent artist, Tatiana Troyanos, a great deal, and I was thinking, 'I just can’t do this role justice. I won’t be ready. I just can’t sing it like her.'"

Final season

Tatiana Troyanos passed away on August 21, 1993, in New York, at the age of 54, due to cancer. Nine years after her death, Opera News reported that the cancer was breast cancer, first diagnosed in the mid-1980s. At that time, the cancer went into remission, meaning it was no longer active. However, in July 1993, it was discovered that the cancer had spread to her liver. Her earlier diagnosis was not made public at the time. An article by Eric Myers in Opera News stated that "through all her treatments, she fought bravely and hard against illness and nerves and kept most of her singing performances." She was survived by her mother, Hildegard Fournier, and a brother. She was buried in Pinelawn Memorial Park, Long Island, New York. The year after her death, the Metropolitan Opera held a concert in her memory. Music Director James Levine wrote, "The idea that we are gathered here … to pay tribute to Tatiana Troyanos is incomprehensible. What it means, of course, is that our Metropolitan Opera family has lost one of the most important, beloved artists and friends in its entire history."

Although described as "an exceedingly private person offstage," Troyanos was known to have suffered from inner ear and sinus problems, along with severe performance anxiety. Opera magazine noted that she was "by all reports, someone caught between a rock and a hard place: her stage fright was equalled only by her love of singing." Her death was unexpected and "came as a shock to the close-knit opera community," as Tim Page wrote at the time. "Ms. Troyanos had kept her illness to herself and continued to perform almost to the end."

She had last sung at the Met—the last of three performances of Waltraute (a role debut) to Gwyneth Jones' Brünnhilde in Wagner's Götterdämmerung, conducted by Levine—on May 1, 1993. That April and May, she also sang in Mahler's Third Symphony with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in both Boston and New York, one of three prominent singers who stepped in when the scheduled soloist withdrew from the series of concerts. "Troyanos is still a profoundly immediate and expressive artist," wrote Richard Dyer in the Boston Globe, adding that "hers was the most pliant and meaningful delivery and coloration of the text, the most beautiful, sophisticated and natural shaping of the musical line." James Oestreich in The New York Times reported that "Troyanos offered a searching, almost harrowing reading."

Troyanos was scheduled to reprise the Mahler Third at Tanglewood in August, but her final stage appearances were in a somewhat lighter role, as the actress Clairon in Richard Strauss' Capriccio at San Francisco Opera between June 12 and July 1, 1993. She had fallen ill during rehearsals but sang all the performances. Joseph McLellan of the Washington Post recalled that the revival was "highlighted not only by the radiant presence of Kiri Te Kanawa but by the deceptively robust performance of Tatiana Troyanos." Taking part in a Strauss symposium in San Francisco "a short two months before she died, she was the most blooming and healthy-looking presence in the room," wrote Leighton Kerner in the Village Voice.

Daniel Kessler observed that "beneath the veneer of the casualness of her Clairon for San Francisco on those late 1993 Spring evenings, with each performance she gave, there was a conscious endeavor to build or perfect over what had gone before."

Troyanos last sang on the last day of her life, in Lenox Hill Hospital for other patients, one of whom "told her that this was the first time in three years that she had completely forgotten her pain."