|
Born: October 23, 1913 - Oregon, USA
Died: February 3, 1983 - Santa Monica, California, USA |
|
The American mezzo-soprano, Belva Kibler, received her early training in voice and piano at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.
Belva Kibler's early appearances in Los Angeles included the West Coast premiere of Prokofieff's Alexander Nevsky under the baton of Otto Klemperer. In New York she was consistently successful as a soloist with Arthur Mendel's Cantata Singers with whom she performed J.S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion BWV 244 (1950), St. John Passion BWV 245 (1951), B-minor Mass BWV 232 (1951, 1953), and Christmas Oratorio BWV 248. In 1951 she undertook a recital tour through Germany and Austria, and was very favorably received. She was the chosen performer for several productions of contemporary works such as Benjamin Britten's Rape of Lucretia in which she sang the coveted role of Lucretia for the American premiere and as Ann in Virgil Thomson's Mother of Us All (1947). She also appeared in the film of Gian-Carlo Menotti's The Medium as Mrs. Gobineau (1951) and performed and recorded Arnold Schoenberg's Fünfzehn Gedichte aus Das Buch der hängenden Gärten.
Belva Kibler died after a long illness on February 3, 1983 in Santa Monica, California. She was 69 years old. She was survived by her husband, Donald Morgan, of Hollywood, California. |
