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{{Short description|American opera singer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
|name= Helen Traubel
| name = Helen Traubel
|birth_name= Helen Francesca Traubel
| birth_name = Helen Francesca Traubel
|birth_place= [[St. Louis, Missouri]]
| birth_place = [[St. Louis, Missouri]], U.S.
|birth_date= {{birth date|1899|6|16}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|1899|6|16}}
|death_date= {{death date and age|1972|7|28|1899|6|16}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1972|7|28|1899|6|16}}
|death_place= [[Santa Monica, California]]
| death_place = [[Santa Monica, California]], U.S.
| yearsactive = 1937–1967
⚫
|occupation= [[Opera singer]]
| spouse = Louis Franklin Carpenter (1922–1938) (divorced)<br />William L. Bass (1938–1972) (her death)<ref>[https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/traubel-helen-1899-1972 Traubel, Helen (1899–1972)] encyclopedia.com</ref>
⚫
|image= File:Helen Traubel Colombia Records.jpg
⚫
| occupation = [[Opera singer]]
⚫
|caption= Helen Traubel in a 1945 publicity photograph for [[Columbia Records]]
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| image = File:Helen Traubel Colombia Records.jpg
⚫
| caption = Traubel in a 1945 publicity photograph for [[Columbia Records]]
}}
}}
'''Helen Francesca Traubel''' (June 16, 1899{{spaced ndash}}July 28, 1972) was an American [[opera]] and concert singer. A [[dramatic soprano]], she was best known for her [[Richard Wagner|Wagnerian]] roles, especially those of [[Die Walküre|Brünnhilde]] and [[Tristan und Isolde|Isolde]].<ref>Hischak (2007) p. 297; Sicherman and Green (1980) p. 697. Note that McHenry (1983) p. 416 and some press obituaries give the year of her birth as 1903.</ref>
'''Helen Francesca Traubel''' (June 16, 1899{{spaced ndash}}July 28, 1972) was an American [[opera]] and concert singer. A [[dramatic soprano]], she was best known for her [[Richard Wagner|Wagnerian]] roles, especially those of [[Die Walküre|Brünnhilde]] and [[Tristan und Isolde|Isolde]].<ref>Hischak (2007) p. 297; Sicherman and Green (1980) p. 697. Note that McHenry (1983) p. 416 and some press obituaries give the year of her birth as 1903.</ref>


Born and raised in [[St. Louis, Missouri]], she began her career as a concert singer and went on to sing at the [[Metropolitan Opera]] from 1937-53. Starting in the 1950s, she also developed a career as a nightclub and cabaret singer as well as appearing in television, films and [[musical theatre]]. Traubel spent her later years in [[Santa Monica, California]], where she died at the age of 73.{{cn|date=June 2016}}
Born and raised in [[St. Louis, Missouri]], she began her career as a concert singer and went on to sing at the [[Metropolitan Opera]] from 1937 to 1953. Starting in the 1950s, she also developed a career as a nightclub and cabaret singer as well as appearing in television, films and [[musical theatre]]. Traubel spent her later years in [[Santa Monica, California]], where she died at the age of 73.


==Early life==
==Early life==
[[File:Flowers for Helen Traubel 1952 Scan10009.JPG|alt=Helen Traubel in Chitose Air Base, 1952.|thumb|260x260px|Helen Traubel in Chitose Air Base, 1952.]]
[[File:Flowers for Helen Traubel 1952 Scan10009.JPG|alt=Helen Traubel in Chitose Air Base, 1952.|thumb|260x260px|Helen Traubel at Chitose Air Base, 1952]]
[[File:Happiest house.jpg|alt=Helen Traubel as Fauna|thumb|260x260px|Helen Traubel as Fauna]]
[[File:Happiest house.jpg|alt=Helen Traubel as Fauna|thumb|260x260px|Helen Traubel as Fauna]]
Traubel was born in [[St. Louis, Missouri]] to a prosperous family of German descent. She was the daughter of Otto Ferdinand Traubel, a pharmacist, and Clara Traubel (''née'' Stuhr). She studied singing in her native city with Louise Vetta-Karst and later in New York City with [[Giuseppe Boghetti]] among other teachers. She made her debut as a concert singer with the [[Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra]] in 1923, and in 1926 she got a first offer to join the [[Metropolitan Opera]] company after performing the aria [[Liebestod]] at the [[Lewisohn Stadium]] under conductor [[Rudolph Ganz]]. She turned down the offer in order to continue with her studies and career as a concert singer.<ref name="SandG"/>
Traubel was born in [[St. Louis, Missouri]] to a prosperous family of German descent. She was the daughter of Otto Ferdinand Traubel, a pharmacist, and Clara Traubel (''née'' Stuhr). She studied singing in her native city with Louise Vetta-Karst and later in New York City with [[Giuseppe Boghetti]] among other teachers. She made her debut as a concert singer with the [[Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra]] in 1923, and in 1926 she received an offer to join the [[Metropolitan Opera]] company after performing the ''[[Liebestod]]'' from Wagner's ''[[Tristan und Isolde]]'' at the [[Lewisohn Stadium]] under conductor [[Rudolph Ganz]]. She turned down the Met's offer in order to continue with her studies and career as a concert singer.<ref name="SandG"/>


==Opera career==
==Opera career==
Traubel made her first appearance on the opera stage on May 12, 1937, when the composer [[Walter Damrosch]] asked her to portray the role of Mary Rutledge in the world premiere of his opera ''[[The Man Without a Country (opera)|The Man Without a Country]]'' at the Met.<ref name="SandG">Sicherman and Green (1980) p. 697<!-- publishing info, ISSN/ISBN needed --></ref><ref name="MO"/> Later that year she made her debut with the [[Chicago City Opera Company]] with whom she was active until the company went bankrupt in 1939. In 1940 she joined the roster of the [[Chicago Opera Company]], remaining active with that company until it too went bankrupt in 1946. She sang in several performances with the [[San Francisco Opera]] in 1945 and 1947; making her debut with the company as Brünnhilde in ''[[Die Walküre]]'' on October 9, 1945 with [[Lauritz Melchior]] as Siegmund, [[Margaret Harshaw]] as Fricka, and [[William Steinberg]] conducting.<ref>San Francisco Opera Performance Archives</ref>
On May 12, 1937, Traubel made her debut appearance on the opera stage, after composer [[Walter Damrosch]] asked her to sing the role of Mary Rutledge in the world premiere of his opera ''[[The Man Without a Country (opera)|The Man Without a Country]]'' at the [[Metropolitan Opera]].<ref name="SandG">Sicherman and Green (1980) p. 697 </ref><ref name="MO"/> She made her debut with the [[Chicago City Opera Company]] later that year, appearing there until the company went bankrupt in 1939. In 1940, she joined the roster of the [[Chicago Opera Company]], remaining a member of that company until it too went bankrupt in 1946. She made her debut with the [[San Francisco Opera]] as Brünnhilde in ''Die Walküre'' on October 9, 1945, with [[Lauritz Melchior]] as Siegmund, [[Margaret Harshaw]] as Fricka, and [[William Steinberg]] conducting; she made several further appearances there during 1945 and 1947.<ref>San Francisco Opera Performance Archives</ref>


Since the Met already had two first-class Wagnerian [[sopranos]], [[Kirsten Flagstad]] and [[Marjorie Lawrence]], Traubel at first had difficulty finding her niche. Her debut as a regular company member was as Sieglinde in ''Die Walküre'' in 1939, the only standard role which she had previously sung, at the Chicago Opera. Flagstad left the US in 1941 to visit her homeland of Norway and could not return for political reasons. The same year, Lawrence was stricken with polio and her career was curtailed.{{cn|date=June 2016}}
Since the Metropolitan already had two first-class Wagnerian sopranos, [[Kirsten Flagstad]] and [[Marjorie Lawrence]], Traubel at first had difficulty finding her niche at the Met. Her debut as a regular member of the company was as Sieglinde in ''Die Walküre'' in 1939, the only standard role which she had previously sung, at the Chicago Opera. Flagstad left the US in 1941 to visit her homeland of Norway and could not return due to the war in Europe. The same year, Lawrence was stricken with polio and her career was curtailed.


On February 22, 1941, Traubel sang with tenor [[Lauritz Melchior]] in excerpts from Wagnerian operas on the live broadcast concert of the [[NBC Symphony Orchestra]] conducted by [[Arturo Toscanini]]. [[RCA Victor]] later released recordings of excerpts from the concert, as well as a famous studio recording of [[Brünnhilde's Immolation Scene]] from ''[[Die Götterdämmerung]]''. Traubel later triumphed in ''[[Tannhäuser (opera)|Tannhäuser]]'' and in ''[[Tristan und Isolde]]''. She was renowned for her strong voice, which was often described as a "gleaming sword"; her endurance and purity of tone were unsurpassed, especially as Brünnhilde and Isolde. Although she longed to sing Italian opera, she never did in a complete performance, although she often included Italian arias in her recital repertoire. Towards the end of her Met career, she did add the Marschallin in Richard Strauss's ''[[Der Rosenkavalier]]'' briefly to her repertoire.<ref name ="MO">Metropolitan Opera Archives</ref>
On February 22, 1941, [[Arturo Toscanini]] conducted Traubel and tenor [[Lauritz Melchior]] in excerpts from Wagnerian operas, including act 1, scene 3 of ''Die Walküre'' on the live radio broadcast concert of the [[NBC Symphony Orchestra]]. [[RCA Victor]] later released recordings of excerpts from the concert, as well as a classic studio recording of Traubel in [[Brünnhilde's Immolation Scene]] from ''[[Götterdämmerung]]''. Traubel later triumphed in ''[[Tannhäuser (opera)|Tannhäuser]]'' and in ''[[Tristan und Isolde]]''. She was renowned for her powerful voice, which was often described as a "gleaming sword"; her endurance and purity of tone were unsurpassed, especially as Brünnhilde and Isolde. Although she longed to sing Italian opera, she never appeared in an Italian opera performance onstage, although she often included Italian arias and songs in her recital repertoire. Towards the end of her career at the Met, she added the Marschallin in Richard Strauss's ''[[Der Rosenkavalier]]'' briefly to her repertoire.<ref name ="MO">Metropolitan Opera Archives</ref>


In 1948, while her Met career was at its height, US President [[Harry S. Truman]] contracted her to act as an "advisor" to his daughter, [[Margaret Truman|Margaret]], who was hoping to launch a career as a classical singer. Traubel's 1959 autobiography, ''St. Louis Woman'', contains an account of the three years she spent in the role, and how in the end she felt it had adversely affected her stature in the music world to have her name associated with "such a musical aspirant".<ref>''Youngstown Vindicator'' (December 23, 1958), p. 11</ref>
In 1948, while her Met career was at its height, US President [[Harry S. Truman]] contracted her to act as an "advisor" to his daughter, [[Margaret Truman|Margaret]], who was hoping to launch a career as a classical singer. Traubel's 1959 autobiography, ''St. Louis Woman'', contains an account of the three years she spent in the role, and how in the end she felt it had adversely affected her stature in the music world to have her name associated with "such a musical aspirant" of questionable talent.<ref>''Youngstown Vindicator'' (December 23, 1958), p. 11</ref>


Traubel's contract at the Metropolitan Opera was not renewed in 1953 when its General Manager, [[Rudolf Bing]], expressed disapproval of her radio and TV appearances alongside the likes of [[Jimmy Durante]] and her expressed desire to expand her lucrative career in major supper and night clubs. Traubel went on to appear at the [[Copacabana (nightclub)|Copacabana]], as well as in many [[Cameo appearance|cameo]] television roles.<ref>See ''Gettysburg Times'' (September 29, 1953), p. 6 and ''Montreal Gazette'' (July 31, 1972), p. 14.</ref> After her Met career, she appeared on Broadway in the [[Rodgers and Hammerstein]] failure, ''[[Pipe Dream (musical)|Pipe Dream]]'', playing a bordello madame with a heart of gold and the voice of Isolde.<ref>Hischak (2007) p. 297.</ref> Additionally, she appeared in the films ''[[Deep in My Heart (1954 film)|Deep in My Heart]]'', ''[[Gunn (film)|Gunn]]'' and ''[[The Ladies Man]]''. She also appeared opposite [[Groucho Marx]] as Katisha in a Bell Telephone presentation (abridged) of [[Gilbert and Sullivan]]'s ''[[The Mikado]]''. Traubel's last night club appearance was with Jimmy Durante at [[Harrah's Lake Tahoe]] in 1964.<ref name ="Star">''Star-News'' (July 31, 1972), p. 18</ref>
Traubel's association with the Metropolitan Opera ended in 1953; General Manager [[Rudolf Bing]] chose not to renew her contract after expressing disapproval of her radio and TV appearances alongside the likes of [[Jimmy Durante]], and her wish to expand her lucrative career in major supper and night clubs. Traubel went on to appear at the [[Copacabana (nightclub)|Copacabana]], as well as in many [[Cameo appearance|cameo]] television roles.<ref>See ''Gettysburg Times'' (September 29, 1953), p. 6 and ''Montreal Gazette'' (July 31, 1972), p. 14.</ref> After her Met career, she appeared on Broadway in the [[Rodgers and Hammerstein]] financial failure, ''[[Pipe Dream (musical)|Pipe Dream]]'', playing a bordello madame with a heart of gold and the voice of Isolde.<ref>Hischak (2007) p. 297.</ref> Additionally, she appeared in the films ''[[Deep in My Heart (1954 film)|Deep in My Heart]]'', ''[[The Ladies Man]]'' and ''[[Gunn (film)|Gunn]]''. She also appeared opposite [[Groucho Marx]] as Katisha in a Bell Telephone presentation in an abridged performance of [[Gilbert and Sullivan]]'s ''[[The Mikado]]''. Traubel's last night club appearance was with Jimmy Durante at [[Harrah's Lake Tahoe]] in 1964.<ref name ="Star">''Star-News'' (July 31, 1972), p. 18</ref>


==Other==
==Personal life==
A [[baseball]] fan, Traubel was once the part owner of her hometown team, the [[St. Louis Browns]].<ref name ="Star"/> She wrote two murder mysteries, ''The Ptomaine Canary'' (serialized in US newspapers via [[Associated Press]]) in 1950 and ''The Metropolitan Opera Murders'' (1951), which feature a soprano heroine, Elsa Vaughan, who helps solve the mystery, as well as being a thinly-disguised portrait of Traubel herself.<ref>''Time Magazine'' (April 24, 1950)</ref>
A baseball fan, Traubel was once the part owner of her hometown team, the [[St. Louis Browns]].<ref name ="Star"/> She wrote a [[mystery fiction|mystery]] short story, ''The Ptomaine Canary,'' which was serialized in US newspapers via [[Associated Press]]) in 1950.<ref>''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' (April 24, 1950)</ref> A full-length follow-up, ''The Metropolitan Opera Murders'' (1951), was [[ghostwriter|ghostwritten]] by [[Harold Q. Masur]]<ref>{{cite book |chapter = Introduction |last = Klinger |first = Leslie L. |title = The Metropolitan Opera Murders |page=x |date=2022 |publisher = Library of Congress |isbn = 978-1-4642-1590-2}}</ref> and features a soprano heroine, Elsa Vaughan, who helps solve the mystery.


Her later years were devoted to caring for her second husband and former business manager, William L. Bass, whom she had married in 1938. (Her first husband, was Louis Franklin Carpenter, a St. Louis car salesman. The couple married in 1922 but soon separated.<ref name="SandG"/>) Helen Traubel died of a heart attack in [[Santa Monica, California]], aged 73, and was interred in the [[Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery]] in Los Angeles.<ref>Montreal Gazette (31 July 1972) p. 14</ref>
Her later years were devoted to caring for her second husband and former business manager, William L. Bass, whom she had married in 1938. (Her first husband, was Louis Franklin Carpenter, a St. Louis car salesman. The couple married in 1922 but soon separated.<ref name="SandG"/>) Traubel died of a heart attack in [[Santa Monica, California]], aged 73, and was interred in the [[Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery]] in Los Angeles.<ref>Montreal Gazette (July 31, 1972) p. 14</ref>


For her contribution to the recording industry, Helen Traubel has a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] at 6422 Hollywood Blvd.<ref>Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, [http://www.hollywoodchamber.net/index.php?module=wof&s=nor&p=1&sname=Helen+Traubel&wof_id=30 Hollywood Walk of Fame:Helen Traubel]</ref> In 1994 she was inducted into the [[St. Louis Walk of Fame]].<ref>St. Louis Walk of Fame, [http://www.stlouiswalkoffame.org/inductees/helen-traubel.html Helen Traubel]</ref>
For her contribution to the recording industry, Traubel has a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] at 6422 Hollywood Blvd.<ref>Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, [http://www.hollywoodchamber.net/index.php?module=wof&s=nor&p=1&sname=Helen+Traubel&wof_id=30 Hollywood Walk of Fame:Helen Traubel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306192321/http://www.hollywoodchamber.net/index.php?module=wof&s=nor&p=1&sname=Helen+Traubel&wof_id=30 |date=March 6, 2012 }}</ref> In 1994 she was inducted into the [[St. Louis Walk of Fame]].<ref>St. Louis Walk of Fame, [http://www.stlouiswalkoffame.org/inductees/helen-traubel.html Helen Traubel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119174619/http://www.stlouiswalkoffame.org/inductees/helen-traubel.html |date=January 19, 2019 }}</ref>


==Notes and references==
==Notes and references==
{{reflist|2}}
{{reflist|30em}}


==Sources==
==Sources==
{{div col}}
*''[[Gettysburg Times]]'' (via [[Associated Press]]), [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=aGgmAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nv8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=1997,2221501&dq=helen-traubel&hl=en "Helen Traubel In Tiff With Met: Won't Sign"], September 29, 1953, pg. 6; accessed October 31, 2010.
* ''[[Gettysburg Times]]'' (via [[Associated Press]]), [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=aGgmAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nv8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=1997,2221501&dq=helen-traubel&hl=en "Helen Traubel In Tiff With Met: Won't Sign"], September 29, 1953, p.&nbsp;6; accessed October 31, 2010.
*Hischak, Thomas S. [https://books.google.com/books?id=f9POoUQXM7wC&pg=PA297&dq=%22Traubel,+Helen%22&hl=en&ei=9kfNTJj6JY7usgaH7PGWCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CDsQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=%22Traubel%2C%20Helen%22&f=false "Traubel, Helen"], ''The Rodgers and Hammerstein Encyclopedia'', Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007, p. 297; ISBN 0-313-34140-0
*McHenry, Robert (ed.), [https://books.google.com/books?id=n9SZh8eDtt0C&pg=PA416&dq=%22Traubel,+Helen%22&hl=en&ei=9kfNTJj6JY7usgaH7PGWCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CEAQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=%22Traubel%2C%20Helen%22&f=false "Traubel, Helen"], ''Famous American Women: A Biographical Dictionary from Colonial Times to the Present'', Courier Dover Publications, 1983, p. 416; ISBN 0-486-24523-3
* Hischak, Thomas S. [https://books.google.com/books?id=f9POoUQXM7wC&dq=%22Traubel%2C+Helen%22&pg=PA297 "Traubel, Helen"], ''The Rodgers and Hammerstein Encyclopedia'', Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007, p.&nbsp;297; {{ISBN|0-313-34140-0}}
* McHenry, Robert (ed.), [https://books.google.com/books?id=n9SZh8eDtt0C&dq=%22Traubel%2C+Helen%22&pg=PA416 "Traubel, Helen"], ''Famous American Women: A Biographical Dictionary from Colonial Times to the Present'', Courier Dover Publications, 1983, p.&nbsp;416; {{ISBN|0-486-24523-3}}
*[[Metropolitan Opera]] Archives, [http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/gisrch2k.r?Term=Traubel,%20Helen%20%5BSoprano%5D&limit=5000&vsrchtype=no&xBranch=ALL&xmtype=&Start=&End=&theterm=%54%72a%75b%65l,%20H%65l%65n%20%5BSop%72ano%5D&srt=&x=0&xHome=http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/bibpro.htm&xHomePath=http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/ Traubel, Helen (soprano)], MetOpera Database; accessed October 31, 2010.
* [[Metropolitan Opera]] Archives, [http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/gisrch2k.r?Term=Traubel,%20Helen%20%5BSoprano%5D&limit=5000&vsrchtype=no&xBranch=ALL&xmtype=&Start=&End=&theterm=%54%72a%75b%65l,%20H%65l%65n%20%5BSop%72ano%5D&srt=&x=0&xHome=http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/bibpro.htm&xHomePath=http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/ Traubel, Helen (soprano)], MetOpera Database; accessed October 31, 2010.
⚫
*''[[Montreal Gazette]]'' (via Associated Press), [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HB4rAAAAIBAJ&sjid=raEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3706,6966474&dq=helen-traubel+dead&hl=en "Former Met Star Helen Traubel Dead"], July 31, 1972, p. 14; accessed October 31, 2010.
*[[San Francisco Opera]] Performance Archives, [http://archive.sfopera.com/qry3webcastlist.asp?psearch=Helen%20Traubel&Submit=GO Helen Traubel]; accessed October 31, 2010.
* ''[[Montreal Gazette]]'' (via Associated Press), [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HB4rAAAAIBAJ&sjid=raEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3706,6966474&dq=helen-traubel+dead&hl=en "Former Met Star Helen Traubel Dead"], July 31, 1972, p.&nbsp;14; accessed October 31, 2010.
* [[San Francisco Opera]] Performance Archives, [http://archive.sfopera.com/qry3webcastlist.asp?psearch=Helen%20Traubel&Submit=GO Helen Traubel]; accessed October 31, 2010.
*Sicherman, Barbara, and Green, Carol Hurd (eds), [https://books.google.com/books?id=CfGHM9KU7aEC&pg=PA697&dq=%22Traubel,+Helen%22&hl=en&ei=9kfNTJj6JY7usgaH7PGWCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22Traubel%2C%20Helen%22&f=false "Traubel, Helen Francesca"], ''Notable American Women: The modern period'', Volume 4, p. 697, Harvard University Press, 1980; ISBN 0-674-62733-4
* Sicherman, Barbara, and Green, Carol Hurd (eds), [https://books.google.com/books?id=CfGHM9KU7aEC&dq=%22Traubel%2C+Helen%22&pg=PA697 "Traubel, Helen Francesca"], ''Notable American Women: The modern period'', Volume 4, p.&nbsp;697, Harvard University Press, 1980; {{ISBN|0-674-62733-4}}
*''[[Star-News]]'' (via [[United Press International]]), [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=t2g0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=xAkEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3029,7401593&dq=helen-traubel+dead&hl=en "Helen Traubel, Former Opera Diva, Dies"], July 31, 1972, p. 18; accessed October 31, 2010.
*''[[Time Magazine]]'', [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,854230,00.html "Happy Heroine" (cover story)], November 11, 1946; accessed October 31, 2010.
* ''[[Star-News]]'' (via [[United Press International]]), [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=t2g0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=xAkEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3029,7401593&dq=helen-traubel+dead&hl=en "Helen Traubel, Former Opera Diva, Dies"], July 31, 1972, p.&nbsp;18; accessed October 31, 2010.
*''Time Magazine'', [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,812282,00.html "Murder at the Met?"], time.com, April 24, 1950; accessed October 31, 2010.
* ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20090319053928/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,854230,00.html "Happy Heroine" (cover story)], November 11, 1946; accessed October 31, 2010.
* ''Time'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20110131122839/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,812282,00.html "Murder at the Met?"], April 24, 1950; accessed October 31, 2010.
*Traubel, Helen and Hubler, Richard Gibson, [https://books.google.com/books?id=LTPs5rCiKDcC ''St. Louis Woman''], University of Missouri Press, 1999; ISBN 0-8262-1237-9
* Traubel, Helen and Hubler, Richard Gibson, [https://books.google.com/books?id=LTPs5rCiKDcC ''St. Louis Woman''], University of Missouri Press, 1999; {{ISBN|0-8262-1237-9}}
*''[[Youngstown Vindicator]]'' (via Associated Press), [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HE1AAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UFcMAAAAIBAJ&pg=540,2380228&dq=helen-traubel&hl=en "Helen Traubel Says Role with Margaret 'Hurt' Her"], December 23, 1958, p. 11; accessed October 31, 2010.
⚫
* ''[[Youngstown Vindicator]]'' (via Associated Press), [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HE1AAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UFcMAAAAIBAJ&pg=540,2380228&dq=helen-traubel&hl=en "Helen Traubel Says Role with Margaret 'Hurt' Her"], December 23, 1958, p.&nbsp;11; accessed October 31, 2010.
{{div col end}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{Archival records|title=Helen Traubel collection, 1920–1970|location= [[Library of Congress]]|description_URL=https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/eadmus.mu021040}}
* {{IMDb name|0871182|Helen Traubel}}
* {{IMDb name|0871182|Helen Traubel}}
* [http://www.life.com/search/?type=images&q0=helen+traubel Historic photos of Helen Traubel] from ''[[Life Magazine]]''
* [http://www.life.com/search/?type=images&q0=helen+traubel Historic photos of Helen Traubel] from ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' magazine
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_18yHxZTeS0&t=870s Helen Traubel singing] on a special episode of [[The Jerry Lewis Show]] on January 16, 1960
* {{YouTube|FeZr5DLKwXE|"A Perfect Day"}} by [[Carrie Jacobs-Bond]] sung by Traubel


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Latest revision as of 07:45, 16 June 2024

Helen Traubel
Traubel in a 1945 publicity photograph for Columbia Records
Born
Helen Francesca Traubel

(1899-06-16)June 16, 1899
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
DiedJuly 28, 1972(1972-07-28) (aged 73)
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
OccupationOpera singer
Years active1937–1967
Spouse(s)Louis Franklin Carpenter (1922–1938) (divorced)
William L. Bass (1938–1972) (her death)[1]

Helen Francesca Traubel (June 16, 1899 – July 28, 1972) was an American opera and concert singer. A dramatic soprano, she was best known for her Wagnerian roles, especially those of Brünnhilde and Isolde.[2]

Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, she began her career as a concert singer and went on to sing at the Metropolitan Opera from 1937 to 1953. Starting in the 1950s, she also developed a career as a nightclub and cabaret singer as well as appearing in television, films and musical theatre. Traubel spent her later years in Santa Monica, California, where she died at the age of 73.

Early life

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Helen Traubel in Chitose Air Base, 1952.
Helen Traubel at Chitose Air Base, 1952
Helen Traubel as Fauna
Helen Traubel as Fauna

Traubel was born in St. Louis, Missouri to a prosperous family of German descent. She was the daughter of Otto Ferdinand Traubel, a pharmacist, and Clara Traubel (née Stuhr). She studied singing in her native city with Louise Vetta-Karst and later in New York City with Giuseppe Boghetti among other teachers. She made her debut as a concert singer with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra in 1923, and in 1926 she received an offer to join the Metropolitan Opera company after performing the Liebestod from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde at the Lewisohn Stadium under conductor Rudolph Ganz. She turned down the Met's offer in order to continue with her studies and career as a concert singer.[3]

Opera career

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On May 12, 1937, Traubel made her debut appearance on the opera stage, after composer Walter Damrosch asked her to sing the role of Mary Rutledge in the world premiere of his opera The Man Without a Country at the Metropolitan Opera.[3][4] She made her debut with the Chicago City Opera Company later that year, appearing there until the company went bankrupt in 1939. In 1940, she joined the roster of the Chicago Opera Company, remaining a member of that company until it too went bankrupt in 1946. She made her debut with the San Francisco Opera as Brünnhilde in Die Walküre on October 9, 1945, with Lauritz Melchior as Siegmund, Margaret Harshaw as Fricka, and William Steinberg conducting; she made several further appearances there during 1945 and 1947.[5]

Since the Metropolitan already had two first-class Wagnerian sopranos, Kirsten Flagstad and Marjorie Lawrence, Traubel at first had difficulty finding her niche at the Met. Her debut as a regular member of the company was as Sieglinde in Die Walküre in 1939, the only standard role which she had previously sung, at the Chicago Opera. Flagstad left the US in 1941 to visit her homeland of Norway and could not return due to the war in Europe. The same year, Lawrence was stricken with polio and her career was curtailed.

On February 22, 1941, Arturo Toscanini conducted Traubel and tenor Lauritz Melchior in excerpts from Wagnerian operas, including act 1, scene 3 of Die Walküre on the live radio broadcast concert of the NBC Symphony Orchestra. RCA Victor later released recordings of excerpts from the concert, as well as a classic studio recording of Traubel in Brünnhilde's Immolation Scene from Götterdämmerung. Traubel later triumphed in Tannhäuser and in Tristan und Isolde. She was renowned for her powerful voice, which was often described as a "gleaming sword"; her endurance and purity of tone were unsurpassed, especially as Brünnhilde and Isolde. Although she longed to sing Italian opera, she never appeared in an Italian opera performance onstage, although she often included Italian arias and songs in her recital repertoire. Towards the end of her career at the Met, she added the Marschallin in Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier briefly to her repertoire.[4]

In 1948, while her Met career was at its height, US President Harry S. Truman contracted her to act as an "advisor" to his daughter, Margaret, who was hoping to launch a career as a classical singer. Traubel's 1959 autobiography, St. Louis Woman, contains an account of the three years she spent in the role, and how in the end she felt it had adversely affected her stature in the music world to have her name associated with "such a musical aspirant" of questionable talent.[6]

Traubel's association with the Metropolitan Opera ended in 1953; General Manager Rudolf Bing chose not to renew her contract after expressing disapproval of her radio and TV appearances alongside the likes of Jimmy Durante, and her wish to expand her lucrative career in major supper and night clubs. Traubel went on to appear at the Copacabana, as well as in many cameo television roles.[7] After her Met career, she appeared on Broadway in the Rodgers and Hammerstein financial failure, Pipe Dream, playing a bordello madame with a heart of gold and the voice of Isolde.[8] Additionally, she appeared in the films Deep in My Heart, The Ladies Man and Gunn. She also appeared opposite Groucho Marx as Katisha in a Bell Telephone presentation in an abridged performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado. Traubel's last night club appearance was with Jimmy Durante at Harrah's Lake Tahoe in 1964.[9]

Personal life

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A baseball fan, Traubel was once the part owner of her hometown team, the St. Louis Browns.[9] She wrote a mystery short story, The Ptomaine Canary, which was serialized in US newspapers via Associated Press) in 1950.[10] A full-length follow-up, The Metropolitan Opera Murders (1951), was ghostwritten by Harold Q. Masur[11] and features a soprano heroine, Elsa Vaughan, who helps solve the mystery.

Her later years were devoted to caring for her second husband and former business manager, William L. Bass, whom she had married in 1938. (Her first husband, was Louis Franklin Carpenter, a St. Louis car salesman. The couple married in 1922 but soon separated.[3]) Traubel died of a heart attack in Santa Monica, California, aged 73, and was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.[12]

For her contribution to the recording industry, Traubel has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6422 Hollywood Blvd.[13] In 1994 she was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame.[14]

Notes and references

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  1. ^ Traubel, Helen (1899–1972) encyclopedia.com
  2. ^ Hischak (2007) p. 297; Sicherman and Green (1980) p. 697. Note that McHenry (1983) p. 416 and some press obituaries give the year of her birth as 1903.
  3. ^ a b c Sicherman and Green (1980) p. 697
  4. ^ a b Metropolitan Opera Archives
  5. ^ San Francisco Opera Performance Archives
  6. ^ Youngstown Vindicator (December 23, 1958), p. 11
  7. ^ See Gettysburg Times (September 29, 1953), p. 6 and Montreal Gazette (July 31, 1972), p. 14.
  8. ^ Hischak (2007) p. 297.
  9. ^ a b Star-News (July 31, 1972), p. 18
  10. ^ Time (April 24, 1950)
  11. ^ Klinger, Leslie L. (2022). "Introduction". The Metropolitan Opera Murders. Library of Congress. p. x. ISBN 978-1-4642-1590-2.
  12. ^ Montreal Gazette (July 31, 1972) p. 14
  13. ^ Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, Hollywood Walk of Fame:Helen Traubel Archived March 6, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ St. Louis Walk of Fame, Helen Traubel Archived January 19, 2019, at the Wayback Machine

Sources

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[edit]
Archives at
LocationLibrary of Congress
SourceHelen Traubel collection, 1920–1970
How to use archival material
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