Eileen Farrell (February 13, 1920 – March 23, 2002) was an American opera and concert singer soprano. During her career, Farrell was greatly admired as an opera singer, but she preferred the concert hall and radio to the theater.
Farrell was born in Willimantic, Connecticut, but she moved at an early age to Woonsocket, Rhode Island, which she always publicly and affectionately called her home town. She was elected to Woonsocket's Hall of Fame. He...
more
Eileen Farrell (February 13, 1920 – March 23, 2002) was an American opera and concert singer soprano. During her career, Farrell was greatly admired as an opera singer, but she preferred the concert hall and radio to the theater.
Farrell was born in Willimantic, Connecticut, but she moved at an early age to Woonsocket, Rhode Island, which she always publicly and affectionately called her home town. She was elected to Woonsocket's Hall of Fame. Her parents were vaudeville singers.
In 1942 she made her concert debut on CBS radio where she soon presented her own radio program. During 1947–1948, she toured the US as a concert singer, and in 1949 she toured South America.
Farrell's song recital in New York in October 1950 was enthusiastically acclaimed and secured for her immediate recognition. That year, she also appeared in a concert performance of Berg's Wozzeck as Marie. In 1952, she was engaged by Toscanini for his first and only studio recording of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the...
less
