Lorraine Hunt Lieberson

Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (March 1, 1954 – July 3, 2006) was a renowned American soprano then mezzo-soprano. Her parents were both involved with opera in the San Francisco Bay Area; her mother, Marcia, was a contralto and music teacher and her father, Randolph, taught music in high school and college. She performed as a child in Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel & Gretel, as a gingerbread boy. She returned to opera after doing a charity performance of... more

Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (March 1, 1954 – July 3, 2006) was a renowned American soprano then mezzo-soprano. Her parents were both involved with opera in the San Francisco Bay Area; her mother, Marcia, was a contralto and music teacher and her father, Randolph, taught music in high school and college. She performed as a child in Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel & Gretel, as a gingerbread boy. She returned to opera after doing a charity performance of the same work at a prison, this time taking Hansel's role. After this performance, she auditioned for the Met, at age 29. She married composer Peter Lieberson in 1999 and changed her name to Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. They collaborated professionally as well. Among their collaborations are Rilke Songs and Neruda Songs, both of which were issued in recordings, as well as Hunt Lieberson's performance in the world premiere of his opera Ashoka's Dream at the Santa Fe Opera. She died after a long battle with breast cancer on July 3, 2006, at the age... less