Read more about Blanche Thebom at the San Francisco Classical Voice, including audio samples and comments from admirers.

Blanche Thebom, a mezzo-soprano who was a mainstay at the Metropolitan Opera in New York for a decade and launched a teaching career at UALR, died March 23 at her home in San Francisco of heart failure. She was 94.

Thebom performed more than 350 times at the Met from 1944 to 1967. She built a second career as a teacher, first at UALR and then in San Francisco.

She was part of a mid-century wave of American opera singers to gain international fame and was best known for her Wagner performances, including roles as Brangäne in “Tristan und Isolde” and Fricka in “Die Walküre.”

She taught at UALR from 1973 to 1980. In addition to teaching music students, she established a foundation that sponsored competitions among outstanding Arkansas high school seniors for full scholarships in opera and voice at UALR.

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In Memoriam: Blanche Thebom (San Francisco Classical Voice)

Her obituary in the Los Angeles Times describes her singing life on stage and screen.