Jean Madeira

Jean Madeira, née Jean Browning (November 14, 1918 – July 11, 1972) was an American contralto, particularly known for her work in late-romantic German repertoire such as the operas of Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss.

Madeira was born in Christopher, Illinois. Her father was half-Cherokee coal miner. Jean Madeira was a second-cousin of the composer Amy Beth Kirsten.

Madeira's television debut occurred on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 19, 1956.

She married Francis Madeira in 1947 and thereafter used her married name as her professional name. Madeira had been ill for two years when she died on July 11, 1972, at her home in Providence, Rhode Island, aged 53.

Abridged discography

Bizet: Carmen as Carmen (Filacuridi; Dervaux, 1957) Pathé Britten: Peter Grimes (Jon Vickers; 1967) Immortal Performances Falla: Three Cornered Hat (Vienna Symphony) Tuxedo Music Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro as Marcellina (Siepi, Conner, Valdengo, de los Angeles; Met, Fritz Reiner, 1952) Myto Mozart: Requiem in D Minor, K.626 (NBC Symphony, Arturo Toscanini, 1950) RCA Victor Pochielli: La Gioconda as La Cieca (Milanov, Warren, Barbieri, Siepi; Met, Cleva, 1953) Gala Puccini: Madama Butterfly as Suzuki (Steber, Tucker, Valdengo; Met, Rudolf, 1949) Sony Puccini: Manon Lescaut (Kirsten, J.Björling, Valdengo; Met, Antonicelli, 1949) Myto Saint-Saëns: Samson et Delilah as Delilah (Del Monaco; Teatro di San Carlo, Molinari-Pradelli, 1959) Hardy Classic Strauss: Elektra as Clytemnestra (Borkh, Schech, Uhl, Fischer-Dieskau; Böhm, 1960) DG Strauss: Elektra, as Clytemnestra (Nilsson, Rysanek, Nagy, Stewart; Met, Bohm, 1971) Met On Demand Verdi: Aida as Amneris (Rysanek, London, Frick, Hopf; Vienna State Opera, Kubelik, 1955) Orfeo Verdi: Requiem (Vienna Symphony, Erich Kleiber 1955) Melodram Verdi: Un ballo in maschera as Ulrica (Bergonzi, Rysanek, Merrill; Santi, 1962) Living Stage Wagner: Das Rheingold as Erda (Flagstad, London; Solti, 1958) Decca Wagner: Die Walkure as Fricka (Nilsson, Rysanek, Ludwig, Hotter, Frick, Suthaus; La Scala, Karajan, 1958) Myto; IDIS Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen as Erda, Rossweisse & First Norn (Bayreuth, Knappertsbusch, 1956) Orfeo Wagner Parsifal (Svanholm, Varnay, London, Hotter; Met, Stiedry, 1954) Adonis