Nan Merriman (April 28, 1920- ) is an
American operatic
mezzo-soprano, born in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is most famous for singing many roles both live and on
radio under the baton of the legendary
Arturo Toscanini between 1944 and 1952, while he was conductor of the
NBC Symphony Orchestra. Among the roles she sang with him, all released on
CD, are Maddalena in Act IV of
Giuseppe Verdi's
Rigoletto, Emilia in Verdi's
Otello, Mistress Page in Verdi's
Falstaff, and the trouser role of Orfeo in Act II of
Gluck's
Orfeo ed Euridice. She was also featured as Dorabella in a famous 1956 La Scala performance of
Mozart's
Così fan tutte, which was conducted by Toscanini's short-lived protegee,
Guido Cantelli. This has also been released on Compact Discs.
Nan Merriman retired from performing to raise a family in 1965.
References
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- http://www.dutchdivas.net/mezzos/nan_merriman.html