Toasting A Legend Of the Opera

In the 1940s and '50s there were several great Carmens, but none as saucy as Rise Stevens.Those fortunate enough to own an original 1951 Victor recording of the Bizet masterpiece, conducted by Fritz Reiner and featuring the dream cast of Jan Peerce, Robert Merrill, and Licia Albanese, know that the album cover, a serpentine Ms. Stevens practically lunging off of the cardboard, is as lurid as any east of the corner of Haight and Ashbury. On Monday evening, the Metropolitan Opera Guild and Opera News magazine paid tribute to Ms. Stevens at the Rose Theater.

Born Rise Steenberg in the Bronx in 1913, Ms. Stevens studied with Anna Schoen-Rene at the Juilliard School, and began working in Prague in the 1930s after being discovered by George Szell. While embracing contralto and Wagnerian parts, she began to lighten up a little, settling on the mezzo repertoire of Strauss and Mozart and becoming a specialist in the hosenrolle - a woman portraying a man. Over time, Gluck's "Orfeo" became her favorite role, even as she seized the opportunity to exploit her earthy pulchritude in roles such as Dalila and Carmen.

In an era when Ezio Pinza could star in "South Pacific," Ms. Stevens went Hollywood, teaming with Bing Crosby in "Holiday Inn" and "Going My Way." Significantly, she had made her Metropolitan Opera debut on the road in Philadelphia, and when she retired from singing in the 1960s, she was appointed director of the Met's national company.

It was as an administrator that she was first praised at this gathering, since the introduction went to Mayor Giuliani. He told the story of how Rise (the name means laughter in Norwegian) called President Kennedy when the company threatened to go out on strike at the beginning of the 1961-62 season.

The program, hosted by Van Cliburn and mezzo-soprano Jennifer Larmore, consisted of reminiscences from singers and friends and a trove of wonderful clips, mostly from early television. There were no less than four excerpts from "Carmen," from the Habanera with Crosby in the wings to an incredibly passionate finale with Richard Tucker from "The Ed Sullivan Show."Anna Moffo, a board member of the Met guild, shared her thoughts about Ms. Stevens and her art. Ms. Moffo praised her purity of tone and her spontaneity. Patrice Munsel was also on hand for remarks.

Hearing that Kitty Carlisle Hart was to be on the program was enough to get me to attend. Ms. Hart was indeed an opera singer, and not just with the Marx brothers. She sang "Carmen" once in Salt Lake City and followed Ms. Stevens's signature portrayal of Count Orlofsky at the Met, although without the exaggeratedly long cigarette holder or the penciled mustache.

Much of the second half of the program was devoted to Ms. Stevens away from the opera stage. Photos showed her riding the Victory Train for the war effort - Hollywood had a very different concept of defending America in those days - with the likes of Joe E. Brown and Groucho Marx. Rare kinescopes revealed Rise roller-skating while singing "Let It Snow"; intoning Humperdinck's prayer (with Hans Conreid as the witch); and strolling through a park singing "Getting To Know You" in Russian when the "Sullivan" show went to the Soviet Union. Ms. Hart pointed out that Ms. Stevens had appeared on "The Voice of Firestone" a remarkable 47 times, and the audience was treated to the diva belting out the show's theme song, written by Idabell Firestone, the wife of the chairman of the board.

The evening featured a raft of good stories. Mr. Cliburn told of when Mr. Bing (Sir Rudolf, not Crosby) asked Ms. Stevens's husband and manager, Walter Surovy, if Rise would consider singing Amneris in a new "Aida." Surovy agreed immediately, but on one condition: The Met would have to change the name of the opera because his client only sang title roles!

Finally Ms. Stevens herself spoke and gave yet another reason to praise her. She kept her speech short, inviting us all to a reception and indulging herself only by introducing her granddaughter. Other than this girl, Ms. Larmore seemed the youngest person in the room and showed it by introducing one clip as Ms. Stevens dancing with "Ray Bol-zhay." Perhaps a generation gap, but hasn't she seen "The Wizard of Oz"?