Martha Lipton

Martha Lipton (April 6, 1913 – November 28, 2006) was an American operatic mezzo-soprano and music educator who is best known for her career performing at the Metropolitan Opera ("The Met") from 1944-1961. A native of New York City, she began her training as a vocalist with her mother who had a brief career as a concert soprano under the name Estelle Laiken. She later studied both privately and at the School of Musicianship for Singers, Inc and the Juilliard School. She made her professional concert debut while still a student in 1933 at Carnegie Hall, performing in a concert of light opera excerpts with the New York Light Opera Guild. In 1936 she began working as a church vocalist at both Riverside Church and Temple Emanu-El of New York.

While studying in the graduate school of Juilliard from 1937-1939, Lipton began her opera career as a contract member of the resident opera company at Radio City Music Hall (RCMH), making her professional opera debut as Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor on November 6, 1938 at the RCMH. In 1939 she created the role of Queen Isabella in the world premiere of Eugene Zador's opera Christopher Columbus with the RCMH Opera Company. That same year she won two singing competitions, one by the MacDowell Club of New York and the other a national competition by the National Federation of Music Clubs, which significantly raised her profile as a vocalist. Contracts for recitals and concert work with symphony orchestras on the national stage soon followed, including performances with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Portland Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra among others.

In 1941 Lipton performed the role of the Lady-in-Waiting in the United States premiere of Giuseppe Verdi's Macbeth at Broadway's 44th Street Theatre. In 1944 she performed in the New York City Opera's first season as Nancy in Friedrich von Flotow's Martha. That same year she made her debut at The Met as Siebel in Charles Gounod's Faust. She went on to sing in seventeen seasons at the Met, giving more than 400 performances with the company and portraying a total of 36 different characters. She notably appeared as Mrs. Sedley in the Met's first staging of Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes in 1948, and performed the role of Mother Goose in the United States premiere of Igor Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress in 1953. Her most frequently performed roles at the Met were Annina in Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier and Emilia in Verdi's Otello. She mainly retired from performance after completing the 1960-1961 season at the Met.

On the international stage, Lipton made appearances as a guest artist in opera houses in Mexico, Brazil, Holland, and the United Kingdom. She also gave a concert tour of South America in 1946. She created roles in the world premieres of two operas by Douglas Moore: Augusta Tabor in The Ballad of Baby Doe (1956) and Aunt Maud in The Wings of the Dove (1961). She made multiple recording with Columbia Records during the 1950s and into 1960s, including records made with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra; the New York Philharmonic under conductors Leopold Stokowski, Bruno Walter, and Leonard Bernstein; and multiple complete opera recordings with the Metropolitan Opera.

Lipton was a voice teacher on the faculty of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana from 1960 until her retirement in 1983. Having never married, she died in Bloomington in 2006 at the age of 93.

Early life and education

The daughter of Leon Lipton and Estelle Lipton (née Laiken),Martha Lipton in the Indiana, U.S., Death Certificates, 1899-2017, State No. 037912 Martha Lipton was born in New York City on April 6, 1913. Her mother had a short career as a concert soprano under the name Estelle Laiken.{{cite journal|date=February 1923|title= Estelle Laiken At The Jewish Forum Banquet|journal=The Jewish Forum|volume= 6|page= 246}} Her first voice lessons were taught to her by her mother.{{cite encyclopedia|first1= K. J.|last1= Kutsch|first2= Leo|last2= Riemens|encyclopedia=Grosses Sängerlexikon|publisher=K. G. Saur Verlag|editor-first=Hansjörg|editor-last= Rost|title= Lipton , Martha|year=2003}}

Lipton trained further in New York under Anna E. Ziegler at the School of Musicianship for Singers, Inc in the early 1930s.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1933-04-08_106_14/page/26/mode/1up?q=%22+Martha+Lipton%22|title=School of Musicianship in Operatic Numbers|page=26|work=The Musical Courier|date=April 8, 1933|volume=106|issue=14}} On December 15, 1933 she made her debut at Carnegie Hall as a member of the New York Light Opera Guild, performing as a soloist in a concert of operetta music by Reginald De Koven.{{cite journal|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1933-12-23_107_26/page/15/mode/1up?q=%22+Martha+Lipton%22|title=New York Light Opera Guild|journal=The Musical Courier|page=15|date=December 23, 1933}} After this she studied privately in New York in the studio of Melanie Guttman-Rice in 1936-1937.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1936-07_114_1/page/23/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title= Melanie Guttman-Rice|page=23|work=The Musical Courier|date=July 1936|volume= 114|issue=1}}{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1937-02-20_115_8/page/25/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|page=25|work=The Musical Courier|date=February 20, 1937|volume= 115|issue= 8|title= Melanie Guttman-Rice}}{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1937-05-29_115_22/page/24/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Melanie Guttman-Rice Presents Singers|work=The Musical Courier|page=24|date=May 29, 1937|volume= 115|issue= 22}} In 1936 she was engaged as a resident soloist at both Riverside Church and Temple Emanu-El of New York,{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1936-09_114_3/page/36/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|page=36|date=September 1936|work=The Musical Courier|title=Melanie Guttman-Rice}} and in 1937 she made her radio debut on NBC Radio's "Magic Keys" program after being selected to perform by Walter Damrosch.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/digitalcommons.hollins.edu_newspapers-1174/page/n2/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Miss Lipton Gives Concert in March|page=3|work=Hollins Columns|date=February 27, 1942}}

Lipton won a scholarship to the graduate school of the Juilliard School in November 1937.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1937-11-01_116_10/page/38/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Juilliard Graduate School|work=The Musical Courier|page=38|date=November 1, 1937|volume=116|issue= 10}} There she studied singing with tenor Paul Reimers. She performed in a Juilliard concert of opera excerpts directed by Alberto Bimboni on April 22, 1938.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_musical-america_1938-05-25_58_10/page/21/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Juilliard Students Give Program of Operatic Excerpts|date=May 25, 1938|work=Musical America|page=21}} In early January 1939 she won the singing competition of the MacDowell Club of New York.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_musical-america_1939-01-10_59_1/page/33/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=MacDowell Club Contest Winners Announced|work=Musical America|date=January 10, 1939|volume= 59|issue= 1}} This led to her New York City recital debut at the concert hall of the MacDowell Club on January 26, 1939.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_musical-america_1939-02-10_59_3/page/212/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Martha Lipton Heard in MacDowell Club Prize Recital|work=Musical America|date=February 10, 1939|page=212}} In April 1939 she performed the role of the Sorceress in Juilliard's production of Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas with Margaret Harshaw as Dido and Albert Stoessel as the music director.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_musical-america_1939-04-10_59_7/page/8/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Dido and Aeneas Given at the Juilliard School with L'Heure Espagnole|work=Musical America|page=8|date=April 10, 1939}} After graduating from Juilliard, she continued to study singing in New York with Ettore Verna.{{cite news|title=The Musical Parade|page=23|date=December 15, 1944|work=The Musical Courier}}

In May 1939 Lipton won first prize in the national level of the singing competition of the National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC).{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/per_christian-science-monitor_1939-05-25_31_153/page/n1/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=4 Young Artists Gain Music Honors|work=The Christian Science Monitor|date=May 25, 1939|page=2}} In addition to the cash prize, the competition win led to a her performing as a soloist in a concert broadcast on national radio with her singing with a 70 piece orchestra under conductor Alfred Wallenstein.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/per_atlanta-constitution_1939-05-29_71_351/page/n10/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Radio Programs|work=The Atlanta Constitution|date=May 29, 1939|page=11}}{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/per_st-louis-post-dispatch_1939-05-29_91_266/page/n17/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Radio Concerts|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|date=May 29, 1939|volume= 91|number= 266}} The NFMC competition win significantly raised her profile as a singer, and helped her earn professional contracts nationally at the beginning of her career.{{cite news|title=Problems of the Young Professional|page=328|work=Musical America|date=February 1946|volume= 66|number= 3}}

Early career

While studying at Juilliard, Lipton began her opera career at Radio City Music Hall as a contract member of that theatre's resident opera company.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1939-01-15_119_2/page/35/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Juilliard School|work=The Musical Courier|page=35|date=January 15, 1939}} She made several appearances in operas with conductor Ernö Rapée and the symphony orchestra of Radio City Music Hall (RCMH) which were recorded for live broadcast on the NBC Blue Network radio program "Radio City Music Hall of the Air"; a radio program that aired lived shows from the RCMH stage on Sunday afternoons with an audience also in the theatre.{{cite news|title=Music Radio: The Great Performers and Programs of the 1920s Through Early 1960s|first=Jim|last= Cox|year= 2005|isbn=9780786420476|publisher=McFarland & Company|page=106}} These included performing the roles of Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor (November 6, 1938),{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/radio-guide-1938-11-12/page/n9/mode/2up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Also Recommended|page=9|date=November 12, 1938|work=Radio Guide Week}} Lucia in Cavalleria rusticana (November 13, 1938),{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/radio-guide-1938-11-19/page/n10/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Also Recommended|work=Radio Guide Week|date=November 19, 1938|page=9}} and Maddalena in Rigoletto (November 20, 1938).{{Cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/radio-guide-1938-11-26/page/n7/mode/2up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Musical Programs|page=8|work=Radio Guide Week|date=November 26, 1938}} On October 8, 1939, she performed the role of Queen Isabella in the world premiere of Eugene Zador's opera Christopher Columbus at the Center Theatre which was presented in a concert version by the RCMH Opera Company and also broadcast on the "Radio City Music Hall of the Air".{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1939/10/09/archives/columbus-voyage-depicted-in-opera-eugene-zadors-oneact-work-has.html?searchResultPosition=2|title=COLUMBUS VOYAGE DEPICTED IN OPERA; Eugene Zador's One-Act Work Has World Premiere Here at the Center Theatre|work=The New York Times|author= Noel Straus|date=October 9, 1939|page= 14}}

In December 1939 Lipton was a guest soloist with the Portland Symphony Orchestra in which she sang Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Allelujah" from his Exsultate, jubilate and the arias "Che farò senza Euridice" from Christoph Willibald Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice and "Amour! viens aider ma faiblesse" from Camille Saint-Saëns's Samson and Delilah.{{cite news|title=2,000 Persons Attend Concert by Symphony Orchestra|work=Portland Press Herald|date=December 13, 1939|page=22|author=Katherine Hatch Graffam}} In February 1940 she appeared at the 92nd Street Y as a soloist in Sergei Rachmaninoff's Springtide and Saint-Saëns's Le Déluge with the Jewish Choral Society of New York and conductor Abraham Binder,{{cite news|title=Martha Lipton Oratorio Soloist|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1940-02-15_121_4/page/60/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|work=The Musical Courier|date=February 15, 1940|volume= 121|issue= 4}} and that same month performed a series of vocal duets by Johannes Brahms at The Town Hall with soprano Mabel Berryman.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1940-03-01_121_5/page/64/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Lipton and Berryman with New Friends of Music|date=March 1, 1930|work=The Musical Courier|page=64}} In April 1940 she was a soloist in Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem with soprano Zinka Milanov, conductor Fritz Reiner, and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_musical-america_1940-04-10_60_7/page/36/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Reiner Conducts Verdi's Requiem|page=36|date=April 10, 1940|work=Musical America}} This was soon followed by engagements as a soloist in two different concerts with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1941-02-01_123_3/page/135/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Martha Lipton Heard in South and Middle West|work=The Musical Courier|date=February 1, 1941|page=135}}

In March 1941 Lipton gave a recital at The Town Hall.{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1941/03/11/85255053.html?pageNumber=29|title=RECITAL OFFERED BY MARTHA LIPTON|work=The New York Times|author=Howard Taubman|page=29|date=March 11, 1941}} In November 1942 she returned to that theatre to perform in a concert of vocal quartets by Joseph Haydn with her fellow soloists including soprano Margaret Daum, tenor Earl Rogers, and bass Edward Constantin.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1942-12-01_126_8/page/17/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=As Notables of Music World Return|date=December 1, 1942|work=The Musical Courier|page=17}} She joined the roster of principal arts of the New Opera Company (NOC) in Manhattan, making her debut with the company on October 18, 1941 as Dorabella in Mozart's Così fan tutte at Broadway's 44th Street Theatre.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1941/10/19/archives/dorabella-is-sung-by-martha-lipton-mezzosoprano-is-heard-with-new.html?searchResultPosition=6|title=DORABELLA IS SUNG BY MARTHA LIPTON; Mezzo-Soprano Is Heard With New Opera Group In 'Cosi fan tutte, by Mozart|date=October 19, 1941|page= 41|author=Ross Parmenter}} Later that season she performed two more roles at the same theatre with the NOC; Pauline in Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades and the Lady-in-Waiting in the United States premiere of Verdi's Macbeth.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/variety144-1941-10/page/n313/mode/1up|title=Opera Reviews|work=Variety|date=October 29, 1941|page=40}}{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_musical-america_1941-11-10_61_17/page/6/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title='Macbeth' and 'Pique Dame' Given by New Opera|work=Musical America|date=November 10, 1941|page=6}} On May 3, 1942 she performed in concert with soprano Grace Moore and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra on the campus of Purdue University with that school's choir.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_library-occurrent_july-september-1942_14_3/page/72/mode/2up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=State Colleges and Universities|page=72|work=Library Occurrent|volume=14|number=3|date=September 1942}} Later that year she performed in concerts at military bases in New York state to entertain troops serving during World War II,{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/variety148-1942-11/page/n85/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Caffo Performers|page=4|work=Variety|date=November 11, 1942}} and continued to perform in concerts organized by the United Service Organizations in 1943.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1943-03-05_127_5/page/16/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=LEIGH|date=March 5, 1943|page=16|work=The Musical Courier}}

In 1943 Lipton was made a national honorary member of the professional music fraternity Delta Omicron,{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1943-03-05_127_5/page/20/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Delta Omicron National Board Meets in Detroit|date=March 3, 1943|work=The Musical Courier|page=20}} and sang in concert with the Memphis Symphony.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1943-12-20_128_9/page/25/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|date=December 20, 1943|work=The Musical Courier|title=South Carolina|page=25}} In May 1943 performed the role of Lola in Cavalleria rusticana at the Center Theatre in Manhattan with the San Carlo Opera Company.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_musical-america_1943-06_63_9/page/34/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=San Carlo Company Has Record Season in New York|page=34|work=Musical America|date=June 1943}} In July 1943 she performed in a series of concerts at Meridian Hill Park in Washington D.C. with baritone Conrad Thibault.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_musical-america_1943-08_63_11/page/22/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Capitol Enjoys Meridian Park Fare|work=Musical America|page=22|date=August 1943}} On August 31, 1943 she gave a joint recital with Alexander Kipnis in Halifax, Nova Scotia,{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1943-09_128_3/page/26/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|page=26|date=September 1943|work=The Musical Courier|title=Across the Country}} and in October 1943 she gave a recital at Westminster College in Pennsylvania.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/holcad-1943-west/page/n68/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Martha Lipton, Noted Concert Singer, Opens Artist Course Series Thursday|date=October 15, 1943|volume=61|number=4|work=Holcad}} The following November she gave a recital in Dallas.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_musical-america_1943-11-25_63_15/page/21/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Recital Launches Dallas Schedule|work=Musical America|date=November 25, 1943|page=21}}

Lipton appeared in the very first season of the New York City Opera as Nancy in Friedrich von Flotow's Martha; portraying that role for her debut with the company on February 25, 1944 with Mary Martha Briney in the title role.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1944-03-05_129_5/page/n17/mode/2up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=City Cemtre Opera: Tourel as Carmen|page=19|date=March 5, 1944|work=The Musical Courier}} She continued to appear with the company in that role into early March 1944.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/per_christian-science-monitor_1944-03-04_36_82/page/n7/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=City Center Opera in New York|work=The Christian Science Monitor|page=9|date=March 4, 1944|volume= 36|issue= 82}} On March 26, 1944 she appeared with the Handel and Haydn Society and the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Julius Theodorowicz at Jordan Hall, New England Conservatory as a soloist in Johann Sebastian Bach's St Matthew Passion.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_musical-america_1944-04-10_64_6/page/18/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Boston|author=Grace May Stutsman|work=Musical America|page=18|date=April 10, 1944|volume= 64|issue= 6}} In May 1934 she returned to The Town Hall as a soloist in Felix Mendelssohn's Elijah with John Gurney in the title role.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_musical-america_1944-06_64_9/page/32/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Elijah by Harms Chorus|work=Musical America|page=32|date=June 1944}} She gave recitals at Columbia University (March 1934){{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_musical-america_1944-04-10_64_6/page/33/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Martha Lipton Sings At Columbia University|work=Musical America|date=April 10, 1944|volume= 64|issue= 6|page=33}} and the University of Toronto (October 1944, with John Brownlee).{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/thevarsity64/page/65/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Art, Music, & Drama: Sugar and Spice|work=The Varsity|date=October 20, 1944|page=4|author=Barbara Jones}}

Metropolitan Opera

Lipton made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera ("The Met") on November 28, 1944 as Siebel in Charles Gounod's Faust with Ezio Pinza as Méphistophélès, Licia Albanese as Margherite, and Raoul Jobin in the title role.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1944/11/28/archives/pinza-and-singher-outstanding-in-seasons-operatic-premiere-jobin.html?searchResultPosition=7|title=Pinza and Singher Outstanding In Season's Operatic Premiere; Jobin Heard as Faust at the Metropolitan and Albanese Sings Role of Marguerite -- Martha Lipton Is Siebel|author=Olin Downes|work=The New York Times|date=November 28, 1944|page=27}} It was also the first performance given during the Met's 1944-1945 season. She toured with the company the following month to perform the same opera at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_musical-america_1944-12-25_64_17/page/15/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Philadelphia Hears "Faust" and "Boheme"|work=Musical America|author=William E. Smith|page=15|date=December 25, 1944}} By the time she ended her singing career at the Met in 1961 she had performed a total of 401 times with the company{{cite news|url=https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/search.jsp?q=%22Martha%20Lipton%22|title=Martha Lipton|work=Metropolitan Opera Archive|publisher=Metropolitan Opera|access-date=July 28, 2024}} across seventeen seasons in a total of 36 different characters. She later returned for a final 402nd appearance on the Met stage on October 22, 1983 at a Centennial Gala at which she was an honoree.{{cite web|url=https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/report.jsp|title=Performers Report|work=Metropolitan Opera Archive|publisher=Metropolitan Opera|access-date=July 28, 2024}}

Lipton's most frequent assignments at the Met were as Annina in Der Rosenkavalier and Emilia in Otello. In 1948 she performed as Mrs. Sedley in the Met's first staging of Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes. In 1953 she portrayed Mother Goose in the United States premiere of Igor Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1953/02/22/archives/the-rakes-progress-an-estimate-of-the-opera-by-igor-stravinsky.html?searchResultPosition=12|title=THE RAKE'S PROGRESS'; An Estimate of the Opera By Igor Stravinsky|work=The New York Times|date=February 22, 1953|page=7|author=Olin Downes}} In 1957 she performed the role of Madame Larina in Peter Brook's staging of Eugene Onegin. Other roles in her Met repertoire included Amneris in Aida, Countess Waldner in Arabella,{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1955/02/21/archives/second-arabella-sung-martha-lipton-is-hailed-for-role-of-countess.html?searchResultPosition=1|title=SECOND 'ARABELLA' SUNG; Martha Lipton Is Hailed for Role of Countess Waldner|work=The New York Times|date=February 21, 1955|page= 18}} both Floßhilde and Fricka in Das Rheingold,{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1957/02/19/archives/music-third-ring-cycle-met-offers-rheingold-first-part-of.html?searchResultPosition=2|title=Music: Third 'Ring' Cycle; 'Met' Offers 'Rheingold,' First Part of Tetralogy--Martha Lipton as Fricka|work=The New York Times|date=February 19, 1957|page= 37}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1945/03/11/archives/rheingold-heard-at-metropolitan-blanche-thebom-miss-varnay-and.html?searchResultPosition=8|title='RHEINGOLD' HEARD AT METROPOLITAN; Blanche Thebom, Miss Varnay and Martha Lipton Make Debuts in the Cast|work=The New York Times|page=41|author=Noel Straus|date=

March 11, 1945}} a Genii in The Magic Flute,{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1945-03-01_131_5/page/5/mode/2up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Metropolitan Opera; Conner as Pamina|work=The Musical Courier|page=13|date=March 1, 1945}} Hansel in Hansel and Gretel,{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1946/12/30/archives/martha-lipton-heard-as-hansel.html?searchResultPosition=6|title=Martha Lipton Heard as Hansel|date= December 30, 1946|work=The New York Times}} La Cieca in La Gioconda,{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1946-03-15_133_6/page/n15/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|page=16|title=Metropolitan Opera|work=The Musical Courier|date=March 15, 1946|volume= 133|number= 6}} Lola in Cavalleria rusticana,{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1947/12/20/archives/valdengo-scores-in-debut-as-tonio-wins-approval-of-audience-as.html?searchResultPosition=8|title=VALDENGO SCORES IN DEBUT AS TONIO; Wins Approval of Audience as 'Pagliacci' Is Offered at the Metropolitan|author=Olin Downes|work=The New York Times|date=December 20, 1947}} Maddalena in Rigoletto, Mercedes in Carmen, and the Nurse in Boris Godunov.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_musical-america_1946-12-10_66_15/page/5/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Boris Gudonov Restored|work=Musical America|date=December 10, 1946|volume= 66|number= 15|page=5}} Her final appearance at the Met was as the Innkeeper in Boris Godunov on January 7, 1961 with George London in the title role.{{cite news |title=Mezzo-Soprano Martha Lipton Dies at 93 |first=Vivien |last=Schweitzer |newspaper=Playbill|date=December 11, 2006|url=https://playbill.com/article/mezzo-soprano-martha-lipton-dies-at-93}}

In addition to her work on the stage of the Met, Lipton also made radio appearances and sang in concerts associated with the Met in other locations. On December 26, 1944 she sang a program of music with Met tenor Richard Manning on the radio program "Metropolitan Opera, USA" on WQXR; a radio program organized by the Metropolitan Opera Guild which featured American singers under contract with the Met.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1945-01-01_131_1/page/10/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Radio; Metropolitan Opera Guild Presents New Program|work=The Musical Courier|page=10|author=William Taylor|date=January 1, 1945}} In April 1945 she performed at a concert organized by the Met at the Public Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio in which she performed works form The Marriage of Figaro with Frances Greer and Hugh Thompson, and sang the duet "L'amo come il fulgor del creato" from La Gioconda with Frances Greer.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_opera-news_1945-04-16_9_24/page/n3/mode/2up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Names, Dates, and Places|work=Opera News|date=April 16, 1945|page=3}} The Cleveland Orchestra was the ensemble for that concert with Wilfrid Pelletier leading the musical forces before an audience of 9,000 people.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1945-05-15_131_10/page/n28/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Cleveland Welcomes Met Week|author=Rosa H. Widder|date=May 15, 1945|page=27|work=The Musical Courier}}

On February 16, 1946 Lipton performed on the radio program "Opera News of the Air" with fellow Met singer Lucrezia Bori and Met conductor Boris Goldovsky.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/per_christian-science-monitor_1946-02-15_38_69/page/n3/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Flip of Weed-End Radio Dial To Bring Two Music 'Firsts'|work=The Christian Science Monitor|date=February 15, 1946|page=4}} In May 1946 she toured with the Met to the Kiel Opera House in St. Louise where she starred in a production of Rigoletto with Patrice Munsel and Ezio Pinza.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/per_st-louis-post-dispatch_1946-05-16_98_253/page/n1/mode/2up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=St. Louis Engagement Ends, Having Received Largest Patronage of Any City in Years|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|author=Thomas R. Sherman|date=May 16, 1946|volume= 98|number= 253}}

When the final concert was given at The Old Met on April 16, 1966, Lipton was in attendance as an official guest of honor.

International appearances

Lipton made her debut at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City in 1945 as Delilah in Camille Saint-Saëns's Samson and Delilah with Ramón Vinay as Samson.{{cite news|title=Opera in Mexico City Lengthens Season|work=Musical America|date=July 1945|page=34}} In the summer of 1946 she was committed to the Theatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro where she starred as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier with Mimi Benzell as Sophie,{{cite news|title=Date Book|page=30|work=Musical America|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_musical-america_1946-07_66_9/page/30/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|date=July 1946}}{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/1946-julho-31-quarta-feira-a-noite/1946%20Julho%2010%20Quarta-feira%20A%20Noite/page/2/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=A temporada lirica|date=July 10, 1946|page=7|work=A Noite}} and as Preziosilla in La forza del destino with Zinka Milanov as Leonora, Kurt Baum as Don Alvaro, Glno Bech as Don Carlo, Giacomo Vaghi as the Marchese di Calatrava, and Tino Cremagnani conducting.{{cite news|title=Temporada Lirica|work=A Noite|date=September 4, 1946|page=3}}{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1946-11-01_134_6/page/23/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Brazil Fetes Visits of Munch and MacMillan|work=The Musical Courier|page=23|date=November 1, 1946}} This was immediately followed by a concert tour of South America; which included a performance with the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra under conductor Eugen Szenkar.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1946-12-01_134_8/page/32/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Latin America: Brazil and Peru Events|page=32|work=The Musical Courier|date=December 1, 1946|volume= 134|number= 8}} She later returned to the Theatro Municipal in 1950.

Lipton also sang in Europe. In 1951 she performed the role of Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera for her debut at the Holland Festival.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1951/06/27/archives/verdi-opera-given-at-dutch-festival-vittorio-gui-conducts-masked.html?searchResultPosition=2|title=VERDI OPERA GIVEN AT DUTCH FESTIVAL; Vittorio Gui Conducts 'Masked Ball' and Martha Lipton Sings Role of Ulrica|author=Daniel L. Schorr|work=The New York Times|date=June 27, 1951|page=24}} She returned to that festival again in 1952 and 1953. She sang the title role in Benjamin Britten's The Rape of Lucretia for the English Opera Group in 1954.

Other work

In the 1945-1946 academic year, Lipton was a guest artist / teacher in the Lyceum Course at Brigham Young University.{{cite book|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/annualcataloguei19461947brig/page/80/mode/2up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|page=80|chapter=Lyceum Course|year=1947|title=Brigham Young University: Annual Catalogue 1946-1947}} In February 1945 she was one of several featured singers in a concert organized by William Colston Leigh Sr. at Carnegie Hall that was hosted by Lawrence Tibbett.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1945-03-01_131_5/page/11/mode/2up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Leigh Opens Carnegie Sunday Concerts|work=The Musical Courier|page=18|date=March 1, 1945}} In the summer of 1945 she performed in concert with conductor Rudolph Ringwall and the Cleveland Pops Orchestra in a program that included duets with tenor Robert Marshall.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1945-09_132_3/page/20/mode/2up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Cleveland "Pops" Have Enthusiastic Listeners|date=September 1945|page=21|work=The Musical Courier}}

In January 1946 Lipton sang at Times Hall in New York City in a concert of Jewish religious music in the Hebrew language under conductor Max Helfman that was sponsored by the Hebrew Arts Committee.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_music-magazine-and-musical-courier_1946-02-15_133_4/page/34/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Hebrew Arts Committee Presents Artists|author=H.W.L.|work=The Musical Courier|page=34|date=February 15, 1946}} In April 1946 she gave a recital at Assumption College in Ontario.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/assumption-college-alumni-chatter-1946/page/n15/mode/2up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Coming Events|date=April 15, 1946|page=4|work=Assumption College Alumni Chatter }} In May 1946 she was a soloist in Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with soprano Rosa Canario, tenor William Hain, bass Nicola Moscona, conductor Fritz Reiner, and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_musical-america_1946-06_66_8/page/31/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Beethoven Closes Pittsburgh Year|page=31|work=Musical America|date=June 1946|volume=66}} In December 1946, Lipton was a guest soloist in Wayne State University's performance of George Frideric Handel's Messiah with her fellow soloists including Met singers Richard Bonelli and Donald Dame.{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/griffin1947wayn/page/63/mode/thumb?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|year=1947|title=The Griffin: 1946-1947|publisher=Wayne State University|page=67}}

On February 2, 1947, Lipton performed Modest Mussorgsky's song cycle The Nursery in a concert at The Town Hall. On April 20, 1947 she performed as a soloist with conductor John Warren Erb and a chorus of 500 voices in a concert given at the Metropolitan United Methodist Church in Detroit as a part of the national convention of the National Federation of Music Clubs.{{cite book|pages=174, 269|title=The Year In American Music 1946-1947|editor= Julius Bloom|year=1947|publisher=Allen, Towne and Heath, Inc.|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.155579/page/n7/mode/1up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22}}

On October 27, 1949 she made her debut with the New York Philharmonic (NYP) at Carnegie Hall,{{cite web|url=https://archives.nyphil.org/index.php/search?search-type=singleFilter&search-text=Martha+Lipton&search-dates-from=&search-dates-to=|title=Martha Lipton|work=New York Philharmonic Digital Archives|publisher=New York Philharmonic|access-date=July 29, 2024}} performing Arnold Schoenberg's "Song of the Wood Dove" ("Lied der Waltaube") from Gurre-Lieder under conductor Leopold Stokowski.{{cite news|url=https://archives.nyphil.org/index.php/artifact/f23f0764-5f17-46ce-b26a-45bfb46aaebe-0.1/fullview#page/1/mode/2up|title=1949 Oct 27, 28 / Subscription Season / Stokowski (ID: 4803)|work=New York Philharmonic Digital Archives|publisher=New York Philharmonic|access-date=July 29, 2024}} She appeared with the NYP in a total of 27 concerts during her career, with her final performance with the orchestra being in a memorial concert for Dimitri Mitropoulos at Carnegie Hall on April 2, 1961 in which she was a soloist in Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 3 under conductor Leonard Bernstein.{{cite web|url=https://archives.nyphil.org/index.php/artifact/c6778103-e04d-47f1-a917-fba0cae3b052-0.1/fullview#page/1/mode/2up|work=New York Philharmonic Digital Archives|publisher=New York Philharmonic|access-date=July 29, 2024|title=

1961 Mar 30, 31; Apr 01, 02 / Subscription Season / Bernstein (ID: 408)}} In 1957 she performed Brahm's Alto Rhapsody with the NYP under Albert Fracht.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1957/07/04/archives/brahms-program-heard-in-stadium-fracht-makes-last-of-three.html?searchResultPosition=3|title=BRAHMS PROGRAM HEARD IN STADIUM: Fracht Makes Last of Three Appearances as Conductor —Martha Lipton Soloist|work=The New York Times|page=15|date=July 4, 1957}}

In 1951 Lipton was the soloist in Charles Martin Loeffler's Canticle of the Sun in a concert conducted by Richard Korn at the City College of New York.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1951/03/22/archives/martha-lipton-soloist-heard-in-canticle-of-the-sun-at-concert-led.html?searchResultPosition=1|title=MARTHA LIPTON SOLOIST; Heard in 'Canticle of the Sun' at Concert Led by Korn|work=The New York Times|date=March 22, 1951|page= 40}} In 1952 she gave another recital at The Town Hall,{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1952/12/01/archives/lipton-presents-recital-of-songs-metropolitan-mezzo-soprano.html?searchResultPosition=3|title=LIPTON PRESENTS RECITAL OF SONGS; Metropolitan Mezzo - Soprano Includes Berlioz' 'Cleopatre' in Her Town Hall Program|author=N. S.|work=The New York Times|date=December 1, 1952|page=19}} and that same year performed in the United States premiere of Hugo Wolf's opera Der Corregidor which was given in a concert version at Carnegie Hall.

In 1956 Lipton made her debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Herodias in Salome. On July 7, 1956 Lipton portrayed the role of Augusta Tabor in the world premiere of Douglas Moore's The Ballad of Baby Doe at the Central City Opera;{{cite book|title=The Ballad of Baby Doe: "I Shall Walk Beside My Love"|first1= Duane A.|last1= Smith|first2= John|last2= Moriarty|year=2002|publisher= University Press of Colorado|isbn=9780870816598|pages=121–122}} a role she repeated that same year at the New York City Opera (NYCO). She later starred in another world premiere of an opera by Moore; portraying Aunt Maud in the original production of The Wings of the Dove with the NYCO at New York City Center on October 12, 1961{{cite news|title=Review: The Wings of the Dove|work=Variety|volume=234|issue=8|date=October 18, 1961|page=65}}

Lipton was active during the 1950s as a recording artist for Columbia Records. Her recordings with Columbia included Mahler's Third Symphony, featuring Leonard Bernstein leading the New York Philharmonic and Bruckner's Te Deum led by Bruno Walter. With Aaron Copland on piano, she recorded Copland's Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson. One of her best known recordings was Handel's Messiah with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. She also participated in Ormandy's complete recording of Die Fledermaus singing the role of Prince Orlofsky.

Later life

Lipton became a professor of voice at Indiana University in 1960. While serving as a professor, she also performed in many Indiana University opera productions. Most notably, Lipton played the role of Amneris from Giuseppe Verdi's opera Aida in IU's outdoor stage production at Memorial Stadium in July and August 1963. In 1983, Lipton officially retired from teaching with the rank of professor emeritus. She continued to teach part-time until her death.{{cite web|url= https://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/findingaids/view?brand=general&docId=InU-Ar-VAC9312.xml&doc.view=entire_text|title= Martha Lipton papers, 1939-2006, bulk 1939-1977|publisher= Archives Online at Indiana University |accessdate= April 20, 2020}}

Lipton died in Bloomington, Indiana, on November 28, 2006. She was 93.

Partial list of recordings

1945, original release by RCA Victor{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/gramophone-shop-supplement-dec-45/page/46/mode/2up?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|date=December 1945|work=Gramophone Shop Supplement|page=6|title=Wagner (Richard)}} (re-released by Columbia Records in 1949);{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/lp_die-walkure-act-iii-duet-act-1-scene-3_richard-wagner-helen-traubel-emery-darc?q=%22Martha+Lipton%22|title=Die Walkure : Act III/ Duet (Act 1, Scene 3)|year=1949|publisher=Columbia Records}} Act III of Richard Wagner's Die Walküre , New York Philharmonic, Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera, conductor Artur Rodziński; Lipton sings the role of Grimgerde with Helen Traubel as Brünnhilde and Herbert Janssen as Wotan
1950, Columbia Records: Arnold Schoenberg's "Lied der Waltaube") from Gurre-Lieder, New York Philharmonic, conductor Leopold Stokowski; Lipton as soloist
1950, Columbia Records: Johann Strauss II's Die Fledermaus, Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera, conductor Eugene Ormandy;{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oQzItLSQWtUC&dq=%22Martha+Lipton%22+%22Lily+Pons%22+%22fledermaus%22+Columbia&pg=PA341|page=341|title=American Opera Singers and Their Recordings: Critical Commentaries and Discographies|first=Clyde T.|last= McCants|year= 2004|isbn=9780786419524|publisher=McFarland & Company}} with Lipton as Prince Orlofsky, Lily Pons as Adele, Ljuba Welitsch as Rosalinda, Richard Tucker as Alfred, Charles Kullman as Einstein, and John Brownlee as Dr. Falke
1953, Columbia Records; Igor Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress, Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera, conductor Fritz Reiner; with Lipton as Mother Goose, Eugene Conley as Tom Rakewell, Hilde Güden as Anne Trulove, Mack Harrell as Nick Shadow, and Blanche Thebom as Baba the Turk{{cite book|pages=266, 280|title=Perspectives on Schoenberg and Stravinsky|year=2015|editor-first1=Benjamin |editor-last1=Boretz |editor-first2=Edward T. |editor-last2=Cone|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=9781400878437|author=David Hamilton|chapter=Discographies}}
1953, Columbia Records; Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 , Westminster Choir, New York Philharmonic, conductor Bruno Walter; with soloists Martha Lipton, Frances Yeend, David Lloyd], and Mack Harrell{{cite book|title=New York Philharmonic: The Authorized Recordings, 1917-2005, A Discography|page=85|author= James H. North|year= 2006|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9780810862098}}
1957, Columbia Records; Umberto Giordano's Andrea Chénier with Lipton as the Countess di Coigny, Richard Tucker in the title role, Mary Curtis-Verna as Maddalena di Coigny, Mario Sereni as Carlo Gérard, Rosalind Elias as Bersi, George Cehanovsky as Pietro Fléville, Gabor Carelli as The Abbé, and Alessio De Paolis as The Spy.{{cite book|title=The Metropolitan Opera on Record: A Discography of the Commercial Recordings|first=Frederick P.|last= Fellers|year= 2010|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9781461664178|pages=127, 152}}
1959, Columbia Records; George Frideric Handel's Messiah, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Philadelphia Orchestra, conductor Eugene Ormandy; with soloists Martha Lipton, Eileen Farrell, Davis Cunningham, and William Warfield{{cite book|page=163|title=The Philadelphia Orchestra: An Annotated Discography|isbn=9781442239166|author=Richard A. Kaplan |year=2015|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers}}
1965, Columbia Records (recorded 3 April 1961); Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 3, Women's Chorus of The Schola Cantorum, Boys' Choir of The Church of The Transfiguration, New York Philharmonic, conductor Leonard Bernstein; Martha Lipton as soloist{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rE7EEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Gustav+Mahler%22+%22Martha+Lipton%22&pg=PA61|pages=61–62|title=Gustav Mahler's Symphonies: Critical Commentary on Recordings Since 1986|first= Lewis M.|last= Smoley|year= 1996|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9780313370038}}