Irene Dalis received her bachelor's degree from San Jose State College and master's degree in music education from Teachers College of Columbia University, and she received honorary doctorates from Santa Clara University and San Jose State University.
17 Facts About Irene Dalis
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Irene Dalis was awarded a Fulbright scholarship and went to Europe to begin her singing career.
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Irene Dalis studied in Milan and gave her first performance of any kind at the Oldenburgisches Stadttheater in Germany.
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Irene Dalis then moved to the Berlin's Stadtische Oper where her performance in Janacek's Jenufa led to an offer from The Metropolitan Opera, where she debuted in 1957, again as Eboli, to great applause.
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Erickson concluded that Irene Dalis's debut was "one of the most exciting in recent seasons".
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Irene Dalis was particularly noted as Amneris in Verdi's Aida, a part she sang 69 times at the Metropolitan.
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Irene Dalis was Brangane when Birgit Nilsson sang first at the Met in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde in 1959, Amneris when Leontyne Price debuted in Aida at the house in 1961 and Princess di Bouillon for Placido Domingo's Met debut in Adriana Lecouvreur.
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Irene Dalis performed with soprano Leonie Rysanek frequently, most notably 17 performances of Die Frau ohne Schatten by Richard Strauss, as well as in Salome and Aida.
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In 1961, Irene Dalis appeared as the first American to sing the role of Kundry in Wagner's Parsifal at the Bayreuth Festival.
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Irene Dalis performed in the gala to mark the conclusion of the career of Sir Rudolf Bing.
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Irene Dalis owns a singular combination of vocal and interpretive gifts.
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Irene Dalis was wonderful to interact with: active, alert, but at the same time solicitous, as Isolde's servant must be.
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Irene Dalis's home burned down in 1990 and she lost a lifetime's collection of recordings and memorabilia.
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Irene Dalis was awarded the prestigious San Francisco Opera Medal in 1998.
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Irene Dalis's awards include Fulbright Award, 1951; Richard Wagner Medallion, Bayreuth, West Germany, 1963; Tower Award, San Jose State University, 1974; Honored by the board of directors of the Metropolitan Opera Association on the occasion of her twentieth anniversary season, 1977; Woman of Achievement Award from the San Jose Mercury News and the League of Friends of Santa Clara County Commission on the Status of Women, 1983; Commendation from the Hon.
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In 1957, Irene Dalis married McGraw Hill book editor George Loinaz who died in 1990.
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Irene Dalis died at the age of 89 in San Jose, California on December 14,2014.