Lisa Roma
Encyclopedia
Lisa Roma was an American soprano who toured in the United States with composer Maurice Ravel
in 1928. She was chair of grand opera
in the College of Music at the University of Southern California
in Los Angeles
beginning in 1930. Later, she was owner of Musical Courier magazine.
, the first American operatic tenor to win an international reputation.
. In 1920, during a concert with Herbert at Willow Grove Park
near Philadelphia, Roma was called out of the chorale to substitute as the lead in Naughty Marietta
: The featured singer from the Metropolitan Opera
had developed laryngitis
.
When singing in Washington, D.C., with Beniamino Gigli
, she was invited to sing in the White House
. Traveling to Germany, she was engaged at the Berlin State Opera
, where, once again, the scheduled star was taken ill and Roma was asked to sing in her place — the role of Mimi in Puccini's La Boheme
. She was thereupon engaged as a guest artist for the 1925 season.
In 1930, she made a tour of Europe "as interpreter for the famous French composer, Maurice Ravel
." She was granted a master of music
degree in spring 1930 by the University of Southern California, and in the fall she was appointed to the new chair of grand opera
in the USC Department of Music
.
, or a "nose job." According to the Los Angeles Examiner (May 5, 1930), the operation was performed in expectation that she would appear in the "talkies"
as a singer.
Roma was married to David Trompeter, industrialist and inventor. From 1958 to 1961 she was the owner and publisher of the Musical Courier
magazine, and was the author of three books about singing. She died February 17, 1965, in Greenwich, Connecticut
. Besides her husband, she was survived by siblings Herman, Guy, Ethel and Tillie.
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
in 1928. She was chair of grand opera
Grand Opera
Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterised by large-scale casts and orchestras, and lavish and spectacular design and stage effects, normally with plots based on or around dramatic historic events...
in the College of Music at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
beginning in 1930. Later, she was owner of Musical Courier magazine.
Early life
Roma was born on February 29, 1892, in Philadelphia to "well-to-do, musical — but not professional — parents." In 1917 her mother and father died, three months apart, leaving Lisa and six siblings. She became an accountant but found time to study music, tennis, fencing and dancing, all of which she taught to others. Eventually she became a soloist for the Philadelphia Choral Society, then was a student of David BisphamDavid Bispham
David Scull Bispham was the first American–born operatic baritone to win an international reputation.- Early life and family:...
, the first American operatic tenor to win an international reputation.
Debut
Roma debuted with Victor HerbertVictor Herbert
Victor August Herbert was an Irish-born, German-raised American composer, cellist and conductor. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and conductor, he is best known for composing many successful operettas that premiered on Broadway from the 1890s to World War I...
. In 1920, during a concert with Herbert at Willow Grove Park
Willow Grove Park
Willow Grove Park was an amusement park located in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania , United States, that operated for eighty years from 1896 until the 1975 season. The park operated under the name Six Gun Territory from 1972...
near Philadelphia, Roma was called out of the chorale to substitute as the lead in Naughty Marietta
Naughty Marietta
Naughty Marietta is a 1935 film based on the operetta of the same name by Victor Herbert: Jeanette MacDonald stars as a vivacious Princess who trades places with her maid Marietta in order to avoid an arranged marriage...
: The featured singer from the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
had developed laryngitis
Laryngitis
Laryngitis is an inflammation of the larynx. It causes hoarse voice or the complete loss of the voice because of irritation to the vocal folds . Dysphonia is the medical term for a vocal disorder, of which laryngitis is one cause....
.
[Roma] had passed a trying day. Up very early . . . she had gone over her vocal technique, then prepared breakfast for her six brothers and sisters. At nine, she had been at her desk . . . At noon, she had snatched a bit of lunch and hurried to the roof of the large business block, where she served as tennis and fencing instructor to the employees. . . . Then for an hour before dinner, she gave a vocal lesson to a group of music teachers. . . . At the appointed hour she had donned her choral robes and was in her seat. . . . Under her choral gown, she wore a simple office dress — all she had. [After Roma was summoned by Herbert to take the role, someone] was found who would lend her evening dress, and the exchange was made. . . . At the close of the remarkable performance, Victor Herbert took her hand and drew her up on the block beside him. . . . The audience burst into a new round of acclaim.
When singing in Washington, D.C., with Beniamino Gigli
Beniamino Gigli
Beniamino Gigli was an Italian opera singer. The most famous tenor of his generation, he was renowned internationally for the great beauty of his voice and the soundness of his vocal technique. Music critics sometimes took him to task, however, for what was perceived to be the over-emotionalism...
, she was invited to sing in the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
. Traveling to Germany, she was engaged at the Berlin State Opera
Berlin State Opera
The Staatsoper Unter den Linden is a German opera company. Its permanent home is the opera house on the Unter den Linden boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, which also hosts the Staatskapelle Berlin orchestra.-Early years:...
, where, once again, the scheduled star was taken ill and Roma was asked to sing in her place — the role of Mimi in Puccini's La Boheme
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
. She was thereupon engaged as a guest artist for the 1925 season.
In 1930, she made a tour of Europe "as interpreter for the famous French composer, Maurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
." She was granted a master of music
Master of Music
The Master of Music is the first graduate degree in Music awarded by universities and music conservatories. The M.Mus. combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization with graduate-level academic study in subjects such as music history, music theory, or music pedagogy...
degree in spring 1930 by the University of Southern California, and in the fall she was appointed to the new chair of grand opera
Grand Opera
Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterised by large-scale casts and orchestras, and lavish and spectacular design and stage effects, normally with plots based on or around dramatic historic events...
in the USC Department of Music
USC Thornton School of Music
The University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, founded in 1884 and dedicated in 1999, is one of the premier music schools in the United States...
.
Personal
Roma was one of the first people in the entertainment industry to undergo a rhinoplastyRhinoplasty
Rhinoplasty , also nose job, is a plastic surgery procedure for correcting and reconstructing the form, restoring the functions, and aesthetically enhancing the nose, by resolving nasal trauma , congenital defect, respiratory impediment, and a failed primary rhinoplasty...
, or a "nose job." According to the Los Angeles Examiner (May 5, 1930), the operation was performed in expectation that she would appear in the "talkies"
Sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...
as a singer.
Roma was married to David Trompeter, industrialist and inventor. From 1958 to 1961 she was the owner and publisher of the Musical Courier
Musical Courier
The Musical Courier was a 19th and 20th century American music trade publication which began publication in 1880 and became noted as preeminent in its field....
magazine, and was the author of three books about singing. She died February 17, 1965, in Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 61,171. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Connecticut and is 38+ minutes ...
. Besides her husband, she was survived by siblings Herman, Guy, Ethel and Tillie.
Additional reading
- He Usually Lived With a Female: The Life of a California Newspaperman (2006) by George Garrigues. Quail Creek Press. ISBN 0-9634830-1-3. See the index for Lisa Roma.