Teresa Stratas

Teresa Stratas began life as Anastasia Strataki and began voice lessons at the age of 12. She made her radio debut singing Greek pop songs at 13 but later studied at the RCMT with Irene Jessner, the final three years on scholarship, and received the 1959 Eaton Graduating Scholarship. She was cast by Herman Geiger-Torl as Nora in a 1958 production of Vaughan Williams’ Riders to the Sea at Hart House and made her debut in professional opera as Mimi in La Bohème with the Toronto Opera Festival, to great acclaim in October 1958. As co-winner of the 1959 Metropolitan Opera Auditions, she made her debut with that company in October 1959 as Poussette in Manon. She went on to create the title role in Peggy Glanville-Hicks’ Nausicaa at the Herod Atticus Theatre in Athens in 1961, and made her Covent Garden debut as Mimi that same year. She has won no fewer than 6 Grammy nominations and 3 Grammy awards, an Emmy, an Academy Award Citation for the film StrataSphere, and a Gemini award. She has received 5 honorary degrees: University of Toronto, York University, McMaster University, Eastmann School of Music, University of Rochester, and New York Julliard School of Music. She is also an Officer of the Order of Canada. In September of 2008, Stratas was the subject of the Metropolitain Opera Guild`s 2nd Met Legends tribute. Held at New York’s Town Hall, Stratas, who has often called “opera`s Garbo,” attended the event, which featured rare film and video clips of her performances.