Blanche Thebom

Blanche Thebom (September 19, 1915 – March 23, 2010) was an American operatic mezzo-soprano, voice teacher, and opera director. She was part of the first wave of American opera singers that had highly successful international careers. In her own country she had a long association with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City which lasted 22 years. Opera News stated, "An ambitious beauty with a velvety, even-grained dramatic mezzo, Thebom was a natural for opera: she commanded the stage with the elegantly disciplined hauteur of an old-school diva, relishing the opportunity to play femmes du monde such as Marina in Boris Godunov, Herodias and Dalila."

While Thebom sang a wide repertoire which encompassed everything from Handel and Mozart to Verdi and Debussy, she was best known for her performances in the operas of Richard Wagner. Two Wagner roles with which she was particularly associated were Fricka in Die Walküre and Brangaene in Tristan und Isolde. She notably sang the latter role in the famous 1952 EMI recording made in London with Kirsten Flagstad, Ludwig Suthaus, and conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler. She is Didon in Les Troyens (world premiere 1957, conducted by Rafael Kubelik). In addition to several other recordings, she also appeared in two feature films during her career: Irish Eyes Are Smiling (1944) and The Great Caruso (1951).

After retiring from the stage in 1967, Thebom worked as an opera director in Atlanta for 6 years. She then taught singing both privately and on the music faculties of the University of Arkansas and San Francisco State University. She also co-founded the Opera Arts Training Program of the San Francisco Girls Chorus and served on the board of the Metropolitan Opera for nearly 40 years.

Birth and Death Data: Born Monessen (city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States), Died March 23, 2010 (San Francisco (consolidated city and county in California, United States) )

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1945 - 1949

Roles Represented in DAHR: contralto, mezzo-soprano

Notes: Vocal range listed variously on disc labels as contralto and mezzo-soprano.

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 26 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor D5RB-0720 10-in. 4/3/1945 Cradle song Macklin Marrow ; Blanche Thebom ; Victor String Orchestra Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with orchestra vocalist, contralto  
Victor D5RB-0721 10-in. 4/3/1945 The Virgin's slumber song Macklin Marrow ; Blanche Thebom ; Victor String Orchestra Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with orchestra vocalist, contralto  
Victor D5RB-0722 10-in. 4/3/1945 I attempt from Love's sickness to fly Macklin Marrow ; Blanche Thebom ; Victor String Orchestra Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with orchestra vocalist, contralto  
Victor D5RB-0723 10-in. 4/3/1945 Siciliana (Let me wander, not unseen) Macklin Marrow ; Blanche Thebom ; Victor String Orchestra Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with orchestra vocalist, contralto  
Victor D5RC-0974 12-in. 5/31/1945 Weiche, Wotan, Weiche! RCA Victor Orchestra ; Blanche Thebom ; Frieder Weissmann Mezzo-soprano solo, with orchestra vocalist, contralto  
Victor D5RC-1380 12-in. 9/14/1945 Erzahlung der Waltraute, part 1 RCA Victor Orchestra ; Blanche Thebom ; Frieder Weissmann Mezzo-soprano solo, with orchestra vocalist, contralto  
Victor D5RC-1381 12-in. 9/14/1945 Erzahlung der Waltraute, part 2 RCA Victor Orchestra ; Blanche Thebom ; Frieder Weissmann Mezzo-soprano solo, with orchestra vocalist, contralto  
Victor D6RB-2379 10-in. 6/18/1946 Magnificat, part 2 RCA Victor Chorale ; RCA Victor Orchestra ; Robert Shaw ; Blanche Thebom Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with orchestra and mixed vocal chorus vocalist, mezzo-soprano  
Victor D6RB-2385 10-in. 6/18/1946 Magnificat, part 8 Arthur Lora ; RCA Victor Orchestra ; Robert Shaw ; Blanche Thebom ; Frederick R. Wilkins Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with flute duet and orchestra vocalist, mezzo-soprano  
Victor D7RB-0838 10-in. 5/9/1947 My soul is dark Laura Newell ; Blanche Thebom Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with harp vocalist, contralto  
Victor D7RB-0839 10-in. 5/9/1947 Jeptha's daughter Laura Newell ; Blanche Thebom Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with harp vocalist, contralto  
Victor D7RB-0840 10-in. 5/9/1947 Sun of the sleepless Laura Newell ; Blanche Thebom Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with harp vocalist, contralto  
Victor D7RB-0841 10-in. 5/9/1947 Thy days are done Laura Newell ; Blanche Thebom Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with harp vocalist, contralto  
Victor D7RB-0932 10-in. 6/2/1947 Zwei Lieder der Braut William Hughes ; Blanche Thebom Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with piano vocalist, contralto  
Victor D7RB-0933 10-in. 6/2/1947 Der Himmel hat eine Träne geweint, op. 37, no. 1 William Hughes ; Blanche Thebom Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with piano vocalist, contralto  
Victor D7RB-0934 10-in. 6/2/1947 Melancholie, op. 74, no. 6 William Hughes ; Blanche Thebom Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with piano vocalist, contralto  
Victor D7RB-0935 10-in. 6/2/1947 Der Sandmann, op. 79, no. 12 William Hughes ; Blanche Thebom Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with piano vocalist, contralto  
Victor D9RB-1303 10-in. 4/15/1949 Cophtisches Lied, no. 2 William Hughes ; Blanche Thebom Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with piano vocalist, contralto  
Victor D9RB-1304 10-in. 4/15/1949 Auf ein Wanderung William Hughes ; Blanche Thebom Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with piano vocalist, contralto  
Victor D9RB-1305 10-in. 4/15/1949 Verschwiegene Liebe William Hughes ; Blanche Thebom Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with piano vocalist, contralto  
Victor D9RB-1306 10-in. 4/15/1949 Um Mitternacht William Hughes ; Blanche Thebom Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with piano vocalist, contralto  
Victor D9RB-1307 10-in. 4/15/1949 Schlafendes Jesuskind William Hughes ; Blanche Thebom Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with piano vocalist, contralto  
Victor D9RB-1308 10-in. 4/15/1949 Auf dem grünen Balkon William Hughes ; Blanche Thebom Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with piano vocalist, contralto  
Victor D9RB-1652 10-in. 6/15/1949 I hate music, part 1 Blanche Thebom Contralto solo, with piano vocalist, contralto  
Victor D9RB-1653 10-in. 6/15/1949 I hate music, part 2 Blanche Thebom Contralto solo, with piano vocalist, contralto  
(Results 1-25 of 26 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Thebom, Blanche," accessed December 25, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103791.

Thebom, Blanche. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 25, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103791.

"Thebom, Blanche." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 25 December 2025.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103791

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