Metropolitan Opera Performer Rosalind Elias, Who Appeared in the 2011 Revival of FOLLIES, Dies at 90

BroadwayWorld is saddened to report that Rosalind Elias, a longtime performer with the Metropolitan Opera, has died at age 90.

Elias is best known for creating the role of Erika in premiere of Samuel Barber's Vanessa in 1958. She made her Broadway debut in the 2011 revival of Follies.

Elias made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Grimgerde in Wagner's Die Walküre, on February 23, 1954. She sang a total of 54 roles there, including Bersi in Giordano's Andrea Chénier, the title role in Bizet's Carmen, Rosina in The Barber of Seville, Laura in La Gioconda, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, Siebel in Faust, Nancy in Martha, Cherubino and Marcellina in The Marriage of Figaro, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier, Olga in Eugene Onegin, Marina in Boris Godunov, Fenena in Nabucco, Azucena in Il trovatore, Amneris in Aida, Charlotte in Werther, and The Witch in Hansel and Gretel.

In addition to her long career with the Metropolitan Opera, Elias appeared abroad at the Vienna State Opera, the Scottish Opera, and the Glyndebourne Festival, as well as the New York City Opera and Los Angeles Opera.

Elias appeared in several recordings of operas as well, including "Il Trovatore," "Der Fliegende Holländer," "La Forza del Destino," "The Rake's Progress," "Parsifal," and more.

In 2011, Elias played the role of Heidi Schiller in the revival of James Goldman and Stephen Sondheim's musical Follies. The production premiered at the Kennedy Center in May 2011, and transferred to Broadway in August.