Ruth Welting - Moore: THE BALLAD OF BABY DOE, Dearest Mama, 1976 High E-flat

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THE SONGBIRD: American coloratura soprano Ruth Welting (1948 - 1999) was a star at the New York City Opera from her debut in 1971 as Blonde, to her Baby Doe in 1976. That's when she skipped across Lincoln Center to join The Met's roster, where she performed 52 times until 1993. She sang across the U.S. (Dallas, Houston, Chicago, San Francisco, Sante Fe, Washington DC, Portland, Philadelphia, New Orleans) and internationally (Covent Garden, Amsterdam, Munich, Barcelona, Madrid, Parma, Spoleto, Salzburg, Canada). Sadly, she passed away at age 51 of cancer. This audio is taken from an appearance on television on the Today show, with Barbara Walters, promoting the upcoming New York City Opera telecast of "The Ballad of Baby Doe."

THE MUSIC: "The Ballad of Baby Doe" remains the most popular of Douglas Moore's full-length operas (the others are "The Devil and Daniel Webster," "The Wings of the Dove," and "Carrie Nation"). The opera is set in Colorado and the world premiere took place there, at the Central City Opera in 1956 with sopranos Dolores Wilson and Leyna Gabriele alternating in the title role. In 1958, a young Beverly Sills established herself by starring in a slightly revised version produced by the New York City Opera, which was commercially recorded. The story is set in the late 19th century and follows three historical figures: Horace Tabor, a politician and wealthy mine owner, leaves his wife Augusta to marry Elizabeth "Baby" Doe. The vocal writing for Baby Doe does not contain any florid coloratura figures per se, yet it has such a high tessitura that it is usually sung by lyric-coloratura sopranos who can handle the many high silvery suspensions, including an optional High E-flat in this letter aria, "Dearest Mama."