Nell Rankin (b.1926) from Montgomery, Alabama. She had studied in nearby Birmingham and later New York before joining Zurich Opera in 1949. She later sang at La Scala and at the Vienna State Opera. Her Metropolitan début was in 1951 where she appeared regularly for the next twenty years. Her repertoire included Ortrud in Lohengrin, Gutrune in the Ring and Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera. Her London début was as Carmen, a rôle repeated two years later in San Francisco. She also sang Cassandra in Les Troyens at La Scala in 1960. Rankin impressed more with her fullness of tone and generous phrasing than vitality of character. Her few recordings included the first ever of Vaughan Williams’ Five Tudor Portraits.
