The wonderful contralto Batyah Godfrey Ben-David has passed away at the age of 85. Her voice was unique in its warmth and beauty.
Between 1969 and 1988, Ms. Ben-David sang nearly 600 performances with the Metropolitan Opera. Among her numerous roles were Maddalena in RIGOLETTO, Marthe in FAUST, Mamma Lucia in CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA, the Page in SALOME, Teresa in SONNAMBULA, the 3rd Lady in MAGIC FLUTE, and La Cieca in LA GIOCONDA.
I’ll never forget a performance of CAV in which Ms. Godfrey Ben-David was kneeling next to Martina Arroyo, who was singing Santuzza. During the Easter Hymn, Mamma Lucia’s voice enters a few bars before Santuzza’s. When Martina heard Batyah’s astonishing contralto tones, she beamed a warm smile to her colleague.
In 1974, I tuned in for a radio broadcast of GOTTERDAMMERUNG and found that Ms. Godfrey Ben-David was replacing an ailing colleague as the 1st Norn; this is a role that includes quite a bit of solo singing, which Batyah delivered so beautifully. Mignon Dunn and Nell Rankin were her sister Norns that day, and Rafael Kubelik was conducting. You can listen to that Norn Scene here:
And here is a lovely letter that Batyah sent me after I wrote to thank her for her memorable 1st Norn:
Batyah’s was a voice that meant a great deal to me. I never met heard in person, but I did meet her son Adam once, to give him a copy of that Norn Scene recording with his mom’s voice shining thru.
May she rest in peace.
Oberon's Glade 