Rose Bampton, 99; soprano performed 18 seasons with the Met

Rose Bampton, 99, a soprano who performed for 18 seasons at the Metropolitan Opera and established herself as a premier voice in American opera, died Tuesday in Bryn Mawr, Pa.

After making her professional debut in 1929, Bampton appeared several times with Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra. She recorded with Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony, and a broadcast version of their “Fidelio” remains in print.

Bampton also played the role of Kundry in Wagner’s “Parsifal” at the Met, where she made her debut in 1932.

After retiring from the opera stage in 1963, she taught at Juilliard and other schools.

Born in Lakewood, Ohio, on Nov. 28, 1907, Bampton began her career as a soprano but later was pushed toward the lower mezzo-soprano range by her teachers after she suffered from laryngitis.

Among her classmates at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia were famed composers Gian Carlo Menotti, who died earlier this year, and Samuel Barber, who had Bampton premiere some of his works.