Lily (Alice Jos

Soprano, born in Draguignan, SE France. A dramatic coloratura, she excelled in opera, achieving immense success in Paris, London, South America and, especially, at the New York Metropolitan (1931–61). She also sang in films, and during World War 2 toured North Africa and the Far East.

Lily Pons (April 12, 1898 – February 13, 1976) was a French-born U.S. coloratura soprano.

Born Alice Joséphine Pons in Draguignan near Cannes, Pons first studied piano at the Paris Conservatory, winning First Prize at the age of 15.

She successfully made her operatic debut in the role of Léo Delibes' Lakmé at Mulhouse in 1928 and went on to sing several coloratura roles in French provincial opera houses.

She was discovered by the impresario Giovanni Zenatello, who took her to New York where she auditoned for Giulio Gatti-Casazza, the general manager of the Metropolitan Opera.

Pons was a principal soprano at the Met for thirty years, appearing 300 times in ten roles from 1931 until 1960. Her most frequent performances were as Lucia (93 performances), Lakmé (50 performances), Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto (49 performances), and Rosina in Rossini's The Barber of Seville (33 performances). Other roles in her repertoire included Olympia in Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffman, Philine in Ambroise Thomas's Mignon, Amina in Bellini's La Sonnambula, Marie in Donizetti's The Daughter of the Regiment, the Queen in Rimsky-Korsakov's Le Coq d'Or, and the title role in Donizetti's Linda di Chamounix, (a role she sang in the opera's Met premiere on March 1, 1934). In her last performance at the Met, on December 14, 1960, she sang "Caro nome" from Rigoletto as part of a gala performance.

She also made guest appearances at the Opéra Garnier in Paris, Covent Garden in London, La Monnaie in Brussels, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, the Chicago Opera and the San Francisco Opera.

In 1940, she became a naturalized citizen of the United States.

Lily Pons had a small voice but in her early days, flawless technique and very secure top notes.

She died of pancreatic cancer in Dallas, Texas at the age of 77, and her remains were brought back to her birthplace to be interred in the Cimetière du Grand Jas in Cannes on the French Riviera.

A village in Frederick County, Maryland, 10 miles south of Frederick, Maryland is called "Lilypons" in her honor.

George Gershwin was in the process of writing a piece of music dedicated to her when he died in 1937.