What is Roberta Peters?
[[File:Roberta Peters 1974.JPG|thumb|right|180px|Peters in May 1954]] '''Roberta Peters''' (May 4, 1930 &ndash; January 18, 2017) is an [[United States|American]] [[soprano]]. She had a long and successful career at the [[Metropolitan Opera]] in [[New York City]]. She was particularly associated with light [[coloratura]] roles in [[Italian language|Italian]], [[French language|French]] and [[German language|German]] [[opera]]s. ==Life and career== Born '''Roberta Peterman''' in New York City, she began vocal study at the age of 13 with William Herman, encouraged by [[tenor]] Jan Peerce, a family friend. She made her unscheduled debut (as an emergency replacement) at the Metropolitan Opera, on November 17, 1950, as Zerlina in ''[[Don Giovanni]]'', aged only 20 and having no previous stage experience. The success was immediate. Her well schooled voice, good looks and charming personality quickly made her a great favorite of this theatre where she was to sing regularly for 35 seasons. Some of her most performed roles include; Susanna (''[[The Marriage of Figaro|Le nozze di Figaro]]''), Despina (''[[Cosi fan tutte]]''), The Queen of the Night (''[[The Magic Flute]]''), Rosina (''[[The Barber of Seville|Il barbiere di Siviglia]]''), Adina (''[[L'elisir d'amore]]''), Norina (''[[Don Pasquale]]''), Lucia (''[[Lucia di Lammermoor]]''), Gilda (''[[Rigoletto]]''), Oscar (''[[Un ballo in maschera]]''), Nanetta (''[[Falstaff (opera)|Falstaff]]''), Olympia (''[[Les contes d'Hoffmann]]''), Sophie (''[[Der Rosenkavalier]]''), Zerbinetta (''Ariadne auf Naxos''), etc. She also appeared abroad, notably at the [[Royal Opera House]] in [[London]] in 1951, as Arline in ''The Bohemian Girl'', and later appeared at the [[Vienna]] State Opera, the [[Salzburg]] Festival, the Bolshoi in [[Moscow]]. She also made several appearances on [[television]], notably on ''The Ed Sullivan Show''. Roberta Peters retired from the stage in 1985, but continued to give recital until recent years. She was briefly married to [[baritone]] Robert