Commemorative issue American Music Series - Opera Singers
Lily Pons
Lily Pons was born in 1898 near Cannes, France. She studied at the Paris Conservatory, moved to Cannes at the beginning of World War I, and made her operatic debut in 1925, singing various coloratura roles in French provincial opera houses. Pons was discovered by Giovanni Zenatello, who took her to New York. She made her debut at New York’s Metropolitan Opera in 1931. She became an overnight star and appeared more than 300 times at the Met through 1960. She also sang major roles in Paris, London, Brussels, Buenos Aires, Chicago, and San Francisco.