Lee Venora

Lee Venora (born February 16, 1932) is an American operatic soprano and musical theater actress. She was highly active with the New York City Opera between 1957 and 1967 and a regular performer at the San Francisco Opera between 1961 and 1966. She also appeared in a few Broadway musicals, Lincoln Center revivals, and national tours of musicals during her career. Composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein was an admirer of her voice, and she performed with him and the New York Philharmonic on a number of occasions during the late 1950s and early 1960s. She also sang with the orchestra on a couple of recordings and appears on a few musical recordings as well.

Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut as Elena Sinaguglia, Venora studied singing at the Hartt School of Music. She made her first appearance at the New York City Opera (NYCO) on April 6, 1958 as The Girl in the first professional production of Mark Bucci's Tale for a Deaf Ear with Patricia Neway as Laura Gates, William Chapman as Tracy Gates, and Arnold Gamson conducting. In the 1958-59 season she returned to the NYCO to sing Micaela in Georges Bizet's Carmen with Regina Resnik in the title role and Richard Cassilly as Don Jose, Lucia in Benjamin Britten's The Rape of Lucretia with Frances Bible in the title role, the title role in Carlisle Floyd's Susannah with Joshua Hecht as Olin Blitch, the title role in Norman Dello Joio's The Triumph of St. Joan with Mack Harrell as Cauchon and Chester Ludgin as the Jailer, and Consuelo in the world premiere of Robert Ward's He Who Gets Slapped with Norman Kelley as Count Mancini and Regina Sarfaty as Zinida.

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