Eileen Farrell
A Legendary Voice
One of the most appreciated voices of the New York Metropolitan Opera in the 1960’s was the voice of Woonsocket’s own Eileen Farrell. In December 1960, Farrell made her Metropolitan debut, one of the high points in a singing career which had begun as a child.
Farrell’s singing career began through the influence of her parents, both professional singers. Billing themselves as “The Singing O’Farrells”, Michael and Catherine Farrell were well-known on the New England vaudeville circuit in the early 1900’s. Farrell’s early singing career was greatly encouraged by her local pastor, Father Cornelius J. Holland, at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Woonsocket.
After graduating from Woonsocket High School in 1939, Farrell went to New York for voice training. Performing as a member of the CBS Chorus starting in 1940, she was offered her own weekly half-hour radio program entitled “Eileen Farrell Sings”. The program quickly became popular and ran through 1946.
In the late 1940’s Farrell began her concert career, singing with leading symphony orchestras. Her debut as an opera singer was in 1955, and in 1960 she made her first appearance at the Metropolitan Opera, singing the title role in Gluck’s Alceste. She remained on the Met roster through the 1963-64 season, singing forty-four performances in six roles.
Comfortable with both popular and classical music, Farrell made four Columbia albums of pop music. She also made several recordings of blues music late in her career, as well as a well-received duet with Frank Sinatra on his Trilogy album.
Look magazine said, “Note for note, Eileen Farrell’s voice is perhaps as close to a flawless soprano instrument as exists in the world today.” Newsweek famously noted: “Miss Farrell has a voice like some unparalleled phenomenon of nature. She is to singers what Niagara is to waterfalls.”
