Rosalind Elias Makes Her Debut in "Follies" at Age 82

The Grande Dame of the Theater
(Photo: Jenny Anderson/Broadway.com)

"Mezzo-soprano Rosalind Elias is making her Broadway debut — as Heidi Schiller in Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman's Follies — at the age of 82. Her big break playing a former revue star from the Weismann Follies of 1918, in the conceptual musical now at the Marquis, comes on the heels of an operatic career than spanned more than 50 years and included over 600 performances at the Metropolitan Opera, where she created the roles of Erika in Samuel Barber's Vanessa and Charmian in Barber's Antony and Cleopatra. A Beiruti from Lebanon, Elias was the youngest of 13 children and had heard radio broadcasts of the Met growing up; persistent in her desire to study voice, Elias did so in her early teens, ultimately attending New England Conservatory. Elias spoke by phone on Sept. 29 before her evening performance in the critically acclaimed revival of Follies." Read a full interview with the singer by clicking here. Another great interview with the singer on her new role is on Broadway.com.