Opera star's voice called a 'miracle'; Soprano performed 18 seasons at Met, was in Philadelphia Orchestra

ROSE BAMPTON - 1908-2007

Rose Bampton, a soprano who performed 18 seasons at theMetropolitan Opera and established herself as a premier voice inAmerican opera, has died. She was 99.

Ms. Bampton died Tuesday in the Philadelphia suburb of Bryn Mawr,said Mark Sullivan, parish administrator at St. David's EpiscopalChurch in nearby Wayne, where her family attended for years.

Ms. Bampton, who made her professional debut in 1929, appearedseveral times with Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestraand sang with such opera immortals as Lauritz Melchior, HelenTraubel, Rosa Ponselle, Jan Peerce and Ezio Pinza. She recorded withArturo Toscanini and the NBC …