On August 24, 2024, American soprano Christine Weidinger died at the age of 78.

Born on March 31, 1946, in Springville, New York, Weidinger grew up in New York and Arizona.

She went to singing with Marlene Delavan at Grand Canyon University, Richard Dales at Arizona State University, David Scott at San Fernando Valley State College, and Margaret Harshaw at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.

In 1972, the soprano won the national first prize in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions with a contract at the Met and an endorsement of the incoming General Manager Göran Gentele.

Her operatic debut however came at the Central City Opera in Colorado.

On November 24, 1972, Weidinger made an unexpected debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in Richard Wagner’s “Die Walküre” filling in for an ill colleague. Her original debut was for Musetta in “La Bohème” and she sang that very role a few days later. She went on to become a well known artist with the company performing 136 times from 1972 to 1976. Among the roles she took on with the company were Elvira in Rossini’s “L’italiana in Algeri,” Frasquita in Bizet’s “Carmen,” Gianetta in Donizetti’s “L’elisir d’amore,” the High Priestess in Verdi’s “Aida,” and Gretel in Humperdinck’s “Hänsel und Gretel.”

She would not return to the company until 1992 when she sang her first and only principal role in Rossini’s “Semiramide.” She sang seven performances during that run.

In 1976, Weidinger followed the advice of her mentor Marilyn Horne, and left the Met to become a resident artist at the  Staatsoper Stuttgart and later joined the Bielefeld Opera.

Throughout those years the soprano started working on the Bel Canto repertoire and eventually sang the lead roles of “Lucia di Lammermoor,” Elisabetta in “Roberto Devereux”, Norma, Amina in “La Sonnambula” and Violetta in “La Traviata.” She also sang the Countess in “Le Comte Ory,” Gilda in “Rigoletto,” Leonora in “Il Trovatore,” the title role in Rossini’s “Armida,” and the three Donizetti “Queens.”

Weidinger’s career took her to the greatest theaters in the world including the Festival Aix-en-Provence, the Bayerische Staatsoper, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Hamburg State Opera, Teatro La Fenice, Teatro alla Scala, the Gran Teatre del Liceu, the Salzburg Festival, and teh Wiener Staatsoper.

She also recorded several albums including Meyerbeer’s “L’Africaine” and “Rinaldo.” There was also a solo album entitled “Donizetti Secrets.”