On Oct. 14, 2025, soprano Roberta Alexander died at the age of 76.

Born on March 3, 1949, in Lynchburg, Virginia, Alexander’s parents both studied music at Virginia State College, where they were pupils of Undine Smith Moore. She grew up in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and she went on to study music at Central State University, the University of Michigan, and the Royal Conservatory of The Hague.

At 23, she moved to the Netherlands at age 23 and had her debut at the Dutch National Opera in 1975 as Fanny in “La cambiale di matrimonio.” Later that year, the soprano participated in the world premiere of Viktor Ullmann’s “Der Kaiser von Atlantis.”

She would go on to perform smaller roles but eventually became a  guest artist in Mozart heroines with the Berlin State Opera and the Zürich Opera, including the roles of Fiordiligi in “Così fan tutte,” Elettra in “Idomeneo,” and Countess Almaviva in “The Marriage of Figaro.”

In 1980, Alexander made her American debut as Pamina in “The Magic Flute” with the Houston Grand Opera and later made her San Francisco Opera debut. She would go on ot perform at the San Fe Opera and the Metropolitan Opera, where she performed Zerlina in “Don Giovanni,” Bess in “Porgy and Bess,” the title role in “Jenůfa,” Vitellia in “La clemenza di Tito,” Mimì in “La bohème,” and Antonia in “The Tales of Hoffmann,” among others.

In 1982, she made her debut at the Komische Oper Berlin, followed by debuts at the Royal Opera, English National Opera, Vienna State Opera, Glyndebourne Festival, Florida Grand Opera, and the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.

She went on to record several works for Etcetera Records and Philipsincludign “George Gershwin: Porgy and Bess,” and “Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Don Giovanni.”