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National Council on the Arts Members

Mary Costa (Knoxville, TN)

Mary Costa is an opera singer who at the time of her retirement in 1984 had 44 operas in her repertoire. Her singing career spanned four decades and included performances with the San Francisco, Metropolitan, Bolshoi, and Knoxville opera companies. Her long career crossed many genres of performance including not only opera but concerts, recitals, musical comedy, motion pictures, radio, and television. Throughout her classical music career, her manager was the famed impresario Sol Hurok. Ms. Costa's debut with the Met was in Verdi's "La Traviata" in 1964, where she also sang leading roles in Massenet's "Manon" and Samuel Barber's "Vanessa." Her voice is known around the world for her portrayal of Princess Aurora in the 1959 Disney animated film classic "Sleeping Beauty," and she appeared on television shows with stars such as Jack Benny, Sammy Davis Jr., Merv Griffin, and many others. Other career highlights include a performance at the memorial service for President Kennedy at the request of the First Lady, the premiere performance of the Kennedy Center Opera House in 1971 in a revival of Leonard Bernstein's "Candide," and a performance at the White House in 1974 at the invitation of President Nixon. She has toured internationally, including to Japan and Russia, and is the recipient of many awards including "Women in the Performing Arts" (1993), the "Puccini Award" (1999), and Metropolitan Opera Guild recognition for distinguished Verdi performances of the 20th century (2001).