Shirley Verrett (1931-2010)

Shirley Verrett, the New Orleans-born soprano famed for her singing and acting in the title roles of Bizet's "Carmen" and Bellini's "Norma," has died at the age of 79.

Following an operatic career that reached its pinnacle in the 1960s and ’70s, Verrett taught at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where she died.

An obituary by Anthony Tommasini in The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/06/arts/music/06verrett.html?ref=obituaries