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April 27, 1940 - Lexington, Kentucky (according to Baker’s; Musician Biographies, Wikipedia) or Missoula, Montana (according to Xrefer, Montanakids), USA
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The American soprano, Judith Blegen, studied violin and voice (with Martial Singher) at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia from 1959 to 1964. Already in 1963 she sang with Philadelphia Orchestra 1963 and at Spoleto Festival. In 1963 she went to Italy, where she studied with Luigi Ricci.
From 1963 to 1966 Judith Blegen sang at the Nuremberg Opera, making her debut there as Olympia in Les contes d'Hoffmann, singing also Lucia, Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos), and Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro). She sang at the Vienna State Opera from 1968 to 1970, making her debut there as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia. She made her Salzburg Festival debut in 1967 as Papagena in Die Zauberflöte. She made a successful appearance at the Santa Fe Opera in August 1969, in the role of Emily in Menotti’s satirical opera Help! Help! The Globolinks!, which was written especially for her. In January 1979 she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in New York as Papagena, returning there regularly in subsequent seasons to sing such roles as Zerlina, Marzelline, Gilda, Sophie, Blondchen, Adele, Oscar, and Juliette. In 1975 she made her first appearance at London’s Covent Garden (Despina in Così fan tutte), and in 1977 in the Paris Opera. She is a noted exponent of Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier) and Rosina, and also frequent duettist with Frederica von Stade.
Source: Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of 20th Century Classical Musicians (1997); Xrefer Website
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