Wilhelmenia Fernandez

Wilhelmenia Fernandez sometimes billed as Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez January 5 1949 February 2 2024 was an American soprano and actress She appeared in Diva the 1981 film by French director JeanJacques Beineix credited as Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez Wilhelmenia Wiggins was born in Philadelphia on January 5 1949 to Ernest and Vinelee Clayton Wiggins As a child she sang with the choir of the Main Street Baptist church In her teens she sang with the choir of the William Penn High School for Girls and received formal training under soprano Tillie Barmach at the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia Fernandez began her academic training at the Philadelphia Academy of Vocal Arts and then studied as a scholarship student at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City She made her operatic debut as Bess in Porgy and Bess for Houston Grand Opera a production that toured the US and Europe She made her Paris début in 1979 as Musetta in La bohème alongside Plácido Domingo and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa French film director JeanJacques Beineix saw her Musetta performance and cast her as the title character of his 1981 film Diva which proved an arthouse success and became a cult favorite In the film Fernandez performed the aria Ebben Ne andrò lontana from Alfredo Catalanis opera La Wally Its New York run lasted more than two years and it was selected as the official French entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 54th Academy Awards but was not nominated Critic Roger Ebert wrote of her The presence of Fernandez is awesome The moments when the postman returns her gown and then the tape are handled by her with a subtle balance of astonishment and amusement6 New York Times critic Vincent Canby disliked the film but wrote of Fernandez After films style the second best thing in Diva is Miss Fernandez the Philadelphiaborn soprano who is no actress yet though she has great film presence She performed the role of Musetta at the New York City Opera in 1982 She debuted at the Detroit Opera that year and returned to sing Marguerite in Faust the next year Thereafter she sang in operas and recitals in cities all over the world Her more notable roles were the title roles in Carmen Carmen Jones and Aïda role she has performed in Luxor and at the Egyptian pyramids She also made recordings of George Gershwin songs and of Negro spirituals For her work in Carmen Jones in the West End she received the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1992 as Best Actress in a Musical Fernandez 1981 recording of Ebben Ne andrò lontana for Diva was included on the soundtrack of Ridley Scotts 1987 film Someone to Watch Over Me She also sang as part of a number of television appearances Fernandez earned degrees from the University of Kentucky and Georgetown College in Georgetown Kentucky in voice and education Fernandez died on February 2 2024 at the age of 75 of cancer in Lexington Kentucky where she had lived for years Source Article Wilhelmenia Fernandez from Wikipedia in English licensed under CCBYSA