Lili Chookasian (August 1, 1921 – April 9, 2012[1]) was an American contralto of Armenian ethnicity, who appeared with many of the world's major symphony orchestras and opera houses.
The biggest triumph of her early concert career was in January 1955 when she was chosen by Bruno Walter as the contralto soloist for Mahler's Symphony No.
Edward McGuire, founder and stage director of the ASO, offered her the part after soprano Barbara Stevenson, who sang Norma, recommended her.
However, he could not remember her name and was unable to track her down until a chance meeting with Sheldon Soffer tipped him off that she was working with the Baltimore Opera Company under Rosa Ponselle.
Chookasian had spent the last year studying under Ponselle and had created her second opera role on stage with the company, Azucena in Verdi's Il trovatore in 1960.
Schippers contacted Chookasian to come up for an audition, and after hearing her, she was immediately engaged to sing the music of Amelfa Timoferevna (in Alexander Nevsky) for her New York Philharmonic debut in early 1961.
[2] Shortly after her NYP debut, Chookasian was offered a contract with the Metropolitan Opera by Rudolf Bing but turned it down because she was afraid it would take too much time away from her family.
She told no one, fulfilled her commitments in New York, Baltimore, and Europe, and then finally sought a doctor's care in November 1961 after finishing up performance of Aida.
During the performance Francis Robinson, then assistant general manager at the Met, had the house phones hooked up so Rosa Ponselle could hear Chookasian's entrance over the telephone at her home.
Ponselle, who had developed a strong personal friendship with Chookasian as well as being her opera mentor, recalled "It not only brought back such wonderful memories, but it was another Force of Destiny."
Paul Henry Lang wrote in his review that "From what we heard last night, we may predict a splendid career for the young lady from Chicago."
Her roles included Adalgisa, Amneris in Aida, Auntie in Peter Grimes, Azucena, Death in Le Rossignol, Erda in Das Rheingold and Siegfried, Filippyevna in Eugene Onegin, the First Norn in Götterdämmerung, Frugola in Il tabarro, Geneviève in Pelléas et Mélisande, Gertrud in Hansel and Gretel, the Grandmother in Jenůfa, Leocadia Begbick in Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, Madelon in Andrea Chénier, Mamma Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana, Marthe in Faust, Mary in Der fliegende Holländer, Mistress Quickly in Falstaff, the Nurse in Boris Godunov, the Princess in Suor Angelica, Teresa in La Sonnambula, Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera, the Witch in Hansel and Gretel, and Zita in Gianni Schicchi among others.
She also notably sang the role of Maharanee in the United States premiere of Gian Carlo Menotti's The Last Savage in a cast that included George London, Nicolai Gedda, Roberta Peters and Teresa Stratas.
[4] During her career at the Met, Chookasian sang with many great singers like Carlo Bergonzi, Richard Cassilly, Franco Corelli, Phyllis Curtin, Mattiwilda Dobbs, William Dooley, Plácido Domingo, Reri Grist, Anna Moffo, Birgit Nilsson, Leontyne Price, Gail Robinson, Leonie Rysanek, Joan Sutherland, Renata Tebaldi, and Richard Tucker among others.
[4] While the Met was her major home, Chookasian also remained active as a concert performer and sang in opera houses both in the United States and Europe.
Chookasian was invited to the city to perform in two productions mounted in her honor: Amneris in Aida and the Armenian composer Tigran Chukhajian's opera Arshak II.