I guess it is now official.
Anna Russell Dies
By Susan Elliott
MusicalAmerica.com
October 19, 2006
Anna Russell, soprano, comedienne, author, died yesterday at
the age of 94. Her death was reported by her adopted daughter,
Deirdre Prussak, with whom she lived in Rosedale, New South
Wales, Australia, during her final years. Ms. Russell died
peacefully, in her sleep. The cause was esophageal cancer, only
recently diagnosed.
Born in London, she attended the Royal College of Music and began
her career as a folksinger on BBC radio in 1931. A subsequent
radio broadcast brought her to Toronto, where she ultimately
lived for most of her life. She was hugely popular there, to
the point where the street on which she lived was re-named "Anna
Russell Way."
She began to pursue a concert career as a lyric soprano in the
early 1940s; her New York debut in 1948 at Town Hall secured her
reputation as an erudite musical comedienne. A New York Times
review of that event reads in part, "An evening of musical satire
of highest quality was presented by Anna Russell, singer, pianist,
diseuse and mime....Blending a devastating perception of concert
singer's and pianist's mannerisms with well-timed wit and low
buffoonery, she often had to pause for laughter from her large
audience."
Ms. Russell toured widely and recorded some of her better known
segments, including her 30-minute version of Wagner's "Ring" and
"How to Write Your Own Gilbert and Sullivan Opera" (to quote
from her lexicon, "I'm not making this up, you know"). The Ed
Sullivan Show was among a number of television appearances, and
she authored several books, including "The Power of Being a
Positive Stinker" (1955) and the "Anna Russell Songbook" (1958).
"She certainly brought musical parody to a high art," commented
Ernest Gilbert, friend and president of Video Arts International,
which holds the rights to much of her catalog. Gilbert estimated
that her last performance would have been about 20 years ago.
Karl
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