Clamma Churita Dale (born 1948) is an American operaticsoprano. She portrayed "Bess" in the highly successful 1976 Houston Grand Opera production of Porgy and Bess. The show was transferred from Houston to Broadway and Dale was awarded a 1977 Drama Desk Award for Best Actress in a musical and received a Tony Award nomination. She won a Grammy award in 1978 for Best Opera Recording of the Porgy & Bess soundtrack.
Early life and education
Dale was born and raised in Chester, Pennsylvania. Her father was a jazz musician and she received much of her early musical training from him, playing the clarinet, cello, saxophone, piano, and guitar during her youth [citation needed] as well as singing in the school choir. She studied music at the Settlement Music School earned a bachelor's degree in music from the Juilliard School in 1970. She earned her master's degree from the Juilliard School in 1975.[1]
Career
After graduating from school, Dale worked as a first grade music teacher in Brooklyn until her singing career began to take off.[2]
Dale first drew wide acclaim in 1976 for her portrayal of "Bess" in Porgy and Bess with the Houston Grand Opera, a production which went on to a highly successful run at first the Uris Theatre and then the Mark Hellinger Theatre on Broadway in 1976 and 1977. She won the 1977 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a musical and a Tony nomination.[3] She won an In 1977 she performed as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic in the premiere of Leonard Bernstein's Songfest in Washington D.C. In 1978, she won a Grammy Award for best Opera Performance for the Porgy & Bess soundtrack.[3]
In 1983, Dale made her first appearance at the Opéra National de Paris as Fata Morgana in The Love for Three Oranges. She spent the next several years working in various opera houses in Paris, singing roles like Liu in Puccini's Turandot, Musetta in Puccini's La bohème, Pamina in The Magic Flute, and the one-woman tour de force of the bloodthirsty title character in Erzsebet, an opera by Charles Chaynes.[4]
In 1986, she appeared at the Opéra de Nancy et de Lorraine (now the Opéra national de Lorraine). In 1988 she sang Bess for her debut at the Theater des Westens in Berlin. The following year she portrayed Liu at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. She has given many recitals including two resulting from winning the Walter W. Naumburg voice competition. She gave recitals at Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie Hall among other places. She appeared at the White House in a Gershwin evening on February 12, 1978, with pianist Neil Stannard. In 1991, she sang the world premiere of John Duffy's Time for Remembrance with the Honolulu Symphony for the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.[5]
Personal life
Dale married Terry Shirk in 1981. He died suddenly of a heart attack in 1987.[4]
