In Memoriam: Lillian Phoebe Chookasian (1921-2012)

Lillian Chookasian, longtime contralto at the Metropolitan Opera and professor emerita of the Yale School of Music, has died in her home in Branford, Connecticut. She was 90 years old.

A native of Chicago, Professor Chookasian began her singing career on a gospel radio program. She had her first opera role in 1959 for the Arkansas State Opera. She made her premiere at the Met in 1962 and performed there until her retirement from the stage in 1986. She then joined the faculty at Yale. In 2002, she was awarded the Sanford Medal, the Yale School of Music’s highest honor. She was named professor emerita in 2010.