Carmen Balthrop

Carmen Arlene Balthrop (May 14, 1948 – September 5, 2021) was an American operatic soprano born in Washington, D.C. She built a career centered on opera and made a notable appearance on Broadway in 1975.

Balthrop's Broadway credit came through Scott Joplin's opera Treemonisha, in which she performed the title role. Her Metropolitan Opera debut placed her in the role of Pamina in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. Among her other major operatic roles were Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly, Violetta in La traviata, Micaela in Carmen, Liu in Turandot, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Poppea in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea, Susannah in Carlisle Floyd's Susannah, and Aurore in William Grant Still's A Bayou Legend. She appeared in a 2000 production of Handel's Agrippina and took part in the 2010 premiere of Frank Proto's Shadowboxer.

National Public Radio featured a recording of Balthrop's Christmas performance at the National Gallery of Art as part of their 2000 Millennium Celebration. Her discography includes recordings of Scott Joplin's Treemonisha, Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea, John Knowles Paine's Mass, Leslie Burrs' Vanqui, and two volumes titled The Art of Christmas.

In addition to her performing career, Balthrop served as a professor of voice at the University of Maryland. She died on September 5, 2021, at the age of 73. Her funeral was held at Immaculate Conception Church in Washington, D.C.