Marguerite Piazza

Marguerite Piazza (May 6, 1920 – August 2, 2012) was an American soprano, entertainer, and philanthropist born in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was born Marguerite Clair Lucille Luft, the daughter of Albert William Luft, Jr. and Margherita Piazza, who married on January 24, 1917. Her father died on September 12, 1923, and around 1927 her mother, by then known as Margaret, wed Reuben Davis Breland, whose surname Marguerite took. She later adopted her mother's maiden name, Piazza, as her professional name, on the advice of Armando Agnini.

Piazza completed a degree at Loyola University of the South's College of Music in 1940 and also attended Louisiana State University, where she studied under the baritone Pasquale Amato. In New Orleans she served as the first Queen of the Krewe of Virgilians during Mardi Gras.

In 1944, Piazza joined the New York City Opera as its youngest member, making her debut there as Nedda in Pagliacci. In subsequent seasons with the company she appeared as Musetta in La bohème, in Der Zigeunerbaron, as Donna Elvira in Theodore Komisarjevsky's production of Don Giovanni, and as Amelia in Amelia al ballo. Her work with the New Orleans Opera Association began in 1945 with Martha, followed by appearances as Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel and in the title role of Il segreto di Susanna. In 1951, she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Rosalinde von Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus.

Piazza's Broadway career spanned 1944 to 1950 and included the productions Happy as Larry, The Rape of Lucretia, The Gypsy Baron, and La Bohème. Her Broadway debut came in 1950 with Happy as Larry, which was directed by and starred Burgess Meredith in the title role, with set design by Alexander Calder. That production led directly to her being invited to join the cast of the NBC television program Your Show of Shows, starring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca, on which she appeared from 1950 to 1954. Following the conclusion of that program, she pursued a career in supper and night clubs.

During the 1950s, Piazza was a paid spokeswoman for Camel cigarettes. In the 1960s she underwent three melanoma-related operations, and in the 1970s she was treated successfully for uterine cancer. President Richard M. Nixon honored her in 1971 for her courage in confronting the disease.

Piazza settled in Memphis, Tennessee, where she became a noted philanthropist and longtime supporter of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. She sang the national anthem at no fewer than twenty-seven Liberty Bowl football games and was celebrated for her work with various charities, including the annual Marguerite Piazza Gala. On January 15, 1973, the Willis Music Company published Marguerite Piazza's Christmas Carol Sing-Along Party. She co-authored an autobiography with her daughter Marguerite Bonnett, titled Pagliacci Has Nothing on Me!, published in 2007 (ISBN 978-1-84728-394-8). In 2016, she was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame, becoming the first opera singer to receive that honor. Her personal papers are archived at Loyola University New Orleans.

Piazza was married four times, widowed three times, and divorced once. She had six children, one of whom died by suicide. She died in Memphis on August 2, 2012, at the age of 92, from congestive heart failure, and was survived by five children and an extended family.