Carol Neblett, opera singer – obituary

Carol Neblett, who has died aged 71, was an American soprano who attracted notoriety in 1973 when she briefly appeared nude while singing the title role of the seductive courtesan in Massenet’s Thaïs for New Orleans Opera; her disrobing outraged the local strippers of Bourbon Street, who complained that they were required by law to cover up with G-strings and “nipple pasties”.

Carol Neblett, a glamorous blonde, went on to sing the title role in Tosca with Luciano Pavarotti in Chicago, Minnie, the saloon bar owner in Puccini’s La fanciulla del West with Plácido Domingo at Covent Garden, and Margherita in a concert performance of Boito’s Mefistofele at the Festival Hall with José Carreras. Critics praised her “warm and rich sound … accurate intonation [and] ability to sing touchingly and with charm”.