“[Her] mesmerizing stage presence and command of dozens of roles made her a mainstay of [the company] in the 1960s and ’70s … [She] had a dark, supple, powerful voice, … but it was her dramatic gifts and movie-star looks – The Daily News of New York once said she resembled ‘Ava Gardner of the love goddess years’ – that earned her a special place in the hearts of opera fans.”