Helen Olheim (1904 – June 26, 1992[1]) was an American mezzo-soprano singer. She was born in Buffalo, New York,[1] in 1904 as Helen Oelheim. She graduated from the Eastman School of Music[1] where Adelin Fermin was her teacher.[2] She sang with the American Opera Company where she met her future husband, Frederick Michel, whom she'd marry in September 1927,[3] was a guest on many radio programs including The Cathedral Hour on WABC,[2] and was a member of the Metropolitan Opera from 1935 until 1944.[1] Among the roles she played at the Met were Mercédès from Bizet's Carmen, Siebel from Gounod's Faust.[1] (her debut role at the Met [3][2]), Maddalena from Verdi's Rigoletto, and Suzuki from Puccini's Madama Butterfly[3]
After Olheim (which was her stage name) left the Metropolitan Opera, she taught at Mount Holyoke College from 1954 until 1966,[3] and then she moved to Sarasota, Florida.[1] Olheim died June 26, 1992, from natural causes at the Beneva Nursing Pavilion in Sarasota at the age of 87.[1]
