Maria Ewing obituary

The American opera singer Maria Ewing, who has died aged 71, excited both acclaim and controversy for her seductive portrayals and frequently idiosyncratic vocal delivery.

Much of her early career was made in the US, initially under the mentorship of the Metropolitan Opera’s music director James Levine, though British audiences will recall more readily the vivid performances she gave of several roles, most notably Rosina (The Barber of Seville), Carmen and Poppea (Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea), the last two directed by Sir Peter Hall, whom she married in 1982.

At her finest, she was a singing actor of the highest calibre, with a richly textured voice