The Kotas Project

Adele Addison was born on July 24th, 1925 in Springfield, Massachusettes. Addison received a scholarship to study at Westminster Choir College. She pursued a graduate degree at Princeton University and attended the Berkshire Music School at Tanglewood where she studied with Boris Goldovsky.

​

In 1948 Addison made her professional debut in Boston while still a graduate student. After completing her degree at Princeton Addison moved to New York City where she continued her studies at Julliard under Beverley Peck Johnson and Povla Frijsh. Addison made her New York City Opera debut in 1955 where she appeared as Mimi in Puccini’s La Boheme. Following her debut, Addison was invited to perform in Aaron Copland’s world premiere of Dirge in Woods. Addison held roles in Handel’s Acis and Galatea, Liu in Puccini’s Turandot, Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto, Micaela in Bizet’s Carmen, Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutti, and Nannetta in Verdi’s Falstaff. Addison is best known for her performance as Bess in the 1959 film version of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. Addison also performed with several leading orchestras such as the Boston Symphony and the Cleveland Symphony.