Of Greek-German descent, she was born in New York on 12/09/1928. She studied at the Music School of Brooklyn. Then she continued her studies at Juilliard under Hans Heinz, graduating in 1963. She debuted at the New York City Opera as Hippolyta [A Midsummer Night's Dream] and as Jocasta [Oedipus Rex] (1963). During the decade 1965-1975, she worked with the Hamburg State Opera, where she interpreted numerous pivotal roles, such as Carmen [Carmen], Preziosilla [The Power of Fate/La forza del destino], etc. In 1966, she won worldwide acclaim as The Composer [Ariadne on Naxos/Ariadne auf Naxos] at the Aix-en-Provence Festival. In 1968, she appeared at the Royal Opera House of London and at the Salzburg Festival as Octavian [The Knight of the Rose/Der Rosenkavalier]. That was also the role in which she debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1976. At this latter opera house, she appeared in over 270 productions, interpreting 22 leading roles, such as: Adalgisa [Norma] (1981), Dido [The Trojans/Les Troyens] (1983), etc. She collaborated with leading conductors and soloists of the 1960s through the 1990s. She appeared in prominent opera houses around the United States and Europe. She interpreted roles in numerous operas, including: Aida, Don Carlo, Tannhäuser, Tristan und Isolde, Parsifal, Dido and Aeneas, Don Giovanni, Madama Butterfly, Anna Bolena. She also sang in rarely staged operas by Händel and Mozart. She was particularly famous for her interpretation of Carmen. She made numerous recordings (DECCA, DG, Philips, EMI). She passed away in New York on 21/08/1993. At the GNO she appeared once, in the role of Orpheus [Orpheus and Eurydice/Orfeo ed Euridice] (Herodeion, Athens Festival 1971).