Marguerite Piazza | Popular opera star, 86

Marguerite Piazza, 86, who had a voice that could pack concert halls and a figure that transfixed television audiences, died of congestive heart failure Aug. 2 at her Memphis home.

Ms. Piazza, who at the pinnacle of her career in the 1950s performed with the Metropolitan Opera, was also sought out for ribbon-cuttings and commercial endorsements and once performed as part of a Super Bowl halftime show.

Marguerite Claire Luft was born in 1926 in New Orleans. A teacher in New York suggested she adopt her mother's maiden name, Piazza, because he thought an Italian-sounding name would boost her operatic credibility.

She began her career on radio, but moved into TV in its earliest days, where her good looks and soaring soprano quickly made her a star.

Only after she had become a TV success did she appear at the Met, where in 1951 she had 14 performances as Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus.

- N.Y. Times News Service