Pons Lily, actually Alice-Joséphine Pons, *12 April 1898 Draguignan (near Cannes), †13 February 1976 Dallas, French-born singer (soprano) based in the USA. In 1911–13, she studied in the piano class at the Paris Conservatory. She completed 5-year vocal studies under D. Beumer in Cannes and under A. di Gorostiaga in Paris only in 1920. After performances in operettas in Théâtre des Variétés in Paris (1924), she debuted in 1928 on the opera stage at the municipal theatre in Mulhouse (Alsace) in the title role of L. Delibes’s Lakmé. In the early 1930s, she studied in New York under G. Zetanelli and his wife, M. Gay; thanks to their support, she debuted with great success in 1931 at the Metropolitan Opera House in the title role of G. Dionizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor (with B. Gigli and E. Pinza). From then on, until the end of her career in 1961, she successfully performed on the stage as, among others, Lakmé, Amina in La sonnambula by V. Bellini, and Gilda in Rigoletto by Verdi (11 March 1939 with J. Kiepura). She also gave guest performances in Covent Garden, Paris Opera and Opéra-Comique, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, in Chicago, San Francisco and others. She made numerous concert tours, performing, among others, with her husband, conductor A. Kostelanetz. In 1928–54, she made many album recordings for Odeon, Victor, HMV, and Philips. Although she did not have a strong voice, she was considered one of the most significant coloratura singers of the time thanks to her virtuosity. Having a great physical appearance, she starred in the film I Dream Too Much beside H. Fonda (dir. J. Cromwell, 1935) and in music comedies: The Girls from Paris (dir. L. Jason, 1936) and Hitting a New High (dir. R. Walsh, 1937).
