Irene Dalis (born 1925) is an American mezzo-soprano born in San José, California. She made her debut in 1953 as Eboli in Don Carlo by Giuseppe Verdi in Germany. She made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, also as Eboli in Don Carlo, on March 16, 1957, earning fine reviews. That was the first of 274 performances in the great New York theatre, through 19 seasons. She was particularly noted as Amneris in Verdi's Aïda, a part she sang 69 times at the Metropolitan, and as The Nurse in Die Frau ohne Schatten with San Francisco Opera. She was Brangäne when Birgit Nilsson sang her Tristan und Isolde at the Metropolitan 1959, and Amneris when Leontyne Price sang her first Aïda at the Metropolitan, on February 20, 1961. She also performed with soprano Leonie Rysanek frequently, most notably in Salome, where Dalis sang the role of Herodias, and in Aida.
She appeared at the Bayreuth Festival singing Kundry in Parsifal by Richard Wagner. Her portrayal of this role was recorded in 1962 with Jess Thomas as Parsifal, Hans Hotter as Gurnemanz and Hans Knappertsbusch conducting.
She retired from the operatic stage in 1977, to her hometown of San Jose, where she created the Opera Workshop program at San Jose State University. The program began turning out so many career-level graduate singers, that she was able to form the Opera San Jose in 1984, a professional company that hires young singers as Principal Resident Artists; these singers perform all principal roles in the company's four (4) annual productions. She based the program on her experiences as a young singer in Germany performing on Fest contracts. She heads the company as General Director.[1]