Lois Kirschenbaum, the ultimate opera superfan, dies at 88
By Corey Kilgannon New York Times,Updated April 9, 2021, 4:57 p.m.
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Lois Kirschenbaum backstage at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York in June 2012.JULIE GLASSBERG/NYT
For more than a half-century, nearly every prominent singer to perform at New York Cityâs Metropolitan Opera could expect to be approached backstage afterward by a wispy woman in thick glasses, who held piles of memorabilia to be autographed while she praised their performance in a raspy Brooklyn accent.
That was Lois Kirschenbaum, one of New Yorkâs biggest and longest-standing opera buffs and a nightly staple at the opera since the late 1950s, before Lincoln Center was built, when the Met was located in Midtown.