Claire Watson; Former Opera Star in Europe

New York-born soprano Claire Watson, who sang major roles in European opera houses for 25 years, died Wednesday of a brain tumor in Utting, West Germany.

Her husband, fellow operatic singer David Thaw, said she was 62 and died almost exactly 10 years after her last performance, as Marschallin in “Der Rosenkavalier” by Richard Strauss in July, 1976, in Munich.

Thaw said his wife had been ill for about six weeks when she died at their home in Utting, near Munich.

She had been a leading soprano since the 1950s, sometimes with the Frankfurt Opera but primarily the Bavarian State Opera, singing roles that included Elisabeth in Wagner’s “Tannhauser” and Tatiana in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin.”

In Vienna in the 1960s, she sang the part of Elsa in “Lohengrin.” She also had major roles in productions at Bayreuth, West Germany, and Covent Garden in London. She also made infrequent guest appearances with opera houses in Milan, Rome, Chicago and San Francisco.

She studied at the Eastman School of Music in New York and made her operatic debut in Graz, Austria, in 1951.

Martin Bernheimer, Los Angeles Times music critic, saw Miss Watson only recently and remembered her:

“In an age where comparable sopranos cultivated glamorous international careers and did more than their part to support the jet industry, Claire Watson wanted to stay put. Munich became her home.

“She was essentially content to be a part--an exceptionally brilliant part--of a fine, steady, stimulating old-fashioned ensemble. She sang a broad repertory with pervasive style, purity and taste, but probably will be best remembered for her warm and luminous portrayals of the heroines of Strauss and Mozart.”