Anna Russell, 94; Singer-Comic Known for Operatic Parodies

Anna Russell, 94, a British-born singer and comedian famous for her operatic parodies, including a 30-minute synopsis of Wagner’s epic four-opera “Ring” cycle, died Wednesday in Batemans Bay, Australia.

As Russell pondered the complex family relations of Wagner’s doomed and addled Siegfried and followed him from the rock of Brunnhilde to the palace of Gutrune, she paused to note that Gutrune is “the only woman that Siegfried’s ever come across who wasn’t his aunt. I’m not making this up, you know!” The line became her catchphrase and the title of her 1985 autobiography.

Among her best-known routines was a musical sendup of the well-loved but often predictable operettas by Gilbert and Sullivan, titled “How to Write Your Own Gilbert and Sullivan Opera.”

Born in London in 1911, Russell began her musical career as a folk singer on BBC radio. She later took to the stage, making her New York City debut in 1947.

Since the 1950s she had toured the world, selling out such venues as the Royal Albert Hall in London and Carnegie Hall in New York, and recorded several albums of music laced with biting humor and self-parody.