Biographical Notes
Mado Robin
French coloratura soprano Mado Robin (née Madeleine Marie Robin) was born in 1918 to a wealthy family in Yzeures-sur-Creuse, Touraine, France. Except when traveling for concerts, she lived her entire life in her hometown. Robin had an extraordinarily high register which she used to acclaim throughout her career beginning with her 1945 debut as Gilda in Rossini's Rigoletto. Over the next 15 years, Robin continued to sing in France and French-speaking countries as well as in the Soviet Union and the United States, performing in The Barber of Seville, Lakmé, Lucia di Lammermore, The Pearl Fishers, The Tales of Hoffmann, and Rigoletto. Robin died in 1960 of leukemia at age 41.
Robert Parylak
Several years after Mado Robin's death, Robert Parylak, an office assistant at Texaco in Westchester, New York, became fascinated by Robin after hearing a recording of her singing. He set out to create a biographical collection of material associated with and about her. In this pursuit Parylak corresponded with Robin's manager, Robert Deniau, and one of her co-stars, French tenor Alain Vanzo, among others, collecting historical material and reminiscences along the way.