Dow was born in
Houston, Texas. She studied at the
Juilliard School in New York City, graduating with a bachelor's degree in vocal performance in 1942. She quickly became one of the leading concert sopranos in the United States, singing with orchestras throughout the country and giving a number of highly lauded recitals. She made her first appearance on the opera stage in
Buffalo, New York as Santuzza in
Cavalleria rusticana in 1946. Her first major critical success was singing the role of Brünnhilde in a concert version of
Richard Wagner's
Götterdämmerung with the
Philadelphia Orchestra under
Eugene Ormandy in 1947. As an opera singer, Dow's career was more centered in Europe than in the United States. She was engaged at the
Zürich Opera from 1948 to 1950. She was a frequent guest at
La Scala during the 1950s and 1960s, singing there Chrysothemis in
Richard Strauss's
Elektra, Elisabeth in Wagner's
Tannhäuser, the title role in
La Gioconda, Judith in ''
Bluebeard's Castle, Marie in Wozzeck'' and Cressida in
William Walton's
Troilus and Cressida among other roles. In 1952 she made her first appearance at the
Glyndebourne Festival as Lady Macbeth in
Giuseppe Verdi's
Macbeth. She returned to Glyndebourne the following year to sing the title role in Strauss's
Ariadne auf Naxos. In 1954 she sang Irmengard in
Spontini’s
Agnes von Hohenstaufen at
Teatro della Pergola. In 1955 she sang the role of Renata in a critically acclaimed production of
Sergei Prokofiev's
The Fiery Angel at
La Fenice. Although Dow made few opera appearances in the United States, the ones she did make were notable. In May 1947, she portrayed the role of Susan B. Anthony in the world premiere of
Virgil Thomson’s
The Mother of Us All at
Columbia University’s Branders Matthews Hall. In 1951 she sang the Woman in the United States premiere of
Arnold Schoenberg’s
Erwartung in Washington, D.C. In 1968, Dow retired from her singing career. She embarked on a second career as an academic, earning further degrees in history and humanities from the
University of Texas at Austin,
Columbia University and
New York University. She joined the faculty at
Rutgers University where she taught history for many years. She died in
Galveston, aged 84. ==References==