Ruth Golden ’74 was singing in choral groups at Cal when she first witnessed Luciano Pavarotti and Teresa Stratas sing in La Boheme at the San Francisco Opera.
“I was forever changed after that,” she says. Ruth had enjoyed singing in choirs since the fourth grade. When it came time for college, Ruth considered leaving Los Angeles to return to the East Coast where her family had ties. Her father attended Harvard Business School after fleeing the German invasion of Poland in 1939. But the ringing of the Campanile sang to her. As a top student, Ruth understood the tremendous opportunities Berkeley offered. So along with a few friends, she ventured north.
Beyond Berkeley, Ruth’s career took her around the world as an operatic soprano and master voice teacher. Things came full circle when Ruth, then a leading soprano at the New York City Opera where legend Beverly Sills was director, played the part of Mimi in La Boheme, the opera that had changed her life while attending Berkeley.
