Music
Anita Darian
1927–2015 · soprano, actress
Detroit-born Armenian American soprano who sang opera, Broadway and jazz and whose voice soars over the Tokens' 1961 hit 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight'.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan- Died
Oceanside, New York
aged 87- Birth name
- Anita Margaret Esgandarian
- Detroit years
- 1927–1940s
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Darian was born Anita Esgandarian in Detroit in 1927 to an Armenian family and graduated from the city's Cooley High School in 1945. She went on to study opera at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and at Juilliard in New York. Her first wide exposure came in the mid-1950s as featured singer with the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, recording for RCA Victor. As a soprano she sang with the New York City Opera and as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic, played Lady Thiang in a 1960 revival of The King and I, and recorded the role of Julie in a 1962 studio Show Boat with John Raitt and Barbara Cook. Her wordless soprano line on the Tokens' 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight', a number-one hit in 1961, is one of the most recognizable voices in pop. Based in New York, she worked in everything from recitals to jingles and cartoon voices, and was still performing in 2012.
Highlights
- Graduated from Detroit's Cooley High School in 1945
- Soprano on 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' (1961, number one)
- Sang with the New York City Opera and New York Philharmonic
- Lady Thiang in The King and I (1960 revival)
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Studied here · 1940s
Cooley High School
Closed · 1928–2010
Northwest Detroit high school where Darian graduated in 1945; closed by Detroit Public Schools in 2010.