Roberta Peters was a big-time opera star at the time, and her day lasted for decades. For 35 years, starting in 1950, when she was called in to fill in for an ill performer at the age of 20, she was one of the leading performers at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.
Peters was a strong believer in the idea that opera was for everyone (this is one of the many clips she performed on the Ed Sullivan Show), and that Peters When it authorized opera in 1951, it was likely eager to popularize the art form. LIFE magazine photographer Michael Rouget documents her fitness routine. Peters’ instructor was a supporting character in that story, but today his name is known to fitness enthusiasts around the world.
Her instructor was Joseph Pilates. Today, his namesake fitness method is taught in gyms and training studios across the country. Her Pilates workout didn’t really gain much popularity until her early 2000s, but it’s now ubiquitous, and its adherents include celebrities like Hailey Bieber, Kendall Jenner, and Bella Hadid. It is.
At the time of the LIFE article, Joseph Pilates’ training method was not actually called “Pilates,” but rather was known as “Control,” a term he coined. Pilates first made a name for himself by working with ballet stars such as Martha Graham and George Balanchine, and by the time he connected with Peters, he was well known in the New York art world.
The LIFE article, headlined “Muscular Diva,” described Peters as a longtime fitness enthusiast, saying, “Since she started taking singing lessons as a girl in the Bronx, she has worked hard to tone her torso and tone her body.” I continue to go to the gym regularly.” Strengthen your diaphragm. ” Ms. Peters was so healthy that Life magazine noted that Joseph Pilates “liked having strangers touch her stomach and was now “like iron.””
Her dedication to taking care of her body has paid off. She continued to perform in recitals well into her 70s, when she died of Parkinson’s disease at the age of 86. Born in Germany in 1883, Pilates would have been in her late 60s at the time of her LIFE photo shoot. He died of emphysema in 1967 at the age of 83.
Opera singer Roberta Peters balanced what Life magazine in 1951 called “the breadbasket of opera” with fitness trainer Joseph Pilates.
Michael Rogier/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Opera star Roberta Peters training with Joseph Pilates, 1951.
Michael Rogier/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Opera singer Roberta Peters works out with trainer Joseph Pilates in 1951.
Michael Rogier/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Opera star Roberta Peters training with Joseph Pilates, 1951.
Michael Rogier/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Joseph Pilates’ therapy for opera singer Roberta Peters included 20 compressions using a spring-like steel oval (1951).
Michael Rogier/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Opera star Roberta Peters training with Joseph Pilates, 1951.
Michael Rogier/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Opera star Roberta Peters training with Joseph Pilates, 1951.
Michael Rogier/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Opera star Roberta Peters training with Joseph Pilates, 1951.
Michael Rogier/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Opera star Roberta Peters training with Joseph Pilates, 1951.
Michael Rogier/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Opera star Roberta Peters training with Joseph Pilates, 1951.
Michael Rogier/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
