State Opera, where, once again, the scheduled star was taken ill and Roma was asked to sing in her place — the role of Mimi in Puccini's La Boheme. She was thereupon engaged as a guest artist for the 1925 season. In 1930, she made a tour of Europe "as interpreter for the famous French composer, Maurice Ravel." She was granted a master of music degree in spring 1930 by the University of Southern California, and in the fall she was appointed to the new chair of grand opera in the USC Department of Music. Personal Roma was one of the first people in the entertainment industry to undergo a rhinoplasty, or a "nose job." According to the Los Angeles Examiner (May 5, 1930), the operation was performed in expectation that she would appear in the "talkies" as a singer. Roma was married to David Trompeter, industrialist and inventor. From 1958 to 1961 she was the owner and publisher of the Musical Courier magazine, and was the author of three books about singing. She died February 17, 1965, in Greenwich, Connecticut. Besides her husband, she was survived by siblings Herman, Guy, Ethel and Tillie. References Further reading He Usually Lived With a Female: The Life of a California Newspaperman (2006) by George Garrigues. Quail Creek Press. . See the index for Lisa Roma. 1892 births 1965 deaths Musicians from Philadelphia American operatic sopranos University of Southern California faculty Singers from Pennsylvania 20th-century American women opera singers Classical musicians from Pennsylvania American women academics