Gail Varina Gilmore (born September 21, 1950 in Washington, D.C.) is an American Gospel and (mezzo-soprano) opera singer. She is particularly known for her interpretation of Kundry in Richard Wagner's opera Parsifal. Biography Gail Gilmore, born in Washington, D.C., grew up in New Orleans. She completed her undergraduate degree at the Xavier University of New Orleans with a Bachelor of Music in 1972. Two years later, at the music department of the Indiana University at Bloomington, she received a Masters in Music. The same year, the then-24-year-old singer launched her stage career in Europe, specifically in Germany. Gail Gilmore became immediately noticeable because of her exceptional musical talent, acting ability, and the unmistakable dark vocal timbre of her voice. She made her debut in Europe at the Stadttheater Gießen as Eboli in Verdi's Don Carlos. She was then engaged at the where she performed mainly trousers roles, such as Cherubino in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Hänsel in Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel and the title role in Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss. In Krefeld, she also appeared as Brangäne in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. From 1979 to 1982, Gilmore was a member of the ensemble of the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden. Under the guidance of the Generalmusikdirektor Siegfried Köhler, she appeared successfully as Adriano in Wagner's Rienzi, as Venus in his Tannhäuser, and again as Eboli. In 1982, Gilmore responded to a call from the Nürnberg Opera, where she first performed the role of Kundry in Wagner's Parsifal. She was invited as a guest by Michael Gielen of the Frankfurt Opera, and her breakthrough came when she performed the role in the 1982 new production of Parsifal in Frankfurt, staged by Ruth Berghaus. She joined the Frankfurt ensemble in 1985, and appeared as Kundry alongside Peter Hofmann at La Fenice in Venice, and at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. At the Metropolitan Opera, she performed with James Levine, as Venus in Tannhäuser, as Fricka in Die Walküre, and as the Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss. She appeared at the Arena di Verona as Ulrica in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera, as Amneris in Aida, and in the title role of Bizet's Carmen alongside José Carreras. Gilmore has a repertory of over 40 roles, including Ortrud in Wagner's Lohengrin, Lady Macbeth in Verdi's Macbeth, and the title roles in Othmar Schoeck's Penthesilea and in Carl Orff's Antigonae.