Ethel F. Semser, 98, international opera singer

Ethel F. Semser, 98, of Philadelphia, an international opera singer and linguist, died Thursday, June 4, of complications from pneumonia at Penn Hospice at Rittenhouse.

Born in 1917 and reared in Philadelphia, she was the daughter of Nathan Frey, a violist for the Philadelphia Orchestra.

She graduated from Germantown High School and received a bachelor of arts degree from Temple University and a master of arts in foreign languages from the University of Pennsylvania.

She also trained privately as an opera singer.

Fluent in French, German, Italian, and Spanish as well as English, she worked as a translator during World War II for Robert Kempner, a German Jewish attorney who had escaped the Nazis and moved to Philadelphia.

She obtained a high-level government security clearance that enabled her to assist Kempner in his work combating the Nazis.

After the war, Kempner was assistant U.S. chief counsel during the Nuremberg Trials, and Mrs. Semser performed at concerts in Philadelphia.

In 1949, she moved to Paris with her husband, the painter and sculptor Charles Semser.

In Paris, her language skills and high security clearance allowed her to take jobs, first as assistant to the U.S. ambassador to France in the public health arena and later as assistant to the U.S. ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

At the same time, her career as an opera singer blossomed.

A lyric soprano, Mrs. Semser became renowned both for the warmth and beauty of her voice and for her exceptional musicianship. Her repertoire ranged from Mozart, Verdi, Gluck, and Schubert to Wagner, Strauss, Duparc, Schoenberg, and Berg.

"She was amazing," said her adopted daughter, Marjorie Samoff. "Conductors were impressed by what she brought to every project."

On stage in Paris, she starred in Menotti's The Consul and sang other leading roles. She toured widely in Europe, giving concerts under the auspices of the American government.

Ethel and Charles Semser moved to France so that each could pursue an exceptional artistic career while remaining a couple. Charles Semser's large sculptures appear in public parks in Paris and across France. He died in Paris in 2011.

She went back and forth between Philadelphia and Paris from 2012 and 2015, when she moved here for good.

In 2012, Mrs. Semser became the oldest adoptive parent in Pennsylvania by adopting her nephew, Anthony R. Gross, and her niece, Marjorie Samoff.

Surviving besides her adopted son and daughter are four grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and a nephew, Joel Samoff.

Services were Monday, June 8. Burial was private.

Contributions may be made to Music Matters International, 2120 Green St., Philadelphia 19130. The nonprofit, which Mrs. Semser supported, provides music programs for people with disabilities.

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