Elizabeth Connell, Opera Singer, Dies at 65 Patrick Riviere/Getty Images Elizabeth Connell performing during the last dress rehearsal of Bellini's "Norma" at the Sydney Opera House in 2004. LONDON (AP) - Elizabeth Connell, a South African-born opera singer who won acclaim internationally in roles by Wagner, Strauss, Beethoven and others, died on Saturday in London. She was 65. Her management company, Helmut Fischer Artists International, said the cause was cancer. Born in Port Elizabeth in 1946, Ms. Connell moved to London in 1970 and made her debut at Ireland's Wexford Festival in 1972. She had a long association with both Opera Australia and the English National Opera, and performed at the world's major opera houses, including the Bayreuth Festival in Germany, La Scala in Milan and the Metropolitan Opera, where she performed 12 times from 1985 to 1991. She was singing Lady Macbeth in Verdi's "Macbeth" at the Met on Jan. 23, 1988, when a member of the audience leapt to his death from a balcony during the second intermission, cutting short a live radio broadcast of the performance. Ms. Connell began her career as a mezzo-soprano, with notable Wagnerian roles including Ortrud in "Lohengrin" and Brangäne in "Tristan und Isolde." Later she became a dramatic soprano, tackling roles like Fiordiligi in Mozart's "Così Fan Tutte," Leonore in Beethoven's "Fidelio" and Ariadne in Strauss's "Ariadne auf Naxos." In 2008, she was hailed for her performance in the title role of Puccini's "Turandot" at the Royal Opera House. She went on to perform the role in Sydney, Hamburg and Prague. Ms. Connell's last performance was at a concert in the English town of Hastings in November. Her finale was a song by Ernest Charles that begins: "When I have sung my songs to you, I'll sing no more." She is survived by several siblings.