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She made her professional debut with the Montreal Elgar Choir in 1951, her Montreal Symphony debut in 1953, her Toronto Symphony debut in 1954 and her European debut in Paris in 1955.
By the end of her career, she had performed with nearly every major orchestra in the world, under the baton of conductors Leonard Bernstein, Andrew Davis, Herbert von Karajan, Eugene Ormandy and Seiji Ozawa.
She took on roles that spanned the classics, opera, musicals, burlesque and even pop songs.
"It's a great loss and really, the end of an era," tenor Richard Margison told broadcaster CTV.
"She had a phenomenally unique, gorgeous, dark contralto sound, which I don't know that we've (heard) in Canada since, or in the world," he said.
"I don't think I could recall anybody or any singer today that could sing Mahler with the interpretive skills that she did... (We were) lucky as Canadians to have a Canadian artist like that."
Forrester married Toronto violinist Eugene Kash in 1957, and raised five children while still touring, performing up to 120 concerts per year. They later divorced.
Her daughter, Gina, told CTV her mother "quietly slipped away" on Wednesday evening after her family had spent two days at her bedside.
She is survived by her four daughters, her son, and her grandchildren.
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By the end of her career, she had performed with nearly every major orchestra in the world, under the baton of conductors Leonard Bernstein, Andrew Davis, Herbert von Karajan, Eugene Ormandy and Seiji Ozawa.
She took on roles that spanned the classics, opera, musicals, burlesque and even pop songs.
"It's a great loss and really, the end of an era," tenor Richard Margison told broadcaster CTV.
"She had a phenomenally unique, gorgeous, dark contralto sound, which I don't know that we've (heard) in Canada since, or in the world," he said.
"I don't think I could recall anybody or any singer today that could sing Mahler with the interpretive skills that she did... (We were) lucky as Canadians to have a Canadian artist like that."
Forrester married Toronto violinist Eugene Kash in 1957, and raised five children while still touring, performing up to 120 concerts per year. They later divorced.
Her daughter, Gina, told CTV her mother "quietly slipped away" on Wednesday evening after her family had spent two days at her bedside.
She is survived by her four daughters, her son, and her grandchildren.
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