Risë Stevens, the singer best known for the most famous rendition of 'Habanera' from Bizet's opera Carmen, has died.

Risë Stevens' voice cannot be separated from the Carmen aria, neither the aria from her voice.

Stevens was a superstar mezzo-soprano opera singer, whose rendition of Carmen and the rest of her career brought opera to a wider audience than the musical genre had ever seen.

Stevens passed away on Wednesday, March 20 in her home in Manhattan. Her son, Nicolas Surovoy, confirmed her death at age 99 to the New York Times.

Risë Stevens starred at New York's Metropolitan Opera from 1938 to 1961. She came from a humble background and was raised in Brooklyn.

She was born on June 11, 1913 in the Bronx. She spent two years studying at Julliard and formally debuted in Prague as the title character in "Mignon."

Stevens started singing with the Met in 1938 while on tour in Philadelphia. The Met called her "a consummate artist, treasured colleague, and devoted supporter of the company for 75 years."

She starred as Carmen in 124 Met performances.

Stevens was so recognized for her role that, "So far as America was concerned, for the 15 years following 1945, Risë Stevens and "Carmen" were virtually synonymous."

Following that famous 1945 performance, Lloyd's of London insured Stevens' voice for $1 million.

Stevens, however, did take other roles. She starred in the Rogers and Hammerstein musical "The King and I" and even appeared in a movie. Stevens acted opposite Bing Crosby in "Going My Way," which won an Academy Award. Although the film was successful, she turned down additional roles because she was in love with the opera, where she stayed until her retirement in 1961.

After Stevens retired from the stage, she still served in the Met's administrative offices. She briefly was the president of Mannes College of Music in Manhattan, now known as part of the New School.

Stevens said, upon her retirement, "It always bothered me, these great singers when I heard them again and again, remembering how magnificent they sounded once and no more." So, she retired at her peak while her voice was still 'magnificent'.

In 1990, Stevens was chosen for the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors, praised as a singer "who raised the art of opera in this country to its highest level."

Stevens was married to Walter Survoy, a Hungarian actor and her manager. The couple stayed together until Survoy's death in 2001.

Stevens is survived by her only child, Nicolas Surovy, and by her grandchild.