The Irene Dalis Collection and Archives Endowment honors Irene Dalis, an internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano singer and San Jose State University alumna. Dalis began her singing career in Europe in the early 1950s before debuting at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in 1957 where she sang for 20 seasons. Some of her notable performances included Amneris in Verdi's Aïda, a part she sang 69 times at the Met, and Princess di Bouillon for Plácido Domingo’s Met debut in Adriana Lecouvreur.