Two former operatic artists died recently. One was Leyla Gencer, a prominent example of a major singer who never sang at the Metropolitan Opera. She appeared with many other houses, though, including the Dallas Opera (or Dallas Civic Opera as it was known then). She was a favorite of the late Dallas Morning News critic John Ardoin. The other artist was Frances Yeend, who sang at both the Met and the New York City Opera in the period immediately after World War II.