(1) Zélie De Lussan:
American (Brooklyn) mezzo-soprano (1861 - 18 Dec 1949): Concert debut at 16
in the Academy of Music (NY). Stage debut 1884 in Boston with the Boston
Ideal Opera Company, 1885. Great success at Covent Garden (1895 - 1902). She
sang Anne in the first American performance of Falstaff (Met Opera: 4
Feb 1895). Married pianist Angelo Fronani. Rare Victor records.
(2) [Dame] Emma Albani
[orig. Marie Louise Cecilie Emma Lajeunesse] Canadian soprano (1 Nov 1847 - 2
Apr 1930): Debut Messina (1870) as Amina (Sonnambula). Florence, Malta,
great success at Covent Garden. Paris, St. Petersburg, Moscow. Academy of Music
in NY. Married to impresario Ernest Gye and lived in London. For London she
created Elisabeth (Tannhäuser) and Elsa (Lohengrin). Favorite of
Queen Victoria for whom she performed many times.
(3)
Sigrid Arnoldson:
Swedish soprano (1861-1943) as Manon. This remarkable singer made her debut
(1885) as Rosina (Barbiere di Siviglia) in Prague. She had a wide vocal
range (three octaves) that could accommodate both the soprano and mezzo roles.
She appeared for one season at the Metropolitan Opera (1893-94) where she sang
Carmen, Micaëla, Zerlina, Marguerite (Les Huguenots), Cherubino, Nedda,
Mignon, and Baucis (Philémon et Baucis).
She introduced the role of Sophie (Werther) to New York and London (Drury
Lane Theater). As successor to Jenny Lind she was billed as "the new Swedish
nightingale." In the early 1900s she was enormously popular in Russia. Toward
the end of her career she taught in Vienna and Stockholm.
(4)
French soprano, Marguerite Carrere-Xanrof made her Paris
debut 24 June 1892 as Marguerite in Faust. She sang there until 1901 in a
variety of roles such as Eudoxie (La Juive), Urbain (Huguenots),
Berthe (Prophete), Juliette, Stefano (singing Stefano eight years after
Juliette), Sieglinde, Helmwigue, Venus, Zerline, Helene (Messidor), and a
few other pants roles. She was the first Paris Opera Guerhilde (Walkure).
She was married to Leon Xanrof (1867-1953), French
playwright and songwriter.
(5) French soprano Jeanne Bourdon.
She made her Paris Opéra
debut as Brunehilde in Sigurd, 6 Dec 1909.
(6)
Marie Miolan-Carvalho
[Caroline Felix] (Marseilles: 31 Dec 1827 - Puys: 10 Jul 1895): French soprano.
Studied with Duprez. Debut Brest (1849) as Isabella (Robert le Diable).
Paris Opéra Comique from 1849 to 1855. Théâtre-Lyrique 1856-67, creating the role of
Marguerite in Faust, Baucis, Juliette, and Mireille. London Covent Garden
1859-64 and 1871-72, where she was the first London Dinorah. Berlin, St.
Petersburg. Married impresario Léon Carvalho.
(7) French tenor, Achille-Felix
Montaubry (1826-1898). He was the son of a musician, and studied the cello
at the Paris Conservatoire. He was a musician in theater orchestras before he
began vocal studies. His early appearances were in Lille, Brussels (1849), The
Hague, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, and Marseilles. He joined the Opéra Comique in 1858
and created several lead roles. After his retirement he founded a singing school
and managed the Folies Martigny. He also was a director at several theaters in
the provinces, where his singing career began.
(8)
Adelina Patti: Spanish soprano (19 Feb 1843 - 27 Sep
1919): Was singing concerts at the age of eight. Stage debut at 16 years old
as Lucia in NY. Married three times: Marquis de Caux, tenor Nicolini (Ernst
Nicholas), and Swedish baron Cederström.
(9)
Eugénie Mauduit. Soprano. She was
engaged by the Opéra in 1866. She appeared in a variety of roles: Rachel (La
Juive), Sélika (L'Africaine), Eboli (Don Carlos), Elvire (Don
Juan), and roles in Robert-le-diable, Freischutz, Le Prophète, and
Fiancée de Corinthe. She was also Siebel in the L'Opéra premiere of
Gounod's Faust in 1869. The Opéra initially rejected the world premiere
of Faust as being not showy enough. The management agreed to perform
the opera once a ballet had been inserted.
(10)
Marie-Constance Sasse [also known as Sax
or Sass] (26 Jan 1838 (or 1834) - 8 Nov 1907): Belgian soprano. Studied with
Ugalde. Worked as a vocalist in cafés to support her family after her father
died. One source has her debut Théâtre-Lyrique (1 Oct 1859) as the Countess in
Les Noces de Figaro. Another source has her debut in Venice in 1852 as
Gilda in Rigoletto. She created Selika of L'Africaine (28 Apr
1865), and Elizabeth in Don Carlos (11 Mar 1867). She was the first
Paris Elisabeth in Tannhaüser (1861). She was well known for her
temperament and it got her in trouble with Verdi who refused to let her create
the role of Amneris in Aida because of it. She was married to bass
Castlemary, who she later divorced. She used the stage name of Sax for awhile
until Adolphe Sax, creator of the saxophone, forced her to drop the use of
that name. She died in poverty. Likely seen here as Donizetti's Maria Stuarda.
