(1)
Aïno Ackté:
French-trained Finnish soprano (1876-1944). After a series of
hits and misses that failed to establish her talents, she finally achieved
stardom in the title role of Strauss's Salome, which was for a
time the definitive interpretation. She is the sister of Irma Ackté Tervani.
(2) Giuseppe Anselmi:
Sicilian tenor: (1876-1929) was a concert violinist before becoming a
singer. He made his debut (1896) as Turiddu (Cavalleria Rusticana) at
the Athens Royal Opera. This tall and handsome performer had his greatest
successes in St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Italy. However, his heart,
literally, belonged to Spain. He loved that country so much that he he
bequeathed his heart to the Madrid Conservatory. The rest of his body was
laid to rest in the Cathedral of Catania, Italy. His beautiful voice was
enhanced by effective pianissimos. On the down side, his voice was less
controlled in the lower register.
(3) Giuseppe Anselmi
as Werther.
(4) Vittorio Arimondi:
Italian bass (1861-1928) made his debut (1883) at Varese in Gomes's Il
Guarany. He made his first La Scala appearance (1893) as Sparafucile in
Rigoletto. In that same year he created the role of Pistol in the
world premiere of Verdi's Falstaff. He then traveled to London to
appear for three seasons at Covent Garden (1894-96). He sailed to New York
and made his Metropolitan Opera debut (7 Dec 1896) as Ferrando in Il
Trovatore. He spent several seasons at Hammerstein's Manhattan Opera
where he was Arkel in the American premiere of Pelléas et Mélisande.
He spent the last twenty years of his life in the United States but during
that time he made appearances in Poland and in Russia, where this postcard
originates.
(5) Vittorio Arimondi.
(6)
Aïno Ackté.
(7)
Soprano
Lola Artôt de Padilla (1876-1933) was the
daughter of the great mezzo-soprano Désirée Artôt (1835-1907) and Spanish
baritone Mariano Padilla y Ramos (1842-1906). Lola trained with her
tempestuous mother whose onstage battles with Minnie Hauk, while on tour in
Moscow in the 1870s, are well documented. While perhaps not inheriting her
mother's fiery personality Lola did exhibit the vocal abilities of her
parents at a young age. She was first engaged (1904) by Albert Carré for the
Opéra-Comique. After various stops around Europe she settled at the Berlin
Imperial Opera (1909-1927). She was especially known for her interpretations
of Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro) and Zerlina (Don Giovanni).
She remained in Berlin after her retirement and taught singing.
She is seen here in Le Nozze di Figaro.
(8) Félicie Arnaud:
Born in Liege, she studied under M Warnots in Liege. She made her debut at
the Théâtre de Liège (1873) in Les Noces de Jeannette. She appeared
in the Hague, Nantes, Bordeaux, Lille, Lyons, and Marseilles. Finally
arriving at the Monnaie for a brilliant debut as Manon (1884) for the first
performance of that opera at that house. Became a successful voice teacher.
(9)
Bessie Abott:
New York soprano (1878-1919) was born Bessie
Pickens. Abott's musical career began in vaudeville houses, where she appeared
with her twin sister, Jessie Pickens. While making appearances in operettas,
notably 1492 and The Little Christopher, Bessie was heard by
Jean de Reszke and was encouraged to pursue grand opera. Her teachers of note
in this endeavor included Capoul, Bouhy and Marchesi. She made her debut
(1901) at the Palais Garnier (Paris Opéra) as Juliette. After five years at
the Opéra, she joined the Metropolitan Opera. Her debut there (20 Jan 1906)
was as Mimi in La Bohème. She was on tour with that Company in San
Francisco when the 1906 earthquake struck. In her accounts she described how
she was nearly thrown from her bed and how her hotel room cracked and writhed
about her. Abott also appeared in Monte Carlo, Lisbon and Petrograd. After she
married sculptor T. Waldo Story, she retired from the stage.
(10) Auguste Affre: French tenor (21, 23?
Oct 1858 - 27 Dec 1931): Debut (22 Jan 1890) as Edgar (Lucia) at the
Garnier Opera opposite Nellie Melba. Created the role of Un Prisonnier in
Le Mage (Massenet: 1891). After a very long tenure at the Garnier house,
he sang in San Francisco (1911), New Orleans (1912), and Havana in 1913. Seen
here as William Tell.
(11)
Sigrid Arnoldson:
Swedish soprano (1861-1943). 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. There are
many, many postcards out there of Arnoldson that were published in Russia. It
is more difficult to find the non-Russian postcards of this singer.
(12) Margaret Arndt-Ober: German
mezzo-soprano (Berlin: 15 Apr 1885 - Bad Sachsa: 17 Mar 1971). Studied in
Berlin with Benno Stolzenberg, and Arthur Arnot (whom she married). Debut as
Azucena (Frankfurt: 1906). Interned in America during WW I. Resumed her career
in Berlin after the war. Seen here as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier.
(13) Franz Adam.
(14)
Albert Alvarez: French
tenor(1861-1933). His early musical training included a position as a
bandmaster in France. He studied with Martini and made his debut (1887) in
Ghent as Faust, a role he reprised for his Paris Opéra debut in 1892. He
created more than ten roles for that house including Mirka in Augusta Holmes's
La Montagne Noire in 1895, Walther (Les Maitres Chantiers de
Nuremberg) in 1897, Manrique (le Trouvére), and Tristan (Tristan
et Isolde) in 1904, and Nicias in the world premiere of Thaïs
(1894).
(15)
Fernand Ansseau: Belgian
tenor (1890-1972) as Cavaradossi with Mme. Andriani
as Tosca. These two singers recorded Tosca together in 1916 on the
Laison label. Ansseau made his debut (1913) in Dijon as Jean in Hérodiade.
He was quite popular in Brussels, Monte Carlo, London, and Paris. His
objections to war and later to the German occupation of his homeland limited
his singing opportunities, and eventually led to his retirement in 1940. He
was a handsome man with a heavy but flexible lyric voice.
(16) Georg
Anthes: German tenor
(1863-1923). Anthes was the leading heroic tenor at the Dresden Opera and
successor to Heinrich Gudehus. He made his debut in Freiburg as Max in Der
Freischütz. At the Metropolitan Opera (1902-03, 08-09) he performed his
Lohengrin (seen here) nine times.
(17)
Henri Albers:
Dutch baritone (1866-1925): Debut (1889) in Amsterdam as Gounod's
Méphistophélès (Faust). He toured the U.S. with Jean de Reszke, Nellie
Melba, and Emma Calvé before appearing with the Metropolitan Opera in Roméo
et Juliette as Mercutio (1898). Albers remained with the Metropolitan for
one season and then returned to Europe where he made his mark on the French
stages. He appeared frequently at the Opéra-Comique, Covent Garden, and at the
Monnaie in Brussels. Seen here as
Scarpia.
(18) Frances Alda: New
Zealand (raised in
Australia) soprano (1879-1952). She was a Marchesi pupil. She made her
debut (1904) as Manon at the Opéra-Comique where she was called a "delicious
twenty-two year old Australian." She was invited to the Metropolitan Opera in
1908 by the conductor, Arturo Toscanini. She met Toscanini at La Scala during
her debut there in the Milan premiere of Charpentier's Louise. She
remained at the Metropolitan for twenty-two seasons. A testament to her
intelligence, she learned the standard repertory as well as roles in operas
seldom heard today, such as Giordano's La Cena delle Beffe, Hadley's
Cleopatra's Night, Catalani's Loreley, Herbert's Madeleine
and Rabaud's Marouf. It has been said that her long career at the
Metropolitan can be attributed, in part, to her marriage to the general
manager of that house, Giulio Gatti-Casazza, whom she met in Milan. After
twenty-two years of marriage she divorced Gatti-Casazza and subsequently
devoted several years to the concert stage. Seen here as Marguerite in
Faust.
(19) André Allard:
Baritone ( ): First performance of La Fanciulla del West at Monte
Carlo. Opéra-Comique. Seen here as Escamillo in Carmen.
(20) [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.
