(1)
Baritone Johannes Bischoff (Berlin: 19 Mar 1874 - 10 Oct 1936)in Tiefland. His teachers
included Mathilde Mallinger and Franz Betz. Debut (1899) as the Dutchman. He
was married to Sophie Bischoff-David.
(2) Leon Beyle:
French tenor (1871-1922). Beyle made his debut (1896) at the Paris Opéra. He
was immediately hired by the Opéra-Comique (1896-1914) as their first tenor.
His 1903 appearance as Werther at the Paris Opéra led to a revival of that
work and its inclusion among operatic masterpieces. He appeared in several
world premieres at the Opéra-Comique, among them La Fille de Tabarin
(1901), La Fille de Roland (1904), and La Lépreuse (1912).
When Beyle retired, he taught singing in Paris and later in Lyons, the city
where he was born and died.
(3) Lucy-Bertrand Berthet:
Belgian soprano (1866-?): She made her Paris Opéra debut (1892) as Ophelie
in Hamlet. She had an outstanding career with the Opéra where she was
noted for her Juliette, Marguerite, Thaïs, Elsa, and Zerline (Don Juan).
She was Ortlinde in the first Paris Opéra La Walkyrie (1893), and the
first Gwendoline and Briséis in Chabrier's operas of the same names (1893
and 1899). Upon her retirement she became a sought-after vocal teacher.
(4)
Georges Baklanov:
Russian baritone: (1880-1938). He
was an exceptional talent with an enormous voice. Jarmilá Novotna, who sang
with him in a 1931 Berlin Les Contes d'Hoffmann, said that his Dr.
Miracle "was indeed a demoniacal, satanic figure. . . . The voice was not
velvety in texture, [but] infinitely expressive and chilling." Seen here as
Scarpia.
(5) Georges Baklanov.
(6) Rudolf Bandler
(1884-1941). Baritone.
(7)
Maria Barrientos:
Revered Spanish soprano
(1883-1946): She was a musical prodigy. She made her
vocal debut (1898) at the Teatro Novedades in Barcelona as Ines in
L'Africaine at the age of fifteen. She was a member of the Metropolitan
Opera (1915-20), particularly admired for her skillfully sung Rosina, Gilda,
and Adina (L'Eliser d'Amore). She had a faultless coloratura
technique.
(8)
Elise Beuer (1861-?) Mezzo-soprano/soprano. She studied under her father who,
at the time, was the music director in Carlsbad. She took further studies in
Vienna. She made her debut in Berlin (1890). She sang throughout Europe:
Breslau, Chemnitz, Hamburg, Mainz, Leipzig, Dresden, Hannover, Bremen,
Karlsruhe, and so forth.
(9) Georgette Bastien:
Belgian mezzo-soprano. Studied with Mme. Cornelis at the Conservatory in
Brussels. She began her career at the Monnaie in April 1901 in roles such as
Amneria (Aida), Bragane (Tristan und Isolde), Fricka, Ortrud,
Waltraute, Iphigenie, and Gertrude (Hamlet). She created several
roles for the Monnaie.
(10)
Mattia Battistini:
Italian baritone (1856-1928): Debut
(1878) as Alfonso in La Favorita at the Teatro Argentina in Rome. His
immediate success was the start of a career that lasted until 1927 when he
was making concert appearances with a voice that had lost very little of its
luster. He made frequent appearances in Russia (1892-1910), where he was
especially beloved by the imperial family and the aristocracy. Battistini
made two appearances across the Atlantic at Buenos Aires. However,
Battistini could not be lured to New York by the Metropolitan Opera
management. Battistini was in possession of technical agility which he
displayed with embellishments. Perhaps it was those improvisations that
prompted Verdi to say to Battistini, "I am the one who writes the music: It
is for you to sing what I have written." He had enormous breath control and
a wide range. His abilities are preserved in the large number of recordings
he made.
(11) Mattia Battistini in Don Giovanni.
(12) Mattia
Battistini as Escamillo in Carmen.
(13) Alfred Bauberger. Principal singer in
Munich. Known for his Wagner roles.
(14)
Lola Beeth: Soprano:
(1864-1940) Born in Cracow. She studied with, among
others, the great Pauline Viardot-Garcia in Paris. She made a successful debut
(1882) at the age of eighteen at the Berlin Imperial Opera as Elsa in
Lohengrin. She sang for six seasons in Berlin and another ten in Vienna.
Her Metropolitan Opera debut (2 Dec 1895) was again as Elsa. In her one season
there she was seen as Nedda, Elisabeth, Marguerite, Micaëla, Sieglinde, Eva,
and Nannetta (Falstaff).
(15) Bianca Bellincioni: Italian soprano:(1888-1981) She was the daughter of the singers Gemma Bellincioni and
Roberto Stagno. She plunged into an operatic career after her marriage to a
member of the Ricordi publishing company collapsed. She made her debut (1913)
in Graz, Austria as Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly). She had some
success in opera and later in silent films.
(16)
Gemma Bellincioni [orig.Cesira Matilda]
(1864-1950) made her debut (1879?) in Naples in Orefice's Il Segreto
della Duchessa. She had mixed vocal success in the standard opera
repertory of the time. Her stage presence, acting, and interpretation,
however, drew considerable attention and were ideally suited for the newer
operas developed in the verismo style. She was selected, along with
her husband, Roberto Stagno as Turiddu, to create the role of Santuzza in
the premiere of Cavalleria Rusticana (17 May 1890). She was very
popular in South America, but a disappointment at Covent Garden (1895),
where she had to vie with sopranos such as Emma Albani, Emma Eames, Adelina
Patti, Nellie Melba, and Marcella Sembrich for an audience's attention.
Bellincioni also created the title role in Giordano's Fedora (17 Nov
1898). Bellincioni was chosen to be the first Italian Salome (1906).
(17) Paul Bender: German bass (1875-1947):
He was the first German Don Quichotte, and created the role of Pope Pius V in
Palestrina (1917). When he retired he became a singing teacher at the
Munich Music School. Published by Joseph Paul Böhm, Munich, 1907. Seen here as
Hunding.
(18) Raymond Blancard in Mignon.
(19) Rudolf Berger: Czech tenor
(1874-1915): Originally a baritone he changed to tenor after studying with
Oscar Saenger in New York. He made his American debut (4 Feb 1914) at the
Metropolitan Opera. He was married to soprano Marie Rappold.
