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(1) Spanish coloratura soprano Elvira de Hidalgo
(Aragon: 27 Dec 1892 - Milan: 21 Jan 1980): She first appeared in pubic as a
pianist at the age of twelve. Studied in Barcelona and Milan. She made her
debut (1908) in Naples (Teatro San Carlo) as Rosina. She appeared all over
the world: Paris, Cairo, Monte Carlo, Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Rome,
South America, Covent Garden, etc. She is noted for being the only teacher
of Maria Callas.
(2)
German baritone Eduard Habich (Kassel:
3 as Klingsor in Parsifal. He sang principally at the Berlin Royal Opera
(1910-30). He made many appearances at Covent Garden in the 1920s, and appeared
at the Metropolitan Opera in 1935 where he sang for two seasons.
(3) A Lecocq discovery, French soprano Jane Hading
[Jeanne-Alfrédine Tréfouret] (1867-?). She was the possessor of a pretty
voice and keen stage instincts, which later helped her in her very successful
endeavor as an actress. She made her opera debut in Nice and later performed in
Phryné at the Opéra-Comique in 1894. After appearances in Rouen and St.
Petersburg she joined the Monnaie in 1896-97 where she appeared in La
Traviata and Phryné. She was discovered by Lecocq during a
performance of Le Grand Mogol at Marseille. During the run of La Jolie
Persane, an operetta written for Hading, she married Lecocq's impresario of
the Théâtre de la Renaissance. She was also well known for her performance in
Chabrier's Une Education Manquée.
(4) Austrian bass-baritone Georg Hann
(1897-1950) as the baker Fritz Kothner in Meistersinger. He created La
Roche in Strauss's Capriccio. He was best known for his tastefully
exaggerated characterizations. His first-rate voice was heard principally at the
Staatsoper in Munich, which he joined in 1927, and the Salzbourg Festivals.
(5) Danish tenor/baritone Paul
Hansen (1886-1967) as Tannhäuser. He made his debut in Copenhagen (1908) as
Sverkel in Lida Kirsten. In Berlin he studied with Louise Reuss-Belce and
Lilli Lehmann. In 1919 he began singing both baritone and tenor roles and as a
result he mastered over 150 roles encompassing both vocal ranges. He was admired
in Berlin as a singer and an actor. He made several silent films in Berlin,
among them, Herrin der Welt, with bass-baritone Michael Bohnen.
(6) Paul Hansen as
Stolzing in Meistersinger.
(7) Belgian contralto Meyriane
Héglon [Meyriane Willemsen] (1867-1942) studied under Mmes. Sasse and
Barthot. She made her debut (1890) at the Paris Opéra as Madeleine in
Rigoletto. She remained at that house for 15 years where she sang in
Aida, Die Walküre (the first Paris Opéra performance), Samson et
Dalila, Cree Djelna, La Montagne Noire, Otello, etc.. She was seen in the
1894 world premiere of Massenet's Thaïs in the role of Myrtale. Héglon
was a frequent performer at theaters throughout the French provinces. The opera
Théodora, written by husband, Xavier Leroux, and first performed in Monte
Carlo (1907), was created for Héglon. After her retirement she taught singing.
In 1917 at the Monte Carlo Opera, some of her students (Monin, Vellini, Coste
and Stora) appeared in the one-act opera Les Cadeaux de Noel which was
written and conducted by Leroux. In 1918 she briefly emerged from retirement to
sing the role of La Mere in another opera created by Leroux, 1814. Héglon
was equally known for her acting skills and her brilliant singing. Nino Vallin,
who had a stunning operatic career, was a Héglon pupil.
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(8)
Belgian soprano Fanny Heldy [nee Marguerite Virginie Emma Clémentine
Deceuninck] (Ath [some sources say Liége]: 29 Feb 1888 - 13 Dec 1973).
Attended the Liége Conservatoire and then performed as a guest artist in
Ghent before making her Monnaie (26 Nov 1910) debut as a substitute in
Ivan le Terrible. Between 1914 and 1925 she sang a number of memorable
roles at the Monte-Carlo opera. Her first Paris appearance was at the
Opéra-Comique (1917) as Violetta (Traviata). In 1923 Fanny Heldy made
the historic first recording of the opera Manon for Pathé Records.
She is buried in the Cimetière de Montmartre.
(9) German soprano Frieda Hempel
(1885-1955) was a highly intelligent woman whose repertory included some
seventy operas. As to the rigors of being an opera singer, she once said: "It
is a life of sacrifice from first to last. The public never believes this.
They imagine us enjoying midnight suppers, bathing in champagne, and generally
carousing. I assure you we are busy every minute and have time for nothing but
work." She was the first Berlin and New York Marschallin in Der
Rosenkavalier. She spent seven seasons (1912-1919) at the Metropolitan
Opera. Seen here as the Goosegirl.
(10) Frieda Hempel.
(11) Danish tenor Vilhelm Herold
(1865-1937) made his debut (1893) as Faust at the Royal Danish Theater in
Copenhagen. He appeared in Stockholm, London, Hamburg, Berlin, Prague, and
Stuttgart, among other cities. In Oslo (1913) he was Pedro in a performance of
Tiefland in which Flagstad made her operatic debut as Nuri. Although
his voice was trained in the French repertory, he spent the majority of his
career in Scandinavia and Germany singing German roles. After his retirement
he served as Director of the Royal Danish Theater (1922-24), where his career
had begun. As a vocal teacher, Herold was responsible for retraining Lauritz
Melchior's voice from baritone to tenor. His voice was often compared to Jean
de Reszke's. Seen here as Lohengrin.
(12) Josef Herou as Lohengrin. Royal
Swedish Opera.
(13) Bohemian bass Willy Hesch (1860-1908).
He made his debut (1880) with the Prague National Opera as Plumkett in
Flotow's Martha. He had an expressive voice which was beautifully
managed. He died at the pinnacle of his career, some say as a result of an
overindulgence in food and alcohol.
(14)
American bass
Allen Hinckley (1877-1954) as King Heinrich in
Lohengrin. He trained in New York under Oscar Saenger. He made his
debut (1903) at the Hamburg Opera. He was a member of the Metropolitan Opera
(1908-14) and an accomplished guest at the Bayreuth Festivals (1906-08).
(15) Sebestian Hofmüller as David.
(16) Emil Holm as Falstaff.
(17) American contralto Louise Homer
(1871-1947) as a seldom photographed Azucena in Il Trovatore. After a
period of vocal study in Europe her initial performances were met with
lukewarm reviews. Her voice was described as loud and hard with little
temperament. However, with the test of time she went on to make a number of
successful recordings. The Metropolitan Opera, appreciating (or taking
advantage of) her vocal diversity, contracted her for twenty-two seasons. In
that period she sang over forty-two roles in 700-plus appearances.
(18) Lotte Hunold as Gretel.
(19) German baritone Gerhard Hüsch
(Hanover: 2 Feb 1901). He made his debut (1923) in Osnabrück as Liebernau (Waffenschmied).
He sang in Cologne, Berlin, Covent Garden and Bayreuth, among others.
(20) Hatto [Marguerite Jeanne Frère]:
French soprano (1879 - ?): Spent most of her long career at the Paris Opéra,
Monnaie, Opéra-Comique. Debut Brunhilde (Sigurd). Created several
roles for the French houses: Les Barbares, Cobzar, Mlle de Nantes, Le Roi
Arthus, and Le Voile du Bongeur.
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