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(10) Adolphe Maréchal (Liege: 26 Sep 1867 -
Brussels: 1935): Belgian tenor. Studied at the
Conservatoire and sang throughout the French
provincial theaters. Debut (1891) in Dijon. In 1895
he was engaged at the Opéra-Comique. He was Julien
in the world premiere of Louise. He was also
involved in the first performances of Grisélidis
(1901), Le Reine Fiammette (1903) with Mary Garden,
le Chemineau (1907), and Le Jongleur de Notre-Dame
at the Monte Carlo Opera. He also appeared with
great success at the Palais Garnier, Nice, Moscow,
and Brussels.
(11) Mezzo-soprano Jane Margyl made her Paris Opéra
debut on 22 Sep 1905 as Delilah. In 1906 she was
seen there as Amneris (Aida) and Fricka (Die Walküre).
Postmarked in 1903.
(12) Kentucky born Riccardo Martin
(1874 - 1952) as Faust, the role in which he made
his operatic debut (1904) in the Théâtre de la
Renaissance at Nantes, France. His first American
appearances were at the French Opera House in New
Orleans during the 1906-07 season. Shortly
thereafter he made his Metropolitan Opera debut (20
Nov 1907) as Faust in Mefistofele, which
also featured the debut of Feodor Chaliapin. Martin
appeared in three world premieres of American works
at the Metropolitan: Converse's Pipe of Desire
(18 Mar 1909), Parker's Mona (14 Mar 1912),
and Damrosch's Cyrano (27 Feb 1913).
Collectively, those works were only mounted thirteen
times at that house. A Dupont image.
(13) Italian Giovanni Martinelli (1885-1969) was
heir successor to the Metropolitan's tenor repertory
after the death of Caruso. He took the reins indeed,
singing over 900 performances there in an amazing 37
different leading roles. This beautiful Mishkin
photo-postcard of Martinelli as Canio in Pagliacci
shows the warm smile for which he was known.
(14) Nelly Martyl: Debut (20 Mar 1907) at the Paris
Opéra in Armide. Her roles included Siebel (Faust),
Rafaela (Patrie!), and she created for that house
the roles of Agne's (La Catalane) and the Voice of
the Muse (Amphyon). Monte Carlo Opera (1908) and had
a successful career at the Opéra-Comique.
(15) Fritzi Massary: Austrian soprano (31 Mar 1882 -
31 Jan 1969): Began career in operetta. Created
title role in Die Kaiserin (1915), as well of
several premieres in operettas by Lehár, Oscar
Strauss, and Robert Stolz. Munich Opera Festival,
City Opera of Berlin, Salzburg Festival, etc.. Voice
treasured by Bruno Walter. Married actor Max
Pallenburg (1917) well known comedian of the German
stage. Retired in Beverly Hills, CA.
(16) Catherine Mastio: French soprano (1877-?):
Debut (24 Mar 1899) at the Opéra-Comique as Héro in
Beaucoup de bruit pour rien. She appeared as the
Sandman in the first OC performance (20 May 1900) of
Hansel et Gretel, and Florence in La Petite Maisson
(5 Jun 1903). She also appeared at the Palais
Garnier, la Monnaie, and l'Opéra de Lausanne.
(17) Irish tenor John McCormack
(1884-1945) was inspired to sing after witnessing a
performance of La Bohème at Covent Garden
with Caruso. Under the name Giovanni Foli, he made
his opera debut (1906) in the title role of
L'amico Fritz.
(18) This is an example of a "photo montage"
postcard that features Hungarian tenor Desidor
Matray as Tannhäuser. The artist has combined a
real-photo image of Matray's head with a
pencil-sketched body. Matray appeared at Bayreuth in
1904 in this role. Around that time Matray made a
recording of Tannhäuser, excerpts of which have been
called, "dreadful."
(19) Alexandr Matveyev: Russian tenor. He had a
large and powerful voice. His greatest roles were
Sadko and Siegfried. Good top notes. Sang throughout
Russia.
(20) Margarete Matzenauer.
Last week, after 19 years of
distinguished service, Contralto Margarete
Matzenauer let it be known that she was through at
Manhattan's Metropolitan Opera House. Wanting no
floral wreaths, no testimonial speeches, she saved
her farewell announcement until after her last
performance, gave then as a cause the fact that in
recent years she had been allotted only secondary
roles.† Unlike Sopranos Frances Alda and Amelita
Galli-Curci who have also retired this season from
the Metropolitan (TIME, Nov. 25, Jan. 27), Contralto
Matzenauer made no valedictory statement on the
decadence of opera. Instead she referred to it as an
art which "with variations will remain for all
time." Time: 24 Feb 1930.
(21) Belgian mezzo-soprano Jeanne Maubourg
(1875 [possibly 1873] - 12 May 1953). She made her
stage debut (1895) at the Théâtre des Galeries in
Brussels in the opera Ali Baba. She joined the
Monnaie in 1897 where she appeared in Manon,
Les Charmeurs, La Fille du Régiment, La Domino
Noir, Les Deux Billets, Les Dragons de Villars,
Lakmé, Mireille, Faust, La Bohème, Roméo et
Juliette, Guillaume Tell and the French version
of Die Meistersinger (Maîtres Chanteurs),
and the first Monnaie Hänsel in Hänsel und
Gretel in 1898. She remained at the Monnaie
until 1907. In 1909 she came to the Metropolitan
Opera and found a home for five seasons in spite of
being limited to minor roles in over 200
performances. Sang in the American premiere (1912)
of Le Donne Curiose under Toscanini.
Chicago Opera (1915, 1916).
(22) French baritone Victor Maurel
(17 Jun 1848 - 22 Oct 1923). Debut Paris (1868) as
De Nevers (Huguenots). Sang in St.
Petersburg, Cairo and Venice. World premiere Il
Guarany (1870) at La Scala. Also created Iago (Otello:
1887) and the title role in Verdi's Falstaff
(1893). Covent Garden (first London Telramund,
Wolfram, and Dutchman). NY Academy of Music,
Metropolitan Opera, Paris Opera. Was not an
exceptional singer but sang with emotion and
exhibited a talent in acting. Also designed opera
sets. Taught singing in NY.
(23) The most famous Baron Ochs was Austrian bass Richard Mayr (1877-1935). Strauss said that he
had Mayr in mind all along as he created the music
associated with this character. However, contractual
obligations with the Vienna Court Opera prevented Mayr from
appearing in the Dresden world premiere. He did introduce
Ochs to Vienna, and later triumphed in this role in London,
Salzburg and Bayreuth. Mayr's impact at a 1924 Covent Garden
performance was summed up by Ernest Newman when he said,
"His smile and whistle during Annina's reading of the letter
said more than a page of words could have ever done."
(24) Belgian soprano Mariette Mazarin
(1874-1953) as Carmen. A remarkable singer and
actress, she created a sensation when she introduced
a deranged Elektra to New York audiences in 1910. To
prepare for Elektra she studied one particular
institutionalized woman at a lunatic asylum to
master the characterization. By far the biggest
success of her career, critics found the portrayal
without parallel. One year later she made her Paris
Opéra debut (13 Sep 1911) as Elisabeth in
Tannhäuser.
(25) Italian soprano Ester Mazzoleni
(1882-1981) as Norma. She made her debut (1906) at
the Teatro Costanzi (Rome) as Leonora in Il
Trovatore. She was signed by Toscanini in 1907
for a season at La Scala and eventually had a long
and successful partnership with that house. She sang
Aida in the first Verona Arena Festival in 1913. She
married and subsequently retired in 1926. Her
inherited fortune in Yugoslavian real estate was
confiscated by the Communists during World War II.
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(1) Jeanette MacDonald (1907 - 14 Jan 1965): American
soprano. She sang musical comedy in New York before
embarking in her highly successful career in Hollywood
musicals. She also appeared in a series of successful
operettas. She made her operatic debut (1940s) as Juliette
in Roméo et Juliette in Canada, and then sang Marguerite
(Faust) at the Chicago Opera.
(2) Russian baritone Maximilian Maksakov as Scarpia. He
studied with Everardi and began his singing in small cafés.
He was a diminutive man with a dramatic voice, which was
said to lack charm and flexibility. Like other Russian
singers of his era, he became an impresario with visions of
reforming opera. Ultimately, his efforts proved futile and
after suffering financial loss he returned to the standard
repertory.
(3) German soprano Therese Malten (Isterburg: 1855-1930) as
Elisabeth in Tannhäuser. She studied with Gustav Engel in
Berlin. She made her debut (1873) in Dresden as Pamina (Zauberflöte)
becoming a mainstay there for thirty years. She was a
frequent guest at Bayreuth.
(4) Zinaida Mamonova: As Cherubino.
(5) Italian mezzo-soprano Eugenia Mantelli
(1860-1926). She made her debut in 1883. She
appeared at the Metropolitan Opera for six seasons.
She was noted for her Urbain (Les Huguenots), Amneris (Aida), and Ortrud (Lohengrin). This
postcard, which dates from 1906, advertises her
appearances with the English Grand Opera Company,
which toured the United States.
The Contralto From the Metropolitan Makes Her Debut
at Hyde & Behman’s [Brooklyn]. The Italian is billed
as a mezzo-soprano, although nothing has happened to
that fine lower register with which she has rung out
the music of Azucena and Amneris for a good many
seasons at the temple of fashion. She sang yesterday
with all the richness and power of voice which have
made her a favorite…. The smaller theater … gave her
an opportunity to show that she can sing runs and
trills with the smoothness and ease of her soprano
sisters. 1902 Dec 02 Brooklyn Eagle.
(6) Lucille Marcel (1877 - 22 Jun
1921) American soprano. Studied with Jean De Reszke. Debut
(1903) at the Opéra-Comique as Mallika (Lakmé)
under the name Madame Marcelle. Engaged in Vienna by
Weingartner, whom she later married. Boston Opera. First
U.S. Djamileh.
(7) French soprano Blanche Marchesi (1863-1940) was
the daughter of the great French vocal teacher,
Mathilde Marchesi. Blanche made her debut (1900) in
Prague as Brünnhilde.
Blanche Marchesi, the Baroness de Cacamisi …
standing like a goddess at the head of the piano in
her home, amid the works of all arts that she has
patiently collected with the rare knowledge and
intuition of a Spitzer, singing one of Schubert’s
song, every word of which is felt as if it were
coined in the innermost recessed of the heart and
pronounced by lips which knew the secret of magnetic
inspiration. Blanche Marchesi is the personification
of song which holds the modern mind in sway because
it possesses all than man has thought, has felt and
has suffered. She is the perfect type of the coming
singing. Emma Bullet. Brooklyn Eagle, 4 Nov 1894.
(8) [Vanni]-Marcoux, [Jean Emile Diogène] (12 Jun
1877 - 22 Oct 1962): French bass and baritone. Debut
Bayonne [no, not New Jersey] 1889 as Gounod's Friar
Laurence. Covent Garden, Turin, Paris Opera, Opéra-Comique, Chicago. Career lasted nearly 40
years. Also director of the Grand Théâtre at
Bordeaux (1948-1951).
(9) Vanni Marcoux.
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