(1) American Wagnerian soprano
Minnie Saltzman-Stevens (1894-1950) as Sieglinde. On the recommendation
of her vocal instructor, Jean de Reszke, her debut (1909) came as Brünnhilde
in an English version of the Ring cycle at Covent Garden. She
performed at the Bayreuth Festivals of 1911 and 1913.
(2)Italian
soprano Mafalda Salvatini (1888-?) as Tosca. She studied with Jean de
Reszke and Pauline Viardot-Garcia. She was very well liked in Berlin but
never sang in her native Italy. Her successes were in part, due to her fine
acting abilities.
(3) Italian
baritone Mario Sammarco (1867-1930) made his debut in Palermo as
Valentine in Les Huguenots. In New York he was hired by Hammerstein
for his Manhattan Opera Company as a replacement for Maurice Renaud. He soon
became the principal baritone for that company. He had a relatively smooth
career until he met up with a disapproving Mary Garden in a Chicago Tosca
in 1913. She requested that he be replaced, but after he named some of his
former distinguished and uncomplaining Tosca partners, notably Emmy Destinn,
the performances went on to critical success. Seen here as Scarpia in
Tosca.
(4) Italian
baritone Mario Sammarco (1867-1930).
(5)American
soprano Sybil Sanderson (1865-1903) had quite a remarkable career in
such a short lifetime. She studied at the Paris Conservatoire, and privately
with Marchesi and Sbriglia. She made her debut at The Hague as Manon under
the name of Ada Palmer. Massenet, who was smitten with this young beauty,
turned the title roles in Esclarmonde (1889) and Thaïs (1894)
over to her. She was equally admired by Saint-Saëns who wrote Phryné
for her. Massenet described her as the "ideal Manon" and an "unforgettable
Thaïs." Even with her Paris successes she was unable to generate the same
kind of frenzied admiration from the Covent Garden (1891) and Metropolitan
Opera (1894-5, 1901-2) audiences. Henry Krehbiel of the New York Tribune
found her 1895 Metropolitan debut "lacking in volume and in penetrative
quality," but approved of her appearance and natural grace on stage. Her
reappearance at the Metropolitan Opera during the 1901-02 season was marred
by illness. She died of pneumonia at the age of thirty-eight. Sanderson was
responsible for launching the career of American soprano Mary Garden.
(6)
The great English baritone [Sir]
Charles Santley (1834-1922). He made his first major opera appearance (3
Feb 1860) in Wallace's Lurline at Covent Garden. A special air sung
by the Faust character, Valentine, "Avant de quitter ces lieux" was
created by Gounod for Santley.
(7)
The effervescent Austrian soprano Fritzi
Scheff (1879-1954) was a successful singer in grand opera but made her
real impact in the world of operetta. She made her debut (1897) at the
Munich Royal Opera as Marie in Fille du Régiment. In 1906 she was a
sensation in Mlle. Modiste in New York, and her operetta career was
launched. Unfortunately, her voice only exists today on a fragment of a
Mapleson cylinder.
(8) Karl Scheidemantel
(Weimar: 21 Jan 1859 - Weimar: 26 (21?) Jun 1923): German baritone. Debut
Weimar (1878) as Wolfram. Sang mostly in Weimar (1878 - 1886), Bayreuth
(1886 - 1892), Munich (1882), Dresden (1886 - 1911), Vienna (1890), La Scala
(1892) and London's Covent Garden (1884). Created Urok (Paderewski: Manru),
Kunrad (Strauss: Feuersnot), and Faninal (Strauss: Rosenkavalier).
Translated two works into German, Don Giovanni and Cosi fan tutte
(Dame Kobold).
(9)
Danish tenor Erik Schmedes
(1868-1931) made his debut (1891) as a baritone in Nuremberg. He sang at the
1899-1906 Bayreuth Festivals, where his heroic tenor voice was particularly
suited for Parsifal and Siegfried.
(10) Danish tenor
Erik Schmedes (1868-1931).
(11) German soprano
Elisabeth Schumann (1885-1952) as Gretel and Frl. Jung as
Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel. Schumann was famous for her concert
work, especially for her interpretation of the songs of Richard Strauss who
often accompanied her on the piano. In opera she was admired for her diction
and elegant coloratura voice. She made fifty-two appearances during her one
season (1914-15) at the Metropolitan Opera.
(12) Bohemian,
later American, contralto Ernestine Schumann-Heink (1861-1936).
Her concert debut took place in Graz at the age of fifteen in a performance
of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Only two years later she made her
operatic debut as Azucena (Il Trovatore) at the Dresden Royal Opera.
In 1926, to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of her singing debut in
Graz, she performed to a packed house at Carnegie Hall.
(13) Ernestine
Schumann-Heink (1861-1936).
(14) Latvian baritone
Joseph Schwarz
(1880-1926) as Escamillo in Carmen. His first major engagement was at
the Vienna Imperial Opera in 1909 where he became particularly popular. His
ravishing voice was heard throughout Europe. In the 1920s he joined the
Chicago Opera but by this time his voice and health were deteriorating due
to alcoholism. Circa 1913.
(15) Italian baritone
Antonio Scotti
(1866-1936) was a pupil of Esther Triffani-Paganini. His debut (1889) was as
Cinna in Spontini's Vestale. He made his Covent Garden debut in 1899
where he was a tremendous success, but it was later that same year, when he
began his thirty-five season association with the Metropolitan Opera, that
he found a home. Scotti, often teaming up with Enrico Caruso, made over 1200
appearances at the Metropolitan. He was particularly successful in Tosca
as Scarpia which he performed 217 times there. His debut (27 Dec 1899) as
Don Giovanni drew the following comments from W.J. Henderson of the New
York Times: "He possesses a
beautiful barytone voice, fine and smooth in quality. . . . He sings with
intelligence and discrimination, and with the accent of dramatic
truthfullness."
(16)
Russian tenor
and impresario Vasili Sevastianov
as Raoul in Les Huguenots. Sergei Levik described Sevastianov's
performance as Don José in Act III of Carmen: "Slowly but surely he
reached the very edge of fury. Just when your hair stood on end with terror,
Sevastianov would release Carmen and, clutching his head and opening his
eyes and utter the words, Et la chaine qui nous lie nous liera jusqu'au
trépas
. . . in such a terrifying voice
that, even when released, Carmen didn't dare to move from the spot."
(17) German soprano
Meta Seinemeyer (1895-1929) in the title role of Schöne Helena.
Her very promising career was cut short by cancer at the age of thirty-four.
Her voice was considered one of the finest of her time, having a smooth,
expressive quality especially suited in the romantic repertoire.
(18) German tenor
Johannes Sembach [real name Johannes Semfke] (9
Mar 1881-20 Jun 1944) as Radamés in Aida. He studied under Jean de Reszke. He made his
grand opera debut
(1900) at the Vienna Imperial Opera where he remained for five years. This
was followed by eight seasons with the Dresden Royal Opera. He created the
role of Aegisthus in the world premiere of Elektra. He made numerous
appearances at Covent Garden, the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, and the
Metropolitan Opera. In 1925 he settled in Berlin as a singing teacher.
He also sang and recorded operetta under his birth name.
(19)
S. Semenov
as Mephistopheles in Faust.
(20)
Katherine Senger-Bettaque
(2 Aug 1862 - ?): German soprano. Debut in Berlin (1879) in Rubinstein's
Feramors. Sang mostly in Germany. Two seasons at the Metropolitan Opera.
Sang Eva in the first Bayreuth Meistersinger (1888). Seen here as
Isolde.
