(2) Vasili Semenovich Sharonov
(1867-1929):
Russian baritone. After studies in Italy, he joined the Mariinsky Theatre
(1893) but as a member of the chorus. He was singing leading roles there
within two years. He first appeared at the Paris Opéra in Boris Godunov
(1908), and later returned there in 1914. He sang in the first performance
of Stravinsky's The Nightingale.
(3)
Baritone Nicolai Shevelev
(1874 or 1868-1929) in Demon.
He was the son of a tailor. He studied in Italy with Leopoldo Signoretti.
Shevelev spent the majority of his career with Zimin's Private Opera in
Moscow. He created the role of Gryaznoy in The Tsar's Bride and
Messenger in Tsar Saltan. He had a warm, beautiful voice which was
used carelessly. His indifference to his characters and text gave credence
to the opinion that he was a serviceable but not exceptional baritone. After
his retirement he taught in Tiflis.
(4)
Margarethe Siems (20 Dec 1879 - 13 Apr 1952): German soprano seen here
as Carmen. Studied with Orgeni, and was a pupil of Viardot and Marchesi.
Debut Prague (1902) as Marguerite de Valois. Created Chrysothemis (Elektra),
Zerbinetta (Ariadne) and the Marschallin (Rosenkavalier).
First London Marschallin. Strauss regarded her as his ideal Marschallin.
(5) Russian mezzo-soprano
Mariya Slavina (1858-1951) as Carmen, a role
she introduced to Russian audiences for the first time. She studied at the
St. Petersburg Conservatory and made her debut (1879) as Amneris (Aida)
at the Mariinsky Theatre, where she was a mainstay for many years. There she
created Hanna in Rimsky-Korsakov's
May Night (1880), Konchakovna in Prince Igor (1890), the
Countess in Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades (1890), and
Clytemnestra in Taneyev's Oresteia (1895). She took up residence in
Paris during the Russian Revolution and became a singing instructor there.
(6)
Leo Slezak
(1873 - 1946): Moravian tenor. Debut (1896) in Brno as Lohengrin. His
earliest performances were relatively unsuccessful. After a period of study
with Jean de Reszke his career took off. His vocal improvement was noted in
a 1909 performance of Otello at Covent Garden, where he sang with
power and beauty. He made his first Metropolitan Opera appearance that same
year as Otello.
(7)
Baritone A. Smirnov.
(8)
Tenor
Dimitri
Smirnov
(1881-1944) as Vladimir Lensky in Eugene Onegin. He began his
operatic career in the choir of Mamontov's private opera company. His
official debut (3 Feb 1903) was as Gigi in Esposito's Camorra at
Moscow's Hermitage Theatre. He had an extensive career outside of Russia.
His debut at the Paris Opéra (19 May 1908) in a performance of Boris
Godunov was said to have been sensational. As a result of that
performance he was invited to the Metropolitan Opera. He appeared there for
two seasons (1910-12) as Rodolfo (Bohème), Roméo, Alfredo (Traviata),
and the Duke (Rigoletto), but had to compete, without success,
against Caruso and John McCormack for the audience's approval.
(9)
Leonid Sobinov
(1872-1934) was an attorney before embarking on a singing career. While he
was studying at the Moscow Conservatory he sang small roles with an Italian
opera troupe which appeared in Moscow. His official debut (1897) was at the
Imperial Opera in Moscow as Prince Sinodal in Rubinstein's Demon. He
immediately became an idol, admired for his handsome stage presence and fine
legato singing which, on occasion, could be overly saccharine. Sobinov was a
humble man whose only sign of an ego was the unfulfilled demand to be paid
the same wages as Chaliapin. He was generally well-liked by the press and
his colleagues, which made it easier to overlook the vocal flaws that
appeared to intensify proportionally with the amount of weight he gained
over his thirty-five-year career. Sobinov was equally successful with his
appearances outside of Russia, including visits to Monte Carlo, Covent
Garden, Paris, La Scala, Madrid, and Berlin.
(10)
German bass-baritone Walter
Soomer (1878-1935) as Wotan in Wagner's RingCycle. He made his debut (1902) in Colmar. He spent the majority of
his career at the Leipzig Opera.
(11)
Fritz Soot
(1878-1965) as the Major Domo to Faninal. Soot, who made his debut (1908)
with the Dresden Court Opera as Tonio in La Fille du Régiment,
studied voice with Scheidemantel.
(12) Austrian mezzo-soprano
Gisela Staudigl [nee Koppmayer] (Branau:
4 Sept 1864 - Karlsruhe: 22 Feb 1929).
Studied in Vienna with Marchesi and made her concert debut there in 1879.
She made her opera debut (1882) in Hamburg as Amneris. She sang in
Hamburg, Karsruhe, Bayreuth, Berlin, Munich, Leipzig, and with the
Metropolitan Opera. She also sang with the Damrosch Opera company during the
1897-98 season. In 1884 she married Austrian bass. Joseph Staudigl.
(13)Swedish tenor Set Svanholm
(1904-1964) as Tristan. He made his debut (1930) as a baritone at the Royal
Opera in Stockholm. His tenor debut (1936) was as Ramades (Aida) in
the same theater. His Metropolitan debut (1946) was delayed by six years due
to the outbreak of World War II.font>
(14)
Belgian mezzo-soprano
Marguerite Sylva was born in Brussels on 10 Jul 1875. She studied in
Paris but made her debut in London in Carmen. She went to the Opéra-Comique
in 1906 where she repeated her Carmen performances, as well as adding
Santuzza (Cavarlleria Rusticana), Catherine (le Chemineau),
Rose-Marie (Le Point d'Argentan) and Taven (Mireille) and
Mignon to her repertoire. In 1909 she traveled to New York and Chicago where
she became a popular operetta celebrity. She appeared at the Paris Opéra in
1917 as Léonore in La Favorite. She died in Glendale, California on
21 Feb 1957. Seen here in Faust.
(15) Dramatic German soprano
Aline Sanden (1876-1955) as Carmen. She made her debut in 1899. She was
most successful at the Leipzig Opera from 1909 to 1921. She also sang Salome
under Otto Klemperer in Barmen. She was married to the founder of the Grosse
Volksoper, Otto Wilhelm Lange (1884-1975).
(16) German soprano
Elisabeth Schumann (1885-1952). 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.
(17) Magdalena Seebe
(1881-1928) as Antonia. She performed
in the German opera houses in the early years of the 20th century, appearing
in Wagner's Parsifal and Lohengrin, among others.
(18) Soprano Gusti Stagl
(1872-?) as Tosca. She appeared at the Bayreuth Festival as Eva.
(18) German tenor
Johannes Sembach [real name Johannes Semfke] (9 Mar 1881-20 Jun
1944) in Pagliacci. 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.
