Click on an image for a larger version |
Back to Main Index
|
(1) New York born soprano Edyth Walker
(1867-1950). She studied with Orgeni in Dresden. Her debut (1894) was a
Fidès in Le Prophète at the Berlin Opera. She appeared throughout
Europe before making her Metropolitan Opera debut (1903) as Amneris in
Aida. After three seasons singing both soprano and mezzo roles, she
terminated her contract with that company to pursue European engagements
exclusively in soprano roles. She remained unmarried throughout her career,
maintaining the view that an artist "should be wedded to her art."
(2) German soprano
Erika Wedekind (1868-1944) as as Nedda in Pagliacci. She made
her stage debut (1894) at the Dresden Royal Opera as Frau Fluth in Nicolai's
Lustigen Weiber von Windsor. She was an immediate sensation and
remained the celebrated principal coloratura soprano at the Dresden Opera
until 1909. At Covent Garden in 1903 she introduced her interpretation of
Rosina to the London audiences. She was acclaimed in this role by an
enthusiastic critic of The London Times: "[Her] voice is a light
soprano, and she is what the Germans call a 'coloratur' singer of rare
skill, her execution of scales being almost as perfect as Mme Melba's. She
sang 'Una voce' with a profusion of ornament which was almost bewildering. .
. ."
(3) German soprano
Lucie Weidt (1879-1940) was a student of Rosa Papier in Vienna. Her
debut was at the Imperial Opera in Vienna as Elisabeth in Tannhäuser.
She was Vienna's first Lisa (Queen of Spades), Marschallin
(Rosenkavalier), and Kundry (Parsifal), a role she also
introduced to the La Scala audiences. She had a large soprano voice with a
perfect trill. She appeared all over the world, including a season at the
Metropolitan Opera (1910-11).
(4) German baritone
Hermann Weil (1876-1949). He initially trained under conductor Felix
Mottl with aspirations to become a chorus-master. However, the discovery of
his voice altered his goals. He spent the majority of his career in
Stuttgart. He appeared in Bayreuth in 1911, 1912, 1924, and 1925 in the
roles of Günther (Götterdämmerung), Amfortas (Parsifal), and
as Hans Sachs (seen here) in Die Meistersinger. He sang these three
roles as well as Friedrich and Herald (Lohengrin), Wolfram (Tannhäuser),
Wanderer (Siegfried), Wotan (Die Walküre and Das Rheingold),
and Kurwenal (Tristan und Isolde) during his six seasons at the
Metropolitan Opera (1911-1917).
(5) Massachusetts-born
soprano was Carolina White (1883-1961). She made her operatic debut
(1908) as Gutrune in Götterdämmerung at the Teatro San Carlo
(Naples). She was Minnie in the first performance of La Fanciulla del
West at the Chicago Opera. There she sang Maliella in the American
premiere of I Gioielli della Madonna. After 1914 she was seen mostly
in operettas and concert appearances. In 1918 she appeared with Enrico
Caruso in the silent film, My Cousin Caruso.
(6)Iowa-born bass-baritone Clarence
Whitehill (1871-1932) as Wotan. He
made his debut (1898) in Brussels in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette.
After several appearances at the Opéra-Comique he traveled to the Cologne
Opera (1903-08) and other German houses. He sang in Bayreuth in 1904 with
the blessings of Cosima Wagner. He sang quite often at the Chicago Opera and
at Covent Garden, but he made the Metropolitan Opera his home singing for
nineteen seasons beginning with an appearance as Wolfram in Tannhäuser
(15 Nov 1909). Henry Krehbiel of the New York Tribune wrote that
Whitehill had "no superior in the field of Wagnerian music drama," calling
his Hans Sachs a "warm, human, and poetic creation." Published by Emil
Schwalb, Berlin, 1907.
(7) German contralto
Luise Willer (1888-1970) as Brängane in Tristan und Isolde. She
made her debut as Annius in Mozart's Clemenza di Tito. In Munich,
where she principally appeared, she sang in the world premiere of
Palestrina (1917).
(8) Evan Williams
(1867-1918) was considered one of the most respected American oratorio
tenors of his time, as well as being one of the great interpreters of songs.
He amassed over a thousand recital appearances during his career. He was
originally a steel mill worker whose talents were discovered during an
amateur singing competition. In the publication Concert Life in New York,
Richard Aldrich wrote: "It is a voice of uncommon charm, of a lyric quality
that is rare. . . . It is powerful withal, and he had equally rare qualities
of intelligence, imagination, taste and sentiment."
|
|
|
|
(9) German tenor Ernst
Winkel as Werner in Nessler's Der Trompeter von Sackingen.
(10) German tenor Hermann Winkelmann (8 Mar
1849 - 18 Jan 1912): Debut (1875) Sonderhausen as Manrico. Created the title
role in Rubinstein's Nero (1879). He created for Wagner Parsifal (Bayeruth:
1888). First London Walther and Tannhaüser. First Vienna Tristan and Otello.
(11) Basso Herbert Witherspoon (1873-1935)
was born in Buffalo, New York. He was a member of the Metropolitan Opera
Company for eight seasons, first appearing there in 1908. In 1930 he became
the artistic director of the Chicago Opera. That experience led to his
selection as the successor to Gatti-Casazza as general manager of the
Metropolitan Opera. However, shortly after assuming the position he collapsed
and died outside his office.
(12) German soprano Marie
Wittich (1868-1931) made her operatic debut (1882) in Magdeburg as Azucena
(Il Trovatore). Her Covent Garden debut (1905) as Brünnhilde was
described as "one of the most sympathetic and womanly Brünnhildes we have seen
here." Wittich created, not without difficulty, the role of Salome in 1905.
Wittich, during rehearsals, declared that her voice was too heavy for the
role, the role too difficult to learn, and her figure unsuitable. She
requested a postponement. Strauss, who was growing impatient with his prima
donna wrote, ". . . we have fallen over ourselves to get you a piano score by
Sept 1, and the high and mighty frau Wittich has left the rotten thing lying
around for 5 weeks and can't even do it in the end."
(13) German tenor Otto
Wolf (1871-1946) as Tristan. He made his debut (1897) at Sondershausen as
Count Almaviva in Barbiere di Siviglia. He spent the majority of his
singing career at the Munich Royal Opera.
(14) French soprano
Charlotte Wyns (1868-?) studied at the Conservatoire National Superieur.
In 1893 she was engaged by the Opéra-Comique and made her debut as Mignon.
Wyns made appearances throughout the French provinces. In 1897 she was Divonne
in the world premiere of Sapho, with Emma Calvé in the title role.
Unlike Calvé, Wyns and Marie Delna were admired by Massenet for being faithful
interpreters of his music. Her appearances in Brussels were particularly noted
for her admirable Carmen and Santuzza. In 1903 she was seen as Santuzza and
Nedda at Covent Garden. In 1915 she sang her Carmen in Monte Carlo.
(15)
Russian baritone Leonid Yakovlev
(1858-1919) in the title role of Rubinstein's
Demon that he created at the Mariinsky Theatre. Yakovlev was a member
of a small opera company in Tiflis when he was heard by Tchaikovsky and
recommended to the director of the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. His
first appearance there was in Gounod's Faust (1887). In addition to the
Demon, Yakovlev created the role of Yeletsky in The Queen of Spades. He
was immensely popular, both as a singer and an actor, at the Mariinsky until
vocal problems forced his retirement from the stage.
(16) A rare postcard of
Massachusetts-born soprano Ellen Beach Yaw (1869-1947) who was
practically booed off the stage of the Metropolitan Opera after she failed to
live up to the highly touted billing, "[Yaw] can sing them [the notes] better
than any living soprano now before the public." Yaw managed only one dismal
Lucia at the Metropolitan (21 Mar 1908). Postcard circa 1906.
(17)
David Yuzhin
and
Nataliya Yermolenko-Yuzhina.
(18)
Russian tenor David Yuzhin
(1868-1923) as Lionel in Flotow's Martha.
As a youth he sang in church choirs. He was professionally trained in St.
Petersburg. Like many of his contemporaries, he gained experience by appearing
in Kharkov, Odessa and other cities. In 1901 he joined the Bolshoi where he
met his future wife, Nataliya Yermolenko. They both sang with Zimin's Private
Opera in Moscow.
(19)
Soprano Nataliya Yermolenko-Yuzhina
(1881-1937?) as Aida. She studied with Zotova in Kiev and later, in Paris with
Paul Vidal. She made her debut (1900) in Kiev as Lisa in The Queen of
Spades. She was a member of the Mariinsky Theatre and the Bolshoi, among
others. She married Russian tenor David Yuzhin in 1906 and together they
joined the Zimin's Private Opera. In 1908 she traveled to Paris, where she
sang the role of Marina in Rimsky-Korsakov's second revised edition and first
Paris presentation of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov. During the Russian
Revolution she began an extensive tour, and after 1924 she settled in Paris.
(20) Hungarian baritone
Desider Zador (1873-1931) as Klingsor in Parsifal. His debut (1898)
was in Czernowitz as Almaviva. He was associated with many opera houses, among
them the Komische and Stadtische Operas in Berlin, Elberfeld, Dresden Court
Opera and the Budapest Opera where he also conducted. His voice (as a bass)
can be heard on one of the earliest (1908) recordings made of Faust.
Published by Martin Herzfeld, Dresden, 1914.
|
