(1) Baritone Johannes Bischoff (Berlin: 19 Mar 1874 - 10 Oct 1936) in Tiefland. His teachers included Mathilde Mallinger and Franz Betz. Debut (1899) as the Dutchman. He was married to Sophie Bischoff-David.

(2) Leon Beyle: French tenor (1871-1922). Beyle made his debut (1896) at the Paris Opéra. He was immediately hired by the Opéra-Comique (1896-1914) as their first tenor. His 1903 appearance as Werther at the Paris Opéra led to a revival of that work and its inclusion among operatic masterpieces. He appeared in several world premieres at the Opéra-Comique, among them La Fille de Tabarin (1901), La Fille de Roland (1904), and La Lépreuse (1912). When Beyle retired, he taught singing in Paris and later in Lyons, the city where he was born and died.

(3) Lucy-Bertrand Berthet: Belgian soprano (1866-?): She made her Paris Opéra debut (1892) as Ophelie in Hamlet. She had an outstanding career with the Opéra where she was noted for her Juliette, Marguerite, Thaïs, Elsa, and Zerline (Don Juan). She was Ortlinde in the first Paris Opéra La Walkyrie (1893), and the first Gwendoline and Briséis in Chabrier's operas of the same names (1893 and 1899). Upon her retirement she became a sought-after vocal teacher.

(4) Georges Baklanov: Russian baritone: (1880-1938). He was an exceptional talent with an enormous voice. Jarmilá Novotna, who sang with him in a 1931 Berlin Les Contes d'Hoffmann, said that his Dr. Miracle "was indeed a demoniacal, satanic figure. . . . The voice was not velvety in texture, [but] infinitely expressive and chilling." Seen here as Scarpia.

(5) Georges Baklanov.

(6) Rudolf Bandler (1884-1941). Baritone.

(7) Maria Barrientos: Revered Spanish soprano (1883-1946): She was a musical prodigy. She made her vocal debut (1898) at the Teatro Novedades in Barcelona as Ines in L'Africaine at the age of fifteen. She was a member of the Metropolitan Opera (1915-20), particularly admired for her skillfully sung Rosina, Gilda, and Adina (L'Eliser d'Amore). She had a faultless coloratura technique.

(8) Elise Beuer (1861-?) Mezzo-soprano/soprano. She studied under her father who, at the time, was the music director in Carlsbad. She took further studies in Vienna. She made her debut in Berlin (1890). She sang throughout Europe: Breslau, Chemnitz, Hamburg, Mainz, Leipzig, Dresden, Hannover, Bremen, Karlsruhe, and so forth.

(9) Georgette Bastien: Belgian mezzo-soprano. Studied with Mme. Cornelis at the Conservatory in Brussels. She began her career at the Monnaie in April 1901 in roles such as Amneria (Aida), Bragane (Tristan und Isolde), Fricka, Ortrud, Waltraute, Iphigenie, and Gertrude (Hamlet). She created several roles for the Monnaie.

(10) Mattia Battistini: Italian baritone (1856-1928): Debut (1878) as Alfonso in La Favorita at the Teatro Argentina in Rome. His immediate success was the start of a career that lasted until 1927 when he was making concert appearances with a voice that had lost very little of its luster. He made frequent appearances in Russia (1892-1910), where he was especially beloved by the imperial family and the aristocracy. Battistini made two appearances across the Atlantic at Buenos Aires. However, Battistini could not be lured to New York by the Metropolitan Opera management. Battistini was in possession of technical agility which he displayed with embellishments. Perhaps it was those improvisations that prompted Verdi to say to Battistini, "I am the one who writes the music: It is for you to sing what I have written." He had enormous breath control and a wide range. His abilities are preserved in the large number of recordings he made.

(11) Mattia Battistini in Don Giovanni.

(12) Mattia Battistini as Escamillo in Carmen.

(13) Alfred Bauberger. Principal singer in Munich. Known for his Wagner roles.

(14) Lola Beeth: Soprano: (1860 - 18 Mar 1940) Born in Cracow. She studied with, among others, the great Pauline Viardot-Garcia in Paris, and Francesco Lamperti. She made a successful debut (1882) at the Berlin Imperial Opera as Elsa in Lohengrin. She sang for six seasons in Berlin and another ten in Vienna. Her Metropolitan Opera debut (2 Dec 1895) was again as Elsa. In her one season there she was seen as Nedda, Elisabeth, Marguerite, Micaëla, Sieglinde, Eva, and Nannetta (Falstaff).

(15) Bianca Bellincioni: Italian soprano: (1888-1981) She was the daughter of the singers Gemma Bellincioni and Roberto Stagno. She plunged into an operatic career after her marriage to a member of the Ricordi publishing company collapsed. She made her debut (1913) in Graz, Austria as Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly). She had some success in opera and later in silent films.

(16) Gemma Bellincioni [orig.Cesira Matilda] (1864-1950) made her debut (1879?) in Naples in Orefice's Il Segreto della Duchessa. She had mixed vocal success in the standard opera repertory of the time. Her stage presence, acting, and interpretation, however, drew considerable attention and were ideally suited for the newer operas developed in the verismo style. She was selected, along with her husband, Roberto Stagno as Turiddu, to create the role of Santuzza in the premiere of Cavalleria Rusticana (17 May 1890). She was very popular in South America, but a disappointment at Covent Garden (1895), where she had to vie with sopranos such as Emma Albani, Emma Eames, Adelina Patti, Nellie Melba, and Marcella Sembrich for an audience's attention. Bellincioni also created the title role in Giordano's Fedora (17 Nov 1898). Bellincioni was chosen to be the first Italian Salome (1906).

(17) Paul Bender: German bass (1875-1947): He was the first German Don Quichotte, and created the role of Pope Pius V in Palestrina (1917). When he retired he became a singing teacher at the Munich Music School. Published by Joseph Paul Böhm, Munich, 1907. Seen here as Hunding.

(18) Raymond Blancard in Mignon.

(19) Rudolf Berger: Czech tenor (1874-1915): Originally a baritone he changed to tenor after studying with Oscar Saenger in New York. He made his American debut (4 Feb 1914) at the Metropolitan Opera. He was married to soprano Marie Rappold.

(20) Rudolf Berger as Tonio.

(21) Theodor Bertram: German baritone (1869- 24 Nov 1907): Son of baritone Heinrich Bertram and soprano Marie Bertram. Debut Ulm in 1889. Hamburg Opera (1891), Kroll Opera (1892), Munich Royal Opera (1883-99), Metropolitan Opera (1899-1901). Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Vienna Imperial Opera (1902), etc. Tragically, his first wife, soprano Fanny Moran-Olden, died (1905) insane in a private sanitarium, and his second wife died two years later (21 Feb 1907) in a ship disaster. After her death he began to drink heavily and eventually committed suicide by hanging. Especially known for his Mozart and Wagner roles.

Berlin -- Nov 24 -- Theodor Bertram, the celebrated opera singer, committed suicide to-day at Baireuth. He had been melancholy and despondent since the death of his wife, who was drowned Feb. 21 last in the wreck of the steamship Berlin off the Hook of Holland. Theodor Bertram's most successful roles were Wagnerian, and he made his greatest reputation as Wotan. The steamer Berlin was wrecked while entering port after a hurricane and nearly everybody aboard was lost, among the number being nineteen members of the German Opera Company, which had just concluded its season at Covent Garden. One of the opera singers lost was Mrs. Bertram. Mr. Bertram, a member of the company, had sailed from London for Rotterdam a day previous to the departure of his wife. New York Times, 25 Nov 1907.

(22) Theodor Bertram.

(23) Mikhail Vasilievich Bocharov. Russian baritone (1872-1936). Attended Kiev University with the intention of becoming a lawyer. He studied singing at the Kiev Music College and graduated there in 1898. Kiev Opera, Zimin's Opera (Moscow), Mariinsky Theatre (St. Petersburg), Odessa, among others. He was awarded the honorary title Meritorious Artist of Russia in 1925. It was written that Bocharov's success as Wozzeck was helped by his "stolid face, the short neck, the hobbling walk and his unrelenting stentorian timbre." It was also said that he had very little vocal decline after 30 years of singing.

(24) Anna Margarethe Boeck Lendrop (Denmark: 13 Jul 1873/5 - Copenhagen: 30 Apr 1920) as Carmen, one of her signature roles. Danish mezzo-soprano.

(25) Michael Bohnen: German bass-baritone (1887-1965) as Escamillo (Carmen). He created the title role in Jonny Spielt Auf in the first American performance of that work at the Metropolitan Opera (19 Jan 1929). He was an imaginative actor whose onstage antics often created comment and criticism.