(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) Adele Bolskaya (Adelaida Yulianovna Bolskaya) (Moscow: 16 Feb 1863/4 - 29 Sep 1930). Attended the Moscow Conservatory. Bolshoi Theatre (Moscow), Mariinsky Theatre (St. Petersburg). Toured France.

(7) Giuseppe Borgatti: Italian tenor (Cento: 17 Mar 1871 - Reno, Lago Maggiore: 18 Oct 1950): Debut Castelfranco Veneto (1892) as Faust. Create title role of Andrea Chenier at La Scala (1896). Italian heldentenor. Sang throughout Europe and South America but never appeared at Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera, or the Monnaie in Brussels. He retired from stage at the height of his career (1914) due to failing eyesight but continued to do concert performances.

(8) Agnès Borgo: French dramatic soprano (17 Apr 1879 - 7 Jan 1958): Paris Conservatory (1900). Debut (19 Mar 1904) as Aida. She appeared in many Paris Opèra premieres. Appeared throughout France, Belgium, Spain, Russia, and La Scala. Married to tenor César Vezzani. Retired in 1927. She was one of Lily Pons' teachers.

(9) Lucrezia Bori: [orig. Lucrecia Borja y Gonzalez de Riancho] (24 Dec 1887 - 14 May 1960) Spanish soprano. She made her debut (1908) in Rome as Micaela in Carmen, later sang Manon Lescaut opposite Caruso in Paris (1910), and was long a leading performer at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City (1912?5; 1920?6). After 1935 she was a director of the Metropolitan Opera Association. She was notable for her stage presence as well as her lyric voice. In 1915 her career was interrupted by a throat operation.

(10) Borisenko as Rhamades Aida.

(11) Hermine Bosetti [orig. Hermine von Flick]: Bavarian coloratura soprano (Vienna: 28 Sep 1875 - 1 May 1936): Debut in Wiesbaden (1898) as Ännchen in Der Freischütz. In 1900 she joined the Vienna Imperial Opera. From 1901 until 1924 she was with the Munich Royal Opera, where she was a great favorite. Also appeared in Holland, Belgium, London CG, and Russia. Seen here as Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly.

(12) Hermine Bosetti as Cio-Cio-San.

(13) Jean Bourbon: French baritone (1875-?) seen here in Les Huguenots. He made his debut (1900) at the Opéra-Comique. At that House he created the roles of Richard in Bruneau's L'Ouragan, Le Poete in La Carmélite, and Jean Taurreau in La Troupe Joli Coeur. He left the Opéra-Comique to become a member of the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels (1904-10). In 1914 he made his Paris Opéra bow as Guido in Monna Vanna. Bourbon was well known for his Gouland in Pelléas et Mélisande, which he presented to London audiences for the first time in 1909. Seen here as Escamillo in Carmen.

(14) Jean Bourbon in Chemineau.

(15) Jane Bourgeois: French soprano as Aida.

(16) Boyer in Barber of Seville.

(17) Carl Braun. German bass (Meisenheim, Germany: 2 Jun 1886 - Hamburg: 24 Apr 1960). A pupil of the Berlin Imperial Opera. Sang with the Wiesbaden Royal Opera (1906-11), Vienna Imperial Opera (1911-12), Berlin City Opera (1912-14). Sang for many years at the Bayreuth Festivals (1906-31). Metropolitan Opera (1912-17), Berlin State Opera (1920-27). Seen here as Gurnemanz in Parsifal.

(18) Georgette Bréjean-Silver [orig. Georgette-Amelie Sixsout]: French soprano (1870-?): Her first husband was Graviere, the director of the Bordeaux Theatre, and her second was Charles Silver, the composer. She studied at the National Conservatory in Paris, making her debut (1890) with the Bordeaux Opera. Her first real success came at the Opéra-Comique as Manon in 1894. She was so well associated with this role that Massenet composed a special gavotte for her for a Brussels production of Manon. She also sang the role of the Fairy in the world premiere (1899) of Massenet's Cendrillon. A coloratura soprano, her voice survives on a few 1905-06 Odeon and Fonotipia recordings. Also known as Bréjean-Graviere.

(19) Georgette Bréjean-Graviere in La Traviata.

(20) Marie Brema [orig. Minny Fehrmann): English mezzo-soprano (28 Feb 1856 - 22 Mar 1925). Lola in first English Cavalleria Rusticana. Bayreuth (1894-7). Created Beatrice in Stanford's Much Ado About Nothing (London CG: 1901).

(21) Hans Breuer [orig Johann Peter Joseph]: German tenor (1868-1929). The role of Wagner's Mime was the mainstay of his career. Breuer attended the Cosima Wagner training school. He made his debut (1894) in Bayreuth in a small role.

(22) French soprano (of Swiss birth) Lucienne Bréval (1869-1935) was born Bertha Agnes Lisette Schilling. She studied in Geneva and at the Paris Conservatory. After winning acclaim at the Conservatory, she made her debut (1892) at the Palais Garnier as Selika in L'Africaine. There she created leading roles in such operas as Augusta Holmes's La Montagne Noire (1895), Duval's La Burgonde (1898), Erlanger's Le Fils de L'Etoile, the title roles of Massenet's Grisélidis (1901) and Ariane (1906), as well as Ariane in his Bacchus (1909), and Favier's Monna Vanna (1909). Bréval appeared for two seasons at the Metropolitan Opera (1900-1902) where she sang in twenty-six performances. She never made any commercial recordings but scraps of a Metropolitan performance of L'Africaine with Jean de Reszke were preserved on a Lionel Mapleson cylinder when he installed his cumbersome recording equipment in the prompter's box.

(23) Lucienne Bréval.

(24) Carrie Bridewell: Mississippi born contralto began her Metropolitan Opera tenure in a concert performance. She appeared five days later as the Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte (30 Mar 1900), the first-ever performance of that Mozart masterpiece at the Metropolitan. She also appeared in Vienna, Dresden, Breslau and London.

(25) Cornelis Bronsgeest: Dutch baritone (1878-1957): He made his debut (1900) in Magdeburg. He sang throughout Europe and toured the United States after World War I. After World War II he helped organize the first opera performances in the ruins of Berlin.