Historic Opera

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Row 1:
Maria Labia.
Andrey Markovich Labinsky.
Marie Lafargue.
Marie Lafargue.
Léon Laffitte.

Row 2:
Léon Laffitte.
Jeanne Laffitte.
Albert Lambert.
Bruno Landi.
Lise Landouzy.

Row 3:
Lise Landouzy.
Lise Landouzy.
Ketty Lapreyette.
Jean Lasalle.
Rudolf Laubenthal.

Row 4:
Rudolf Laubenthal.
Georgette LeBlanc.
Georgette LeBlanc.
Leonid Leonidov.
Isabelle L'Huillier.

Row 5:
Lydia Lipkowska.
Lydia Lipkowska.
Felia Litvinne.
Felia Litvinne.
Edward Lloyd.

French soprano Georgette LeBlanc (1860-1941). She was the mistress of the Belgian poet Maurice Maeterlinck, who wrote the play Pelléas et Mélisande. Maeterlinck tried to procure the world premiere role of Debussy's operatic Mélisande for LeBlanc, but Mary Garden won the role, which she performed to great success. According to Garden's autobiography, Debussy had LeBlanc sing an act of Pelléas before a jury of musicians. The overwhelming results of that audition strengthened Debussy's support for Garden. LeBlanc had a light voice of no special quality. Fortunately, in 1903 LeBlanc recorded an excerpt of Massenet's Sapho, which is preserved in the Historical Sound Recordings collection at Yale University. Its historic value is not so much for LeBlanc's contribution, but for the fact that it is a very rare recording of Massenet himself accompanying the singer. Critic Edmond Stoullig caught her 1898 performance as Sapho at the Opéra-Comique, calling it, "quite different from that of her predecessor [Calvé, which] earned for her a personal success as actress, singer, and woman."

[Metropolitan Opera debut of Bruno Landi in Rigoletto] Bruno Landi, who played the Duke, and --- new to the Metropolitan --- Carlo Tagliabue's portrayal of the title role. Mr. Landi was received most encouragingly, and with the special fervor of delighted Verdians. The new tenor sings pleasantly with a voice of moderate power and acceptable quality. He resorts frequently to a somewhat honeyed half-voice that makes it primary effect not by its unexpectedness. Generally, however, his singing meets the standards of phrasing obtaining in current performances of Italian opera. By the most severe Hollywood standards, Mr. Landi is a handsome Duke. Being young, he has no difficulty appearing young; but youth [that] is not all there is in the character. AS far as the eye could tell, this Duke was quite a composed, serious and gentlemanly young person. His ardor was politely contained, his levity held safely within the bounds of respectability. Mr. Landi seems to be presuming wholly upon his youthful appearance to supply a temperament which. to the eye much more than to the ear, is not easily discoverable. When his movements and gestures match the feeling in his voice, this may be a convincing Duke. New York Times, 13 Jan 1938, G. G.

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