Krauss/Destinn/Dietrich/Parbs

1908 Berlin performance of "Carmen
Krauss as Don Jose, Destinn as Carmen,Dietrich as Frasquetta, Parbs as Mercedes

Ernst Kraus
1863 – 1941
German tenor

Studied with Cesare Galliera and Anna Schimon-Regan.Debut Mannheim as Tamino in "Die Zauberflöte" Mozart 1893. He was appointed the leading tenor of the Berlin Staatsoper in 1896, holding that position for 27 continuous years.He appeared at the Bayreuth Festival as Siegmund in Die Walküre, in which role he made his New York Metropolitan Opera debut on November 25, 1903.
He retired from opera in 1924 in order to teach.

Emmy Destinn
(Emílie Pavlína Věnceslava Kittlová)
1878-1930
Czech Soprano

Her voice teacher since age thirteen had been Marie Maria von Dreger Loewe-Destinn, and the young singer began using her teacher's surname as a tribute.
Debut 19 July 1898 at the Berlin Court Opera as Santuzza in "Cavalleria Rusticana" .London debut at Covent Garden's Royal Opera House on 2 May 1904, as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni. She appeared there in several operas for the next two seasons, including the London premiere of Madama Butterfly with Caruso. Her Metropolitan Opera debut came in 1908 with an acclaimed performance of Aida, she created the role of Minnie in the premiere of Puccini's La fanciulla del West, again opposite Caruso, While she was highly successful in the lighter roles of Wagner's operas, her voice,excelled in the French part of Carmen, in which she was said to rival Calvé, and in the Italian roles of Aida, Madama Butterfly and Leonora (in Il trovatore).

Marie Dietrich
1868-1940
German Soprano
Studied at the conservatory of Stuttgart with Ferdinand Jäger and later studied with Pauline Viardot-Garcia She began as a concert singer, and made her operatic debut in 1888 at the Court Opera Stuttgart and remained until 1891 She sang at Bayreuth in 1888 as a Flower in “Parsifal” by Wagner. Guest appearance in Vienna in 1891 and then went to Berlin .She performed several times at the Court Opera of Dresden and Court Theatre of Hannover 1897-1906 and in 1896 at the Court Opera of Moscow. She appeared in 1898 at the Berlin Court Opera in the premiere of the opera 'Don Quixote' by W.Kienzl. Her farewell to the stage in the role of Marie in ‘’Waffenschmied’’ by Lortzing in 1912 . After her farewell to the stage she worked as a concert soprano and as a teacher in Berlin Her roles included Susanna in 'The Marriage of Figaro' by Mozart,Zerlina in 'Don Giovanni' by Mozart, Queen of the Night in 'The Magic Flute' by Mozart Marcellina in ‘Fidelio’ by Beethovan, Lucia in’ Lucia di Lammermoor’ by Donizetti, Marie in 'Daughter of the Regiment' by Donizetti, Princesse in 'Jean de Paris' by Boieldieu, Amina in La ‘Sonnambula' by Bellini, Queen Marguerite & Page Urbain in 'Les Huguenots', Meyerbeer,

Margarethe Parbs
1879-????
German Mezzo Soprano

Studied with Nicklass-Kempner , Herzog & plaichinger.Debut 1900 Stadtheater Rostock as Venus in "Tannhauser" by Wagner 1900. 1900-1901 singing at Leipzig ,1902-1913at Berlin. Sang in concert .Roles included Nancy 'Marta" by Flowtow,Ortrud "Lohengrin" by Wagner , Hansel "Hansel & Gretel" by Humperdinck , Seibel "Faust" by Gounod , Orlowsky in "Die Fledermaus" by Strauss