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Alfred Von Bary as Tristran 'Tristan & Isolde" Wagner ALFRED VON BARY 1873-1926 Tenor Studied singing with Richard Müller. He Debut at the Dresden Court Opera in 1903 as Lohengrin in Wagner’s ‘’Lohengrin’’ .Important wagnerian tenor sang at Bayreuth , Dresden , Munich , Berlin ,Stuttgart , Mannheim, Hamburg,f Frankfurt ,Cologne, Nuremberg and at the Viennese Volksoper .

Adolf Hesse (Karl August Hesse) ????-1906 RETA WALTER 1885?-1906 German soprano ‘PRIMA DONNA SHOT. ‘MURDERED BY DISCARDED LOVER ‘ASSASSIN’S SUICIDE. ‘From Berlin on the night of 5th October [1906] the corresponded of the Daily Mail [published in London] wrote:- ‘A few hours before she would have fallen upon the stage of the Opera Comique as Carmen, stabbed to death with the dagger of the jealous Don Jose, the young and beautiful prima donna Fraulein Rita Walter was last night murdered at her home by her discarded lover. Karl August Hesse, who then turned his weapon against himself and fell shot through the heart. ‘Hesse had waited all the afternoon at Fraulein Walter’s house, expecting to surprise her in the company of his rival, Senor Juan Raventos, a young Spanish tenor at the Opera Comique, for whom the prima donna had latterly shown a fondness, and to whom Hesse suspected that she was about to become engaged. ‘Only the fact that the Spaniard was lying in hospital saved his life, as letter left by Hesse indicate that he intended to kill him. Fraulein Walter’s mother was sitting in the adjoining room when her daughter was shot. ‘The singer was only twenty-one years of age, and of remarkable beauty and promising voice. She was the daughter of a well-to-do manufacturer, who died a few years ago. Hesse’s ambition was to be an operatic star himself, but he did not possess the required talent, and this made him exceedingly jealous of his fiancee’s success, as well as of her smiles upon other men. He had several times struck her in the midst of jealous fits. ‘Fraulein Walter attempted repeatedly to induce him to leave her and go his own way, but Hesse claimed to be madly in love with her and refused to be repulsed. The police found in his apartments to-day letters from his Spanish rival wherein the latter had rejected Hesse’s demand that he should break off his relationship with the prima donna. The murderer’s parent are wealthy residents of Hamburg.’ (The Grenfell Record and Lachlan District Advertiser, Grenvell, NSW, Australia, Saturday, 22 December 1906, p. 7g)

FEODOR IVANOVICH CHALIAPIN (February 13 ,1873 – April 12, 1938) Russian Bass Largely self-taught, he began his career at Tbilisi and the Imperial Opera, St. Petersburg in 1894. He was then invited to sing at the Mamontov Private Opera (1896–1899); his first role there was as Mephistopheles in Gounod's Faust, At Mamontov he also met Sergei Rachmaninoff, who was serving as an assistant conductor there and with whom he remained friends for life. Rachmaninoff taught him much about musicianship, including how to analyze a music score, and insisted that Chaliapin learn not only his own roles but also all the other roles in the operas in which he was slated to appear. With Rachmaninoff he learned the title role of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, which became his signature character , On the strength of his Mamontov appearances, the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow engaged Chaliapin, where he appeared regularly from 1899 until 1914. During the First World War, Chaliapin also appeared regularly at the Zimin Private Opera in Moscow. In addition, from 1901, Chaliapin began touring in the West, making a sensational debut at La Scala that year as the devil in a production of Boito's Mefistofele, under the baton of one of the 20th century's most dynamic opera conductors, Arturo Toscanini Chaliapin's last stage performance took place at the Monte Carlo Opera in 1937, as Boris. He died the following year of leukemia, aged 65, in Paris, where he was interred

Dmitri Smirnov 1882-1944 Russian Tenor Studied with Emiliya Pavlovskaya and Alexander Dodonov .Début in St Petersburg in 1903 as Gigi in “La Camorra” by Esposito .Became a member of the Bolshoi company in Moscow, in 1904 singing there until 1910. He then sang at the Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg, from 1911 to 1917. French début at the Paris Opéra in 1907. Invited to appear at the Metropolitan Opera, where he sang in 1911-12. In 1914, he performed in the "Russian Seasons" at London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He would not sing in the United States again except for two performances of Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades with theWashington National Opera—a semi-professional company not related to its present namesake—in 1926.Left his native land after the Russian Revolution of 1917, preferring to continue his career in the West. Among the cities which he visited were Berlin, Monte Carlo, Milan, Rome, Madrid and Buenos Aires. Gave his last recitals during the 1930s. He taught singing in London and Athens and later retired to Riga

Leonid Sobinov 1872-1934 Russian Tenor Studied at Moscow Conservatory from 1892 with Alexander Dodonov and Alexandra Santagano Gorchakova.He appeared on stage with a travelling Italian opera troupe as Beppe in “I Pagliacci” by Leoncavallo and the steersman in ‘The Flying Dutchman” by Wagner . His official debut was as Sinodal in “The Demon” by Rubinstein in 1897 at the Bolshoi where remained for seven years before joining Mamontov’s Opera.In 1904 he sang Ernesto in ‘Don Pasquale” by Dinizetti at La Scala Milan,After 1907 he divided his perfamces between the Mariinsky and the Bolshoi . He also sang at monte Carlo , Warsaw , Helsinki,Berlin and Paris.His farewell was in 1933 at the Bolshoi he was at one time Director of the Bolshoi and later taught at Stanislvsky’s opera studio. His roles finn in “Ruslan and Ludmila” Glinka , Faust “Faust” Gounod Vladamir “ Prince Igor” Borodin , Lensky “Eugene Onegin” Tchaikovsky, Duke “Rigoletto” Verdi , Lohengrin “Lohengrin” Wagner , Walther “Tannhäuser” Wagner ,Solovey “Zabava Putyatishna” Ivanov and Janusz “Halka” Moniuszko

Leonid Sobinov 1872-1934 Russian Tenor Studied at Moscow Conservatory from 1892 with Alexander Dodonov and Alexandra Santagano Gorchakova.He appeared on stage with a travelling Italian opera troupe as Beppe in “I Pagliacci” by Leoncavallo and the steersman in ‘The Flying Dutchman” by Wagner . His official debut was as Sinodal in “The Demon” by Rubinstein in 1897 at the Bolshoi where remained for seven years before joining Mamontov’s Opera.In 1904 he sang Ernesto in ‘Don Pasquale” by Dinizetti at La Scala Milan,After 1907 he divided his perfamces between the Mariinsky and the Bolshoi . He also sang at monte Carlo , Warsaw , Helsinki,Berlin and Paris.His farewell was in 1933 at the Bolshoi he was at one time Director of the Bolshoi and later taught at Stanislvsky’s opera studio. His roles finn in “Ruslan and Ludmila” Glinka , Faust “Faust” Gounod Vladamir “ Prince Igor” Borodin , Lensky “Eugene Onegin” Tchaikovsky, Duke “Rigoletto” Verdi , Lohengrin “Lohengrin” Wagner , Walther “Tannhäuser” Wagner ,Solovey “Zabava Putyatishna” Ivanov and Janusz “Halka” Moniuszko

Leonid Sobinov 1872-1934 Russian Tenor Studied at Moscow Conservatory from 1892 with Alexander Dodonov and Alexandra Santagano Gorchakova.He appeared on stage with a travelling Italian opera troupe as Beppe in “I Pagliacci” by Leoncavallo and the steersman in ‘The Flying Dutchman” by Wagner . His official debut was as Sinodal in “The Demon” by Rubinstein in 1897 at the Bolshoi where remained for seven years before joining Mamontov’s Opera.In 1904 he sang Ernesto in ‘Don Pasquale” by Dinizetti at La Scala Milan,After 1907 he divided his perfamces between the Mariinsky and the Bolshoi . He also sang at monte Carlo , Warsaw , Helsinki,Berlin and Paris.His farewell was in 1933 at the Bolshoi he was at one time Director of the Bolshoi and later taught at Stanislvsky’s opera studio. His roles finn in “Ruslan and Ludmila” Glinka , Faust “Faust” Gounod Vladamir “ Prince Igor” Borodin , Lensky “Eugene Onegin” Tchaikovsky, Duke “Rigoletto” Verdi , Lohengrin “Lohengrin” Wagner , Walther “Tannhäuser” Wagner ,Solovey “Zabava Putyatishna” Ivanov and Janusz “Halka” Moniuszko

Leonid Sobinov 1872-1934 Russian Tenor Studied at Moscow Conservatory from 1892 with Alexander Dodonov and Alexandra Santagano Gorchakova.He appeared on stage with a travelling Italian opera troupe as Beppe in “I Pagliacci” by Leoncavallo and the steersman in ‘The Flying Dutchman” by Wagner . His official debut was as Sinodal in “The Demon” by Rubinstein in 1897 at the Bolshoi where remained for seven years before joining Mamontov’s Opera.In 1904 he sang Ernesto in ‘Don Pasquale” by Dinizetti at La Scala Milan,After 1907 he divided his perfamces between the Mariinsky and the Bolshoi . He also sang at monte Carlo , Warsaw , Helsinki,Berlin and Paris.His farewell was in 1933 at the Bolshoi he was at one time Director of the Bolshoi and later taught at Stanislvsky’s opera studio. His roles finn in “Ruslan and Ludmila” Glinka , Faust “Faust” Gounod Vladamir “ Prince Igor” Borodin , Lensky “Eugene Onegin” Tchaikovsky, Duke “Rigoletto” Verdi , Lohengrin “Lohengrin” Wagner , Walther “Tannhäuser” Wagner ,Solovey “Zabava Putyatishna” Ivanov and Janusz “Halka” Moniuszko

Leonid Sobinov 1872-1934 Russian Tenor Studied at Moscow Conservatory from 1892 with Alexander Dodonov and Alexandra Santagano Gorchakova.He appeared on stage with a travelling Italian opera troupe as Beppe in “I Pagliacci” by Leoncavallo and the steersman in ‘The Flying Dutchman” by Wagner . His official debut was as Sinodal in “The Demon” by Rubinstein in 1897 at the Bolshoi where remained for seven years before joining Mamontov’s Opera.In 1904 he sang Ernesto in ‘Don Pasquale” by Dinizetti at La Scala Milan,After 1907 he divided his perfamces between the Mariinsky and the Bolshoi . He also sang at monte Carlo , Warsaw , Helsinki,Berlin and Paris.His farewell was in 1933 at the Bolshoi he was at one time Director of the Bolshoi and later taught at Stanislvsky’s opera studio. His roles finn in “Ruslan and Ludmila” Glinka , Faust “Faust” Gounod Vladamir “ Prince Igor” Borodin , Lensky “Eugene Onegin” Tchaikovsky, Duke “Rigoletto” Verdi , Lohengrin “Lohengrin” Wagner , Walther “Tannhäuser” Wagner ,Solovey “Zabava Putyatishna” Ivanov and Janusz “Halka” Moniuszko

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Lily Pons Alice Joséphine Pons 1898 – 1976 French-American soprano She first studied piano at the Paris Conservatory, In 1925, she started taking singing lessons in Paris with Alberto de Gorostiaga (es). She later studied singing with Alice Zeppilli in New York. Debut in the title role of Léo Delibes' Lakmé at Mulhouse in 1928 . Roles in her repertoire included Olympia in Jacques Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann, Philine in Ambroise Thomas's Mignon, Amina in Vincenzo Bellini's La sonnambula, Marie in Donizetti's The Daughter of the Regiment, the title role in Léo Delibes's Lakmé, the Queen in Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Golden Cockerel, and the title role in Donizetti's Linda di Chamounix,

Lily Pons Alice Joséphine Pons 1898 – 1976 French-American soprano She first studied piano at the Paris Conservatory, In 1925, she started taking singing lessons in Paris with Alberto de Gorostiaga (es). She later studied singing with Alice Zeppilli in New York. Debut in the title role of Léo Delibes' Lakmé at Mulhouse in 1928 . Roles in her repertoire included Olympia in Jacques Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann, Philine in Ambroise Thomas's Mignon, Amina in Vincenzo Bellini's La sonnambula, Marie in Donizetti's The Daughter of the Regiment, the title role in Léo Delibes's Lakmé, the Queen in Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Golden Cockerel, and the title role in Donizetti's Linda di Chamounix,

Gemma Bellincioni (Matilda Cesira) 1864 – 1950 Italian soprano Both her parents were singers, and after receiving training from them, she made her operatic debut in “ Il Segreto della Duchessa” by Dell'Orefice at Naples in 1880. She went on to sing extensively in Europe and South America during the next two decades, although she would appear only once in London—at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden—in 1895. Despite her fame, she never performed at America's foremost operatic venue, the New York Metropolitan Opera.On 17 May 1890, she created the role of Santuzza in Pietro Mascagni's “Cavalleria Rusticana” when it premiered in Rome. With her common-law spouse Roberto Stagno as Turiddu. She starred in the Italian premiere of Richard Strauss' Salome. She announced her retirement from the stage in 1911 to teach singing, Her roles included Violetta “ La traviata” Verdi , Dinorah “Dinorah” Meyerbeer, Amina ‘La Sonambulla” Bellini , Desdemona ‘Othello” Rossini, Elvira ‘I Puritani” Bellini , Carmen ‘Carmen” Bizet and Lucia ‘Lucia di Lammemoor” by Donizetti

Gemma Bellincioni (Matilda Cesira) 1864 – 1950 Italian soprano Both her parents were singers, and after receiving training from them, she made her operatic debut in “ Il Segreto della Duchessa” by Dell'Orefice at Naples in 1880. She went on to sing extensively in Europe and South America during the next two decades, although she would appear only once in London—at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden—in 1895. Despite her fame, she never performed at America's foremost operatic venue, the New York Metropolitan Opera.On 17 May 1890, she created the role of Santuzza in Pietro Mascagni's “Cavalleria Rusticana” when it premiered in Rome. With her common-law spouse Roberto Stagno as Turiddu. She starred in the Italian premiere of Richard Strauss' Salome. She announced her retirement from the stage in 1911 to teach singing, Her roles included Violetta “ La traviata” Verdi , Dinorah “Dinorah” Meyerbeer, Amina ‘La Sonambulla” Bellini , Desdemona ‘Othello” Rossini, Elvira ‘I Puritani” Bellini , Carmen ‘Carmen” Bizet and Lucia ‘Lucia di Lammemoor” by Donizetti

Lina Cavalieri 1874-1944 Italian soprano Worked as a café singer before taking voice lessons in Paris.Debut as Nedda in “Pagliacci” by Leoncavallo in Lisbon in 1900,She was singing at the Monte Carlo Opera in 1904 and at the Sarah Bernhardt theatre in Paris in 1905 & sang Fedora with Caruso in “Fedora” by Giordano,Made her American debut at the Metropolitan Opera New York in 1906 and remained for two seasons , From 1909-10 she was at the Manhattan Opera after which she returned to Europe in 1912.She created L’Ensoleilland in Cherubin” by Massenet in 1905 .She also sang in Russia and the Ukraine . Her third husband was the tenor Lucien Muratore.Her roles included Manon “Manon Lescaut” , Tosca “Tosca” , Mimi ‘La Boheme” l by Puccini, Thais “Thais”, Salome “Herodide” by Massenet , Violetta ‘La Traviata” , Gilda ‘Rigoletto” by Verdi and both Elena and Margarita ‘Mefistofele” by Boito

Lina Cavalieri 1874-1944 Italian soprano Worked as a café singer before taking voice lessons in Paris.Debut as Nedda in “Pagliacci” by Leoncavallo in Lisbon in 1900,She was singing at the Monte Carlo Opera in 1904 and at the Sarah Bernhardt theatre in Paris in 1905 & sang Fedora with Caruso in “Fedora” by Giordano,Made her American debut at the Metropolitan Opera New York in 1906 and remained for two seasons , From 1909-10 she was at the Manhattan Opera after which she returned to Europe in 1912.She created L’Ensoleilland in Cherubin” by Massenet in 1905 .She also sang in Russia and the Ukraine . Her third husband was the tenor Lucien Muratore.Her roles included Manon “Manon Lescaut” , Tosca “Tosca” , Mimi ‘La Boheme” l by Puccini, Thais “Thais”, Salome “Herodide” by Massenet , Violetta ‘La Traviata” , Gilda ‘Rigoletto” by Verdi and both Elena and Margarita ‘Mefistofele” by Boito

ADA CROSSLEY (3 May 1871-17 October1929) Australian Contralto Studied Melbourne with Fanny Simonsen , First stage appearance 1889 in Melbourne concert . Went to London for further study with Sir Charles Santley and in Paris with mathilde Marchesi. Concert and Oratorio singer never appeared in opera

ADA CROSSLEY (3 May 1871-17 October1929) Australian Contralto Studied Melbourne with Fanny Simonsen , First stage appearance 1889 in Melbourne concert . Went to London for further study with Sir Charles Santley and in Paris with mathilde Marchesi. Concert and Oratorio singer never appeared in opera