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Alice Verlet ( Alice Verheyden ) 1873-1934 Belgium Soprano Studied under Mme. Moriani in Brussels.Debut 1893 at Leuven, and then sang for the Belgian Queen and members of the nobility in Brussels. She was known primarily as a concert singer but sang roles in opera. Debut at the Opéra-Comique in 1894. as Philine in Thomas's Mignon, 1895, she appeared in England, participating in a concert at the Masonic Hall . She sang principal roles at the operas in Lyon, Nice, and Monte Carlo; at His Majesty's Theater in London; at La Monnaie in Brussels; and at the Paris Opéra and Opéra-Comique. In the United States .Debut at the Monnaie in Brussels 1901 in Verdi's Rigoletto;Debut at the Paris Opéra, as Blondine in a French-language production of Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, came in 1903.In 1905 and 1906, Verlet played the Naiad in the first modern revival of Gluck's Armide in Paris 1908 the Théâtre de la Gaîté-Lyrique Toured England in 1910. US debut in August 1896. Although primarily a concert singer in the United States, she did perform some opera. In 1915 the Chicago Opera engaged her as Philene in several performances of Thomas's Mignon and also performed with the Boston Opera.Retired from performing in 1920. Thereafter, she taught voice until her death in Paris in 1934 Roles Included

Agnes Nichols 1876-1959 English Soprano In 1894, she won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music where her teacher was Albert Visetti. During her student years she took the part of Dido in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, and sang three times in front of Queen Victoria at private functions. Nicholls sang with the Quinlan Opera Company during its 1912 tour of Australia. She was a frequent performer at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden until 1924, and was a principal of the British National Opera Company, appearing under the baton of Sir Thomas Beecham and other leading conductors of the day. As well as performing in opera and delivering songs, Nicholls sang in many oratorios, including Parry's Judithand Bach's St Matthew Passion. Sir Henry Wood, the conductor and impresario, described her as "a great artist with a beautiful voice (which) seemed to have been made for Bach's arias. Her operatic roles ranged from major Wagner Among her celebrated Wagnerian roles were Venus in Tannhäuser, Sieglinde in Die Walküre, Brünnhilde in Siegfried. In 1908, she participated in a notable production of Wagner's Ring Cycle, and Mozart parts through to the Dewman in Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel

Adelaide Bolska 1863-1930 Polish Soprano After graduating from the Moscow Conservatory, she continued her studies in Italy, appearing in the Milan theater Dal Verne and and Lodi and participating in concerts under the baton of Charles Lamoureux and Édouard Colonne.After returning to Russia, on the recommendation of Tchaikovsky began performing in the Moscow Grand Theatre under the name of Skąpski. She perfected skills with Caroline MIOLAN-Carvalho. 1896 Ophelia at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona . Accepted invitation and went to Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg

as Romeo in "Romeo & Juliette" by Gounod Charles Rousseliere 1875-1950 French Tenor Studied with Albert Vaguet at the Paris Conservatoire. He was active in café-concert, and one of the stars of the Petit Ramponneau in Montmartre, Debut as Samson in “ Samson and Delilah” by Saint-Saëns at the Paris Opera in 1900. He also appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in New York (where he debuted as Roméo in “Roméo et Juliette” by Gounod in 1906) as well as in Berlin, Buenos Aires and Milan. Created Marcomie in “Les Barbares” by Saint Seans 1901 Paris ,Gorgio in “Amica” by Mascagni Monte Carlo 1905 ,Tebaldo in “L,Ancetre” by Saint Seans Monte Carlo 1906 ,Ulysse in “Pénélope” by Fauré.in 1913 at Monte Carlo ,Julien in “Julien” by Charpentier Paris 1913 ,Gorgio in “Amica” by Mascagni Monte Carlo 1905 , Roles included Roles included Romeo in “Romeo & Juliette” by Gounod , Samson in “ Samson and Delilah” by Saint-Saëns , Gerald in “Lakme” by Delibes , Vincent in “Mirielle” by Massenet , Don Jose in “Carmen” by Bizet , Canio in “I Pagliacci” by Leoncavallo , Lohengrin in “Lohengrin” by Wagner, Tanhauser in “Tannhauser” by Wagner, Parsifal in “Parsifal” by Wagner and Sigurd in “Sigud” by Reyer.

as Siegmund in "Die Walkure" by Wagner Charles Rousseliere 1875-1950 French Tenor Studied with Albert Vaguet at the Paris Conservatoire. He was active in café-concert, and one of the stars of the Petit Ramponneau in Montmartre, Debut as Samson in “ Samson and Delilah” by Saint-Saëns at the Paris Opera in 1900. He also appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in New York (where he debuted as Roméo in “Roméo et Juliette” by Gounod in 1906) as well as in Berlin, Buenos Aires and Milan. Created Marcomie in “Les Barbares” by Saint Seans 1901 Paris ,Gorgio in “Amica” by Mascagni Monte Carlo 1905 ,Tebaldo in “L,Ancetre” by Saint Seans Monte Carlo 1906 ,Ulysse in “Pénélope” by Fauré.in 1913 at Monte Carlo ,Julien in “Julien” by Charpentier Paris 1913 ,Gorgio in “Amica” by Mascagni Monte Carlo 1905 , Roles included Roles included Romeo in “Romeo & Juliette” by Gounod , Samson in “ Samson and Delilah” by Saint-Saëns , Gerald in “Lakme” by Delibes , Vincent in “Mirielle” by Massenet , Don Jose in “Carmen” by Bizet , Canio in “I Pagliacci” by Leoncavallo , Lohengrin in “Lohengrin” by Wagner, Tanhauser in “Tannhauser” by Wagner, Parsifal in “Parsifal” by Wagner and Sigurd in “Sigud” by Reyer.

as King Marke in "Tristan & Isolde" by Wagner Paul Bender 1875-1947 German Bass Studied in Berlin with Luise Ress and Baptist Hoffmann. Debut 1900 at the Opera House in Wroclaw.In 1903 he then moved to the Munich Court Opera, where he remained until the end of his career. .He sang in numerous world premieres Ottavio in “ Le donne curiose” (1903) and Simone in “ I quattro rusteghi” (1906), both by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Pope Pius V in “ Palestrina” by Pfitzner (1917). Other premieres were “ Die Gespenstersonate “ by Julius Weismann (1930), “Das Herz “ by Pfitzner (1931) and Peter in “Der Mond” by Carl Orff (1939). Guested at the Richard Wagner Festival in Bayreuth ,theatre de la Monnaie Brussels (1910) théâtre des Champs-Élysées Paris (1914) Vienna court or Staatsoper (1916-17), Covent Garden Opera London (1910-1914) City Theatre Zurich (1915) Metropolitan Opera (1922-1927) Salzburg Festival as a guest, 1938 and 1939, he joined in the performances of the Ring des Nibelungen by Richard Wagner in theTeatro alla Scala .He worked as a professor at the Munich Academy of Music .Roles included Sarastro in “Die Zauberflöte “ (Mozart): Osmin in “The Abduction from the Seraglio (Mozart): Fasolt & Fafner in” Rheingold” (Wagner); Hagen in “Götterdämmerung” (Wagner): King Marke in “Tristan und Isolde (Wagner): Hans Sachs & Pogner in “The Mastersingers of Nuremberg (Wagner): Gurnemanz& Amfortas in “Parsifal” (Wagner): Landgraf in “Tannhauser”(Wagner): Daland in “The Flying Dutchman” ( Wagner): Basilio in “ The Barber of Seville “ (Rossini): Plumkett in “Martha “(Flotow):Barber in “Barber of Baghdad” (Cornelius): Ochs in “der Rosenkavalier” ( Strauss): Don Quichotte in “Don Quichotte” ( Massenet): Rocco in “Fidelio “(Beethoven):

MARCELLA SEMBRICH (Prakseda Marcelina Kochańska) (February 15, 1858 – January 11, 1935) Polish Soprano She entered the Vienna Conservatory in Autumn 1875. It was only then that her remarkable voice was discovered. She studied violin with Joseph Hellmesberger, Sr., piano with Julius Epstein, and voice with Viktor Rokitansky. After a year it was decided to give up study of the violin and piano and fully devote the young student to voice lessons. She arrived in Milan in September 1876 to study with one of the best vocal teachers on the continent, namely, Giovanni Battista Lamperti, son of the eminent teacher Francesco Lamperti, with whom she would later study in 1885. Made her debut in opera at Athens as Elvira in Bellini's I Puritani on June 3, 1877. She not only sang Puritani, but also Dinorah, Lucia di Lammermoor, Robert le Diable and La Sonnambula! She continued her vocal studies, this time with Marie Seebach and Richard Lewey in Vienna. At Covent Garden and signed a contract there for five seasons. In June 1880 she created a sensation in her debut at Covent Garden as Lucia in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. She became a great favorite in the characters of Zerlina, Don Giovanni; Susanna, The Marriage of Figaro; Konstanze, The Abduction from the Seraglio; Lady Harriet/Martha, Martha; and, of course, Lucia. She made her Met debut as Lucia in the company premiere of Lucia di Lammermoor on October 24, 1883, she was also the Met's first Elvira in I Puritani, Violetta in La Traviata, Amina in La Sonnambula, Gilda in Rigoletto, Marguerite in Les Huguenots and Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia.

LISE TAUTIN (born Louise Vaissière) 1836, - May 1874, French soprano, Associated with the opéra-bouffe in Paris in the middle of the 19th century, particularly the works of Offenbach ,Having been spotted by Offenbach at the Grand Théâtre de Lyon, Tautin made her debut with the Bouffes-Parisiens as Aspasie in Une demoiselle en loterie in July 1857 and was a big success with critics and the audiences. She also sang Fanchette in Le mariage aux lanternes (1857), Crout-ou-pôt in Mesdames de la Halle (1858), Minette in La chatte métamorphosée en femme 1858 - her incarnation of both girl and cat was praised, and Eurydice in Orphée aux Enfers (1858 and 1860 revival), where her ‘Hymne a Bacchus’ was encored, or often sung three times at each performance. Then followed Rosita in Un mari à la porte (1859), Gratioso and other roles in the first version of Geneviève de Brabant (1859), Les Bouffes-Parisiens in Le carnaval des revues (1860), Catarina in Le pont des soupirs (1861), and Ernestina in M. Choufleuri restera chez lui le . . . (1861). She visited Vienna with the Bouffes-Parisiens in the summer of 1861, during which she created La Sincère in Les bergers. In the spring of 1862 she starred in La boite au lait at the Théâtre des Variétés. Tautin took over title role for some performances of La belle Hélène in 1865. She was taken ill returning from a tour to Constantinople in 1874 ROSE DESCHAMPS Soprano Associated with the opéra-bouffe in Paris in the middle of the 19th century, particularly the works of Offenbach Created at Theatre des Bouffes Paris the roles Blondette in his opera "Genevive de Brabant" 1859 & Guilluame in "La Chanson de Fortunio" in 1861, ,and was in his operetta 'Orphee aux Enfers" .She also performed at the Comedie Francaise ,

as Brunhilde in " Der Ring des Nibelungen" by Wagner LILLIAN NORDICA (Lillian Norton) 1857-1947 American soprano, Nordica grew up from the age of six in Boston, studied at the New England Conservatory of Music, and then gave recitals in the United States and London before resuming study in Milan. In 1879 she made her debut in Milan as Donna Elvira in W.A. Mozart’s Don Giovanni and in Brescia, Italy, as Violetta in Giuseppe Verdi’s La traviata. After singing in many Italian, German, and Russian cities, she made her Paris Opéra debut in 1882 as Marguerite in Charles Gounod’s Faust. In 1887 Nordica first appeared in London at Covent Garden and until 1893 performed there and at Drury Lane in such parts as Lucia, Donna Elvira, and Aida. In 1894 she was engaged at Bayreuth, Germany—the first American to be so honoured—as Elsa in Richard Wagner’s Lohengrin, and her tumultuous reception was such that she thereafter concentrated on Wagnerian parts. In 1895 she sang Isolde at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, where she remained until 1909, excelling especially as Brünnhilde and Kundry. After retiring from the Metropolitan, she launched a world farewell tour that ended in 1913 when her ship grounded in the Gulf of Papua in December. She contracted pneumonia and died of complications of the disease. + add a comment Comments

as Marenka "The Bartered Bride" By Smetana 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).

FRIEDA HEMPEL 1885-1955 German Soprano Studied at Leipzig and then Berlin with Nicklass-Kempner .Made early appearances at Brelau singing Violetta ,Queen of the Night and Rosina.Made her debut at Schwerin in 1905 and remained until 1907 singing Gilda , Leonora (Il Trovatore) .By request of Kaiser Wilhelm II she made her Berlin debut 1905 as Frau Fluth (in Nicolai's Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor). She sang at the Royal Court Opera, Berlin, from 1907 to 1912, where she was also admired as Lucia, Marguerite de Valois and Marie.At the Covent Garden, London in 1907 as Bastienne, in Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel, as Eva and Elsa and again as Frau Fluth . In 1912 she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York as Marguerite de Valois. She sang regularly in New York thereafter into the 1920s.After 1919 she sang mostly recitals and made her last appearance at New York Town Hall in 1951

as Rhadames in 'Aida' by Verdi Herman (Hermann) Jadlowker 1877-1953 Latvian Tenor Studied in Vienna with Josef Gänsbacher. Debut 1899 at Cologne in Kreutzer's "Nachtlager von Granada". Emperor William (Kaiser Wilhelm II) heard him and was so impressed that he offered the tenor a five-year contract at the Royal Opera in Berlin. Sang also in Stuttgart, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Vienna, Lemberg, Prague, Budapest and Boston during the course of his career.In 1910 and 1912, he appeared at the New York Metropolitan Opera .During the 1920s, he sang increasingly on the concert platform and, in 1929, he was chosen to be chief cantor at the Riga synagogue. Jadlowker subsequently became a voice teacher at the Riga Conservatory before emigrating to Palestine with his wife in 1938. He taught in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, dying in the latter city at the age of 75.

as Manon & des Greux in "Manon" by Massenet GERALDINE FARRAR 1882-1967 American Soprano Started her vocal lessons with Mrs. J. H. Long in Boston in 1894. The 12-year-old Farrar also studied operatic acting and deportment with Victor Capoul, By the time she was 13 Farrar was living in New York City and studying with Emma Thursby , she was in Paris from 1899 to 1900, stuying with Trabadelo, a Spanish vocal coach, she went to Berlin to study with Francesco Graziani, In 1900 Farrar auditioned and won a three-year contract with the Berlin Hofoper Making her debut as Marguerite in Faust in 1901,After her contract in Berlin was up, Farrar moved to the Monte Carlo Opera, where she sang from about 1904 to 1906, making her Monte Carlo debut in Puccini's La Bohéme alongside costar Enrico Caruso. In 1905, Farrar sang in the premiere of " Amica" by Mascagni. She also appeared in Paris, Munich, Warsaw, and Salzburg,While she lived in Europe, Farrar continued to study with Lilli Lehmann.On opening night of the 1906-1907 season at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City, Farrar made her debut with the company with which she would be associated for the rest of her career. In her debut, sher sang in "Roméo et Juliette" by Gounod. She appeared in the Met's first production of Puccini's Madama Butterfly, In 1910 at the world premiere of German composer Engelbert Humperdinck's " Köngiskinder" creating the role of the Goose Girl. In 1911, Farrar sang in the American premiere of Ariane et Barbe-bleue.Her final performance at the Met was in April 1922. She sang in Zazá by Leoncavallo Herman (Hermann) Jadlowker 1877-1953 Latvian Tenor Studied in Vienna with Josef Gänsbacher. Debut 1899 at Cologne in Kreutzer's "Nachtlager von Granada". Emperor William (Kaiser Wilhelm II) heard him and was so impressed that he offered the tenor a five-year contract at the Royal Opera in Berlin. Sang also in Stuttgart, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Vienna, Lemberg, Prague, Budapest and Boston during the course of his career.In 1910 and 1912, he appeared at the New York Metropolitan Opera .During the 1920s, he sang increasingly on the concert platform and, in 1929, he was chosen to be chief cantor at the Riga synagogue. Jadlowker subsequently became a voice teacher at the Riga Conservatory before emigrating to Palestine with his wife in 1938. He taught in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, dying in the latter city at the age of 75.

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

as Tosca in "Tosca" by Puccini Lucille Marcel (Lucille Wasself) 1877-1921 American Soprano Studied in North America, and with Jean de Reszke in Paris. Debut in 1908 at the Vienna Court Opera as Elektra in “Elektra” by Richard Strauss. She became a member of the Municipal Theatre of Hamburg in 1912. Her American debut was in , 1911 at the Boston Opera as Tosca in ''Tosca'' by Puccini. She remained at Boston until 1914, In 1913 she sang in the American première of the opera ''Djamileh'' by Bizet.Guest appearance at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées Paris as Desdemona in Verdi's ''Otello'' and as Eva in the ''Meistersingers''. She married Felix von Weingartner in 1911 and went with him to the Court Theatre of Darmstadt, in 1914. She sang in the 1914 premiere of the opera of her husband ''Cain and Abel'' at Darmstadt Court Theatre. In 1919 she was at Vienna Court Theatre Her repertoire included roles like Tosca, Aida, Desdemona in ''Otello'' by Verdi, Marguerite in ''Faust'' by Gounod and Eva in the ''Meistersingers''by Wagner.

as Susanne in "Marriage of Figaro ' by Mozart FRIEDA HEMPEL 1885-1955 German Soprano Studied at Leipzig and then Berlin with Nicklass-Kempner .Made early appearances at Brelau singing Violetta ,Queen of the Night and Rosina.Made her debut at Schwerin in 1905 and remained until 1907 singing Gilda , Leonora (Il Trovatore) .By request of Kaiser Wilhelm II she made her Berlin debut 1905 as Frau Fluth (in Nicolai's Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor). She sang at the Royal Court Opera, Berlin, from 1907 to 1912, where she was also admired as Lucia, Marguerite de Valois and Marie.At the Covent Garden, London in 1907 as Bastienne, in Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel, as Eva and Elsa and again as Frau Fluth . In 1912 she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York as Marguerite de Valois. She sang regularly in New York thereafter into the 1920s.After 1919 she sang mostly recitals and made her last appearance at New York Town Hall in 1951

as Rigoletto in "Rigoletto" by Verdi Francisco Augusto D'Andrade, 11 January 1856 – 8 February 1921 Portuguese baritone He studied the basics of acting and music with Manuel Carreira and Arturo Pontecchi, the principal conductor of the Teatro São Carlos, and gave his first public recital in 1879 at the Salão da Trindade in Lisbon. In 1881 he went to Milan for further studies tenor Corrado Miraglia, and later with the baritone Sebastiano Ronconi. Debut 1882 at the Teatro Principe as Amedeo in Sanremo as Amonasro in Verdi's “Aida”. Over the next four years he sang in the opera houses of Portugal, Spain and Italy, including the Teatro Costanzi in Rome where he sang Count de Luna in Verdi's Il trovatore and Severo in the theatre's first performance of Donizetti's “Poliuto”. He and his brother António, D'Andrade were engaged as singers at the Théâtre Privé d'Opéra in Moscow for the 1885/86 season. They appeared together in 1888 world premiere of Alfredo Keil's “Donna Bianca” at the Teatro São Carlos with Francisco as Adaour and António as Aben-Afan. In 1886 he was at the Royal Italian Opera in London. His roles included Renato “Ballo in maschera”, Figaro “Il barbiere di Siviglia”, Escamillo “Carmen”, Giorgio Germont “La traviata”, Enrico Ashton “Lucia di Lammermoor”, Telramund “Lohengrin”, “ Rigoletto” and “Don Giovanni” In 1901 he sang Don Giovanni at the Salzburg Festival .In Germany he sang regularly with the Frankfurt Opera from 1891 to 1910 as well as several other major German opera houses. Berlin Hofoper in 1889. He retired from the stage in 1919.

MARCELLA SEMBRICH (Prakseda Marcelina Kochańska) (February 15, 1858 – January 11, 1935) Polish Soprano She entered the Vienna Conservatory in Autumn 1875. It was only then that her remarkable voice was discovered. She studied violin with Joseph Hellmesberger, Sr., piano with Julius Epstein, and voice with Viktor Rokitansky. After a year it was decided to give up study of the violin and piano and fully devote the young student to voice lessons. She arrived in Milan in September 1876 to study with one of the best vocal teachers on the continent, namely, Giovanni Battista Lamperti, son of the eminent teacher Francesco Lamperti, with whom she would later study in 1885. Made her debut in opera at Athens as Elvira in Bellini's I Puritani on June 3, 1877. She not only sang Puritani, but also Dinorah, Lucia di Lammermoor, Robert le Diable and La Sonnambula! She continued her vocal studies, this time with Marie Seebach and Richard Lewey in Vienna. At Covent Garden and signed a contract there for five seasons. In June 1880 she created a sensation in her debut at Covent Garden as Lucia in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. She became a great favorite in the characters of Zerlina, Don Giovanni; Susanna, The Marriage of Figaro; Konstanze, The Abduction from the Seraglio; Lady Harriet/Martha, Martha; and, of course, Lucia. She made her Met debut as Lucia in the company premiere of Lucia di Lammermoor on October 24, 1883, she was also the Met's first Elvira in I Puritani, Violetta in La Traviata, Amina in La Sonnambula, Gilda in Rigoletto, Marguerite in Les Huguenots and Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia.