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CARL MAYERHOFER (1828-1913) Austrian Bass He trained with Manuel Garcia jr.in London. He first appeared as a soloist in oratorios, He received an engagement at the court theater of Weimar, which was at that time led by Franz Liszt. In 1854 he was appointed at Vienna Court opera as Don Giovanni and as Rocco in "Fidelio" Here he performed buffo roles because of his large bass voice and his masterful acting talent . His repertoire was very versatile and culminated in roles such as Leporello in "Don Giovanni", the Masetto in the same opera, Figaro in "The Marriage of Figaro", the speaker in "The Magic Flute" the Lord Cockburn in "Fra Diavolo" by Auber , the Bartolo in "Barber of Seville" (his big starring role), the title role in Donizetti's "Don Pasquale", the Lord flood in "The Merry Wives of Windsor" by Nicolai, the in "Fidelio", the Frère Laurent in "Rocco Roméo et Juliette "by Gounod, but he also sang Wagner roles such as Daland in" The Flying Dutchman ", the Landgrave in" Tannhäuser "and the Pogner in the" Meistersinger ". On 11.19.1886 he was in the world premiere of the opera "Merlin" by Karl Goldmark, on 16.02.1892 in the world premiere of Massenet's "Werther", which took place under the direction of the composer in Vienna, . In 1899 he sang at the Court Opera in the premiere of the opera "The Three Pintos" by Carl Maria von Weber .Guest performances and concerts brought him in London had the same success as in Vienna. When Richard Wagner conducted concerts of his music in 1863 at the Vienna Theater an der Wien, he sang as a soloist with the speech of the Pogner from "Die Meistersinger". In 1895 he resigned from his over 40-year career at the Vienna Court Opera, to which he was appointed honorary member.

as Siegfried 'Der Ring des Nibelungen" Wagner Wilhelm Gruning 1858-1942 German Tenor Studied in Berlin with Julius Stern and Jenny Meyer .Debut 1881 at the Stadttheater in Gdansk . 1883-1885 the Opernhaus in Dusseldorf, 1885-1887 Deutschen Theater in Rotterdam. 1888 to 1895 Hoftheater in Hannover, 1895-1898 Stadttheater in Hamburg. 1898-1911 Hofoper in Berlin, .1891 to 1897 at the Bayreuth festival as Parsifal, Tannhäuser, Siegfried and Walther von Stolzing in ‘’Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg’’. Created title role in ‘’Rienzi’’ by Wagner . 1899 at the Berlin Hofoper in the premiere of the (posthumous) operas ‘’Briseïs’’ of E. Chabrier, ‘’Cain’’ (1900) by E. d'Albert, ‘’Samson et Dalila’’ (1901) of C. Saint-Saëns, ‘’Der Pfeifertag’’ (1902) by M. von Schillings (after premiere in 1899 at the Hoftheater in Schwerin). He appeared as Faust in C. Gounod’s ‘’Faust’’ . 1901. On 13. 12. 1904 he sang at the Berlin Hofoper in the unsuccessful premiere of the opera ‘’Der Roland von Berlin’’ by Leoncavallo. 21. 3. 1899 he sang also in the premiere of A. Lortzing’s opera ‘’Regina’’ He made guest appearances in London and Amsterdam and in the 1895-1896 season sang with the Damrosch Opera Company in the USA. Retired about 1911 and was active in Berlin as vocal teacher

as Ange Piton in "la Fille de Mme Angot" by Lecocq

as Norma in "Norma" by Bellini Luise Garay-Lichtmay (1835-?); Bohemian soprano. Studied with Otto Uffmann in Vienna ,In 1856 she made her debut as Lucrezia Borgia at the Stadttheater at Olmütz. In the following years she was engaged at Graz (1858/59), Prague (1859/60) and Hamburg (1860/61). From 1861/63 she was engaged at the “Wiener Hofoper” at Vienna and the season 1863/64 she performed at the “Deutsche Theater” in Rotterdam. She then devoted herself to French opera and made extended tours through Belgium and France. From 1865/71 she was engaged at Breslau, Wiebaden and again Hamburg. She then left Europe and made a very successful second career in the USA. In 1871 she performed the rôle of Elsa in the first American performance of Lohengrin. Her most memorable rôles were Norma , Donna Anna in “Don Giovanni”, Elvira in “Ernani”, Rachel in “La Juive” and Bertha in “Le Prophet”.

As Marthe in "Faust" by Gounod .Karoline von Gompertz-Bettelheim (1845-1925); Hungarian mezzo-soprano/contralto Studied pianoforte with Karl Goldmark, and singing with Moritz Laufer. At the age of 14, she made her début as a pianist, and two years later appeared for the first time in opera at Vienna. She eventually obtained a permanent engagement at the Royal Opera in that city. In 1861 she made her debut as Priestess in Gluck’s “Iphigenie auf Tauris” at Vienna. She was one of the leading singers at the Vienna “Hofoper” but she had a very short career. In 1867 she married businessman Julius Ritter von Gompertz and retired from the stage. She continued singing at concerts in London, Frankfurt a.M., Leipzig, Aachen and Vienna. She was a famous interpretor of the “Lieder” of Johannes Brahms.

as Lohengrin in "Lohengrin" by Wagner ALOIS ANDER ( Aloys Anderle ) (b. August 10 1821 in Libitz at the Doubrawa , Bohemia , d. 11 December 1864 in Wartenberg ) Austrian Tenor Alois Ander in 1845 through the mediation of the singer Franz Wild at the Vienna Court Opera he was engaged,in the role of Alessandro Stradella in ( Flotow's opera of the same), He has since been a favorite with audiences in Vienna and remained faithful despite alluring engagement requests that were sent to him as a result of his concert tours. One of his last major roles was the Franz Grove in the world premiere of Jacques Offenbach's The Rheinnixen on 4 February 1864, Richard Wagner's hope that his first Tristan were taken from Offenbach's work. He died in the bathroom at Wartenberg due to a mental disorder. His singing was characterized by less heroic force and sharp pattern of expression than poetry, intimacy and artistic seriousness from which his dramatic designs lent a peculiar charm.

as Mignon "Mignon" Thomas Maria Gay (Maria de Lourdes Lucia Antonia Pichot Gironés) 1879-1943 Catalan Mezzo Soprano She was a singing pupil of soprano Ada Adini. Debut 1902 in the title role of Carmen in Brussels. 1906, Debut at Milan's La Scala,where she met tenor Giovanni Zenatello. Gay and Zenatello would live together the rest of their lives,1908, she made her debut in Carmen for the Met in New York City opposite Geraldine Farrar as Micaela. In 1910 she performed the same role with the Boston Opera Company as Carmen. Gay and Zenatello worked to find, help train, and promote promising young singers

Malvaut FrenchTenor Début 5 June 1882 as de Cosse "LES HUGUENOTS" , Roles Included "L'AFRICAINE" (Huissier), "HAMLET"(Polonius, Fossoyeur), "ROBERT LE DIABLE" (Chevalier), "LE COMTE ORY "(Chevalier) 1883 ; "SAPHO" (Héraut), "LE PROPHÈTE" (Officier) 1884 ; "LA JUIVE" (Officier, Homme du people) 1886. Created at Théâtre de l'Opéra (Palais Garnier) le 05 march 1883 " HENRY VIII"(Gartner), Théâtre de l'Opéra (Palais Garnier) le 30 january 1888 "LA DAME DE MONSOREAU" (Lahurier).

Fiorello Giraud 1870-1928 Italian Tenor Studied singing with Barbacini at the Parma Conservatory. He made his Debut in December 1891 at the Teatro Civico in Vercelli as Lohengrin. The following year he sang Canio in the world premiere of Pagliacci at the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan, Sang Wagnerian roles such as Tristan in Tristan und Isolde, Walther in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and Siegfried in the first performance of Götterdämmerung at La Scala. After he retired from the stage, he taught singing in Parma where he died in 1928 at the age of 57.

as Marguerite "Faust" Gounod BERTHA EHNN (1847-1932) Austrian Soprano Studied at the Vienna Conservatory as a student of Marie Andriessen of Lingke Debut in 1864 in Linz (Danube) as Nancy in Flotow's 'Martha' and as Irene in 'Belisario' by Donizetti . In 1864-65 she was engaged at the Theater of Graz. In 1865 she was at the Court Theatre of Hanover and also at the Municipal Theatre of Nuremberg. In 1865 she created for Nuremberg Selika in the local premiere of Meyerbeer's "Africaine '. 1866 she performed at the Court Theatre of Darmstadt as Marguerite in 'Faust' by Gounod, as Agathe in the 'Freischütz' and again as Selika; . 1866-68 she was a member of the Stuttgart Court Opera. Highlights in her stage repertoire included roles such as Cherubino and later the Countess in 'The Marriage of Figaro', Pamina in the Magic Flute, Agathe in the 'Freischütz', the title character in 'Euryanthe' by Weber, the Orsini in 'Lucrezia Borgia' by Donizetti, Leonore in 'La Favorita' by the same composer, Rachel in La Juive 'of Halévy and the Giulia in' I Capuleti ed I Montecchi "by Bellini.

as Elizabeth in "Tannhauser" by Wagner Rosa Sucher February 23, 1849 - April 16, 1927 German Soprano Her debut occurred in Munich in 1871 as Waltraute in Die Walkure and engagements followed in Berlin and Leipzig. She married Josef Sucher (1844-1908), a well-known conductor and composer in 1876, when he was conductor at the Leipzig city theatre. Sucher soon became famous for her interpretations of Wagner’s operatic roles, with her seasons in London in 1882 and 1892 proving her great capacity both as singer and actress. In 1886 and 1888, she sang at Germany's Bayreuth, and in later years she was principally associated with the opera stage in Berlin, retiring in 1903.. Her other roles included Agathe, Euryanthe, Elsa, Eva, Brünnhilde, Kundry, and Desdemona in Otello

Don Alvaro in "La forza del destino" by Verdi Giovanni Battista de Negri (30 July 1851 – 3 April 1924) Italian tenor Studied with Carlo Guasco and in Milan with Luigia Abbadia. He made his debut on 26 December 1876 at the Teatro Sociale in Bergamo in Filippo Sangiorgi's opera" Diana di Chaverny".In 1878 he was contracted by the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb . in 1882 he returned to Italy,and appeared leading opera houses appearing in leading tenor roles at the Teatro San Carlo in La traviata and Lucrezia Borgia; at La Fenice in Le prophète, La Gioconda; at the Teatro Regio di Torino in Il duca d'Alba and La Juive; and at La Scala in Simon Boccanegra. He returned to the Teatro Regio in the 1887–88 season where he scored a considerable triumph in Verdi's Otello. It was to become one of his signature roles At La Scala in the 1891–92 season and also made his role debut in Tannhäuser during the same season there. In 1895, he returned to La Scala to sing the title role of Mascagni's Guglielmo Ratcliff in its world premiere.He retired in 1898 ,his final performances were in the title roles of Tannhäuser and Samson et Dalila at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste after which he taught singing in Turin

as Arnold "William Tell" ALFONSO GARULLI (1856 – 1915) Italian Tenor At first a bank employee, he was for a short time a student of A. Busi at liceo musicale. He initially devoted himself to operetta and in 1877 made his debut in Milan in a short part in La fille de madame Angot by Lecocq, then becoming part of various companies. Debut as a lyric tenor April 1882 in Ravenna, in the theater Alighieri, as Rambaldo in "Roberto il diavolol " by. Meyerbeer. In the teatro Sociale Treviso he was a supporting actor until the autumn of 1882, when he played Alfredo in the Verdi 's "La Traviata" . In 1884 he was Don José in the "Carmen" by Bizet at the Manzoni theater in Milan; soon after he was invited to the Rossetti theater in Trieste for "Mignon " by Thomas. In January 1885 Don Jose " Carmen" at the S. Carlo in Naples, Between 1886 and 1890 he sang at the Pagliano theater in Florence, and at the Covent Garden in London (1885 and 1887), at the Teatro Argentina in Rome (1886), at the Krolloper in Berlin, at the Liceo in Barcelona (1887), his repertoire also La Favorita" by Donizetti, " Lohengrin" Wagner. 8 Jan. 1887, at La Scala, he sang Valdo in " Flora mirabilis " by. Samara, and on April 9 of the same year Nadir "I pescatori di perle " by Bizet. At the Carcano theater in Milan, Mignon by . Thomas, and in the first Italian representation of "Mirella " by Gounod. December 1890 he sang for the first time in "Cavalleria rusticana" by. Mascagni, at the Ristori theater in Verona, (1892-97) Canio in " I pagliacci " by Leoncavallo, Sang at the Malibran theatre Venice, the Theater of the Vienna Exposition, the Dal Verme of Milan, the Pergola of Florence, the Warsaw Opera (1893) and the Real of Madrid (1897). At that time included in the repertoire also the Manon by Massenet,as Des Grieux (Rome, Costanzi theater, April 21, 1894); then the "Werther ", by Massenet (Trieste, Teatro Comunale, 7 March 1896). He performed again at La Scala in January 1896 in "Samson et d Dalila" by. Saint-Saëns,, and in "La Navarrese"m by Massenet. From 1897 to 1907, G. alternated periods of activity with periods of absence from the scene due to a throat disease. In these years he appeared in the theaters of Lisbon, Madrid, Florence, London, Bologna, in secondary roles. The final farewell from the public was in January of 1907 with Werther by Massenet at the theater Course of Bologna. From 1907 he settled in Trieste, where he opened a singing school. At the outbreak of the First World War he had to leave Trieste and, increasingly ill, retired to his hometown of Bologna, where he died on May 28, 1915.

as "Mignon" By Thomas Leontine Mendes 1852-???? French mezzo-soprano On January 16, 1876, Claude Debussy participated for the first time in a public concert at Chauny (Aisne), organized by the Fanfare des Manufactures de Glaces; he accompanied Léontine Mendès, then a student of Mme Viardot and Ponchard at the Paris Conservatoire, in a program composed of excerpts from operas (an air of the Jewess of Halévy, an air of Mignond'Ambroise Thomas) and instrumental pieces. Mendès obtained at the Conservatoire a second singing acclaim and a second prize in comic opera in 1876, then a first singing acclaim and a first prize in comic opera in 1877. Engaged at the Opéra-Comique then at the Opera, she left this theater to sing in Marseilles, Rouen, Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Belgium, Holland, Greece, and so on. She left the theater in 1892 to devote herself to teaching in Paris.

Autograph on reverse of Carmen Photo

as "Carmen" By Bizet Leontine Mendes 1852-???? French mezzo-soprano On January 16, 1876, Claude Debussy participated for the first time in a public concert at Chauny (Aisne), organized by the Fanfare des Manufactures de Glaces; he accompanied Léontine Mendès, then a student of Mme Viardot and Ponchard at the Paris Conservatoire, in a program composed of excerpts from operas (an air of the Jewess of Halévy, an air of Mignond'Ambroise Thomas) and instrumental pieces. Mendès obtained at the Conservatoire a second singing acclaim and a second prize in comic opera in 1876, then a first singing acclaim and a first prize in comic opera in 1877. Engaged at the Opéra-Comique then at the Opera, she left this theater to sing in Marseilles, Rouen, Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Belgium, Holland, Greece, and so on. She left the theater in 1892 to devote herself to teaching in Paris.

as Rance in "La fanciulla del West" by Puccini Dinh Gilly (19 July 1877 – 19 May 1940) French-Algerian baritone He studied in Toulouse, Rome (with Antonio Cotogni), and at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he won a first prize in 1902. That same year he made his debut at the Paris Opera as Silvio in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci. In 1908 he left the Paris Opera and from 1909 to 1914 he performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. He also sang at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and later taught in London. During this period he also headlined on fourteen occasions at the Royal Albert Hall, London His students there included Dennis Noble and John Brownlee. On 4 January 1925, he opened the 'Dinh Gilly School of Singing' at Brinsmead Studios,