OperaMania's photos

as father "Louise' Charpentier Henri Albers, (Johan Hendrik Albers) 1 February 1866 – 12 September 1926] Dutch later French Baritone Studied singing at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam .Debut in 1889 as Méphistophélès "Faust" by Gounod at Hollandsche Opera , He sang leading baritone roles in an international career that spanned 37 years and was a prominent singer at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels and the Opéra-Comique in Paris, which was his base from 1900 until his death. He also sang in 36 performances with the Metropolitan Opera company from 1898 to 1899.

Alfred Piccaver 1883-1958 British-American tenor Studied voice with S. Graham Nobbes, chief instructor of the Emma Willard Conservatory of Music and with Allan Lindsay, conductor of the Troy Conservatory of Music.In 1905 he enrolled at the Metropolitan School of Opera. Debut 1907 in Otto Nicolai's The Merry Wives of Windsor. at Deutsches Landes-Theater in Prague In the following three years, he sang in operas by Flotow, Verdi, Wagner, Mozart, Puccini and Gounod In 1910, he was invited to appear as a guest in Mattia Battistini’s touring company that was performing in Prague.he continued to sing with the Prague company for the remainder of his contract and it was not until 6 September 1912 that he gave his first performance with the Vienna State Opera as a permanent member.

as Werther in "Werther" Massenet Rene Lapelletrie 1884-1956 French Tenor Studied at the Geneva Conservatory with Leopold Ketten. Debut 1908 at the Théâtre Trianon-Lyrique in Paris toured the French provinces . Debut Opera Comique 1919 as Werther and remained until 1928.Guested Vienna, Cologne , Amsterdam Marseille, Nice, Toulouse and Montpellier. After the WW2 he appeared again at the Paris Opéra-Comique, in Buffo roles and till 1950 in Comprimario parts. Since 1941 worked at the conservatory.Roles ’Carmen’’, ‘’Manon’’, ‘’Le Roi d'Ys’’, ‘’Lakmé’’, ‘’Louise’’

LUCIEN MURATORE 1878-1954 French Tenor Studied at the Paris Music Conservatory, and made his operatic debut in 1902, at the Opéra-Comique opposite Emma Calve , creating the King in Reynaldo Hahn's La carmélite.Debut at La Monnaie in 1904, as Werther, and the following year at the Palais Garnier, as Renaud in Lully Created several Massenet operas such as Ariane and Bacchus, at the Opéra, and Roma, in Monte Carlo. He also took part in the creation of La Catalane by Le Borne, Monna Vanna by Henry Février, Déjanire by Camille Saint-Saëns, and Pénélope by Gabriel Fauré. He became principal French tenor with the Boston Opera Company, the Chicago Grand Opera Company (1913–1914), the Chicago Opera Association (1915–1921), and the Chicago Civic Opera (1922). He also appeared at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. Muratore retired from the stage in 1931. Returned to Paris and was made Director of Opera Comique

as Mignon 'Mignon" Thomas 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

Ben Williams 1893-1946 Welsh Tenor While working in the coal mines near Swansea, Ben Williams took singing lessons and, encouraged by his teacher, auditioned for the Carl Rosa Opera Company when they came to town. He was engaged as a chorister, soon progressed to small parts, got his first opportunity at a principal role filling in in The Daughter of the Regiment, and eventually became the Company's principal tenor. His first London appearance with Carl Rosa was as Henry in Tannhauser (Lyceum, May 1920), and he appeared often in the major London opera houses over the next nineteen years. Williams was engaged by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in June 1939 as a replacement for John Dudley. He appeared the following month as Nanki-Poo in The Mikado. During the 1939-40 season he shared Ralph Rackstraw in H.M.S. Pinafore, Nanki-Poo, Colonel Fairfax in The Yeomen of the Guard, and Marco in The Gondoliers with John Dean. For the 1940-41 season Williams was the full-time Defendant in Trial by Jury and Marco in The Gondoliers, and continued to split duty as Nanki-Poo with Dean. Williams left the D'Oyly Carte in August 1941.

as Girot "pre Aux Clercs" Herold Maurice Declery 1873-1957 French Baritone Debut in 1897 at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, where he remained till 1900. 1900 and 1901 guest at Covent Garden London, 1901 Metropolitan Opera in New York remained till 1903. ’. In 1903 he returned to Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, where he finished his career in 1923. Made guest performances in French theaters. Roles Germont in ‘’La Traviata’’, Ourrias in ‘’Mireille’’ Gounod, Lothario in ‘’Mignon’’ Thomas, Vézir in ‘’Marouf’’ . Rabaud, Lescaut in Massenet’s ‘’Manon’’, Francois in ‘’Le Chemineau’’Leroux .

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.

LILLI LEHMANN (Elisabeth Maria Lehmann) (24 November 1848-17 May 1929) German Soprano Her father, Karl-August Lehmann, was a singer (Heldentenor) while her mother, Maria Theresia Löw was a soprano. Her first lessons were from her mother, After singing small parts on the stage, for example in Mozart's Magic Flute at Prague in 1866, and studies under Heinrich Laube in Leipzig Lehmann made her proper debut in 1870 in Berlin as a light soprano in Meyerbeer's Das Feldlager in Schlesien. She subsequently became so successful that she was appointed an Imperial Chamber Singer for life in 1876.Sang in the first Bayreuth Festival in 1876 , New York Metropolitan Opera in 1885–1899 .London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 1899 and sang in Paris and Vienna in 1903 and 1909 respectively. In 1905, she sang at the Salzburg Festival,

as Scarpia "Tosca" Puccini Jorgen Bendix 1892-1972 Danish Baritone

Blanche Marchesi 1863-1940 French Mezzo Soprano Daughter and pupil of Mathilde Marchesi, a German mezzo-soprano who became a teacher of legendary stature, based in Paris, and mentor to Nellie Melba, Mary Garden and a host of other famous names. Blanche's debut, at an advanced age, came in 1900, as Brünnhilde in Prague. In Britain she worked for a time with the Moody-Manners company, singing the title-role in the 1903 Scottish premiere of La gioconda. Her concert career was also extensive. She later lived and taught in London.

as Theseus in Jean-Philippe Rameau 's Hippolyte et Aricie Jean-Francois Delmas 1861-1933 French Bass Studied with Bussine and Odin in Paris.Debut at the Opera in 1886 . Capulet in Romeo and Juliett when premiered at the Opera in 1888.Sang baritone and bass roles Mephistopheles, Wotan , Iago Bluebeard , Marco , Hans Sachs

Alexander Kirchner (Alexander Schramek) 1880 –1948 Austrian Tenor Studied with Adolf Robinson in Brno and Amalie Materna in Vienna. Debut in 1909 at the Vienna Court Opera as Des Grieux in ''Manon'' Massenet. 1911-12 Royal Opera in Stockholm, 1913-14 German Opera House in Berlin, Bayreuth Festival of 1914 and also in 1914 appeared in the premiere of the opera ''Mandragola'' Waghalter. 1916 in the première of the second version of the opera''Ariadne auf Naxos' Strauss in the role of the Bacchus. He gave guest performances in London, Holland, Switzerland, Paris and Vienna. Roles Included Don José in ''Carmen'', Manrico in ''Trovatore'' and Tamino in the ''Magic flute''. .

as Violetta 'La Traviata" Verdi Dame NELLIE MELBA GBE (Helen Porter Mitchell) (19 May 1861 – 23 February 1931), Australian Soprano Melba was taught to play the piano and first sang in public around age six.She was educated at a local boarding school and then at the Presbyterian Ladies' College. She studied singing with Mary Ellen Christian (a former pupil of Manuel García) and Pietro Cecchi, an Italian tenor, who was a respected teacher in Melbourne. In her teens, Melba continued to perform in amateur concerts in and around Melbourne, and she played the organ at church. Making her professional debut in Melbourne concerts in 1884. On the strength of local success, she travelled to London in search of an opportunity.Her debut at the Princes' Hall in 1886 made little impression, and she sought work unsuccessfully from Sir Arthur Sullivan, Carl Rosa and Augustus Harris.She then went to Paris to study with the leading teacher Mathilde Marchesi, who instantly recognised the young singer's potential: Melba made such rapid progress that she was allowed to sing the "Mad Scene" from Ambroise Thomas's Hamlet at a matinée musicale in Marchesi's house in December the same year, in the presence of the composer.Her talent was so evident that, after less than a year with Marchesi, the impresario Maurice Strakosch gave her a ten-year contract at 1000 francs annually. After she had signed, she received a far better offer of 3000 francs per month from the Théâtre de la Monnaie, Brussels, but Strakosch would not release her and obtained an injunction preventing her from performing .The matter was resolved by Strakosch's sudden death.She made her operatic debut four days later as Gilda in Rigoletto at La Monnaie on 12 October 1887.. It was at this time, on Marchesi's advice, that she adopted the stage name of "Melba", a contraction of the name of her home city.Her Covent Garden début in May 1888, in the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor. She received a friendly but not excited reception The following year, she performed at the Opéra in Paris, in the role of Ophélie in Hamlet; She travelled across Europe to St Petersburg to sing for Tsar Nicholas II: and sang in Paris, Brussels, Vienna , Milan, and Berlin Melba sang the role of Nedda in Pagliacci at Covent Garden in 1893, soon after its Italian premiere. The composer was present, and said that the role had never been so well played before.[19] In December of that year, Melba sang at the Metropolitan Opera in New York for the first time. As at her Covent Garden debut, she appeared as Lucia di Lammermoor, Her Roles included mostly in the lyric soprano repertoire, but with some heavier roles also. She sang the title roles in Herman Bemberg's Elaine and Arthur Goring Thomas's Esmeralda. Her Italian parts included Gilda in Rigoletto, the title role in Aida Desdemona in Otello, Luisa in Mascagni's I Rantzau, Nedda in Pagliacci, Rosina in The Barber of Seville, Violetta in La traviata, and Mimi in La bohème. In the French repertoire, she sang Juliette in Roméo et Juliette, Marguerite in Faust, Marguerite de Valois in Les Huguenots, the title role in Saint-Saëns's Hélène, which was written for her, and Micaëla in Carmen.

Goro in ‘’Madama Butterfly’’ Puccini CREATOR La Scala Milan 17/2/1904 Gaetano Pini-Corsi 1860-1935 Italian Tenor debuted probably in 1881 in Empoli as Ernesto in ‘’Don Pasquale’’ of Donizetti. In 1886 at the Teatro Comunale in Catania he appeared as Elvino in Bellini’s ‘’La Sonnambula’’. Later he specialized in comprimario roles and was known as a Mime, David and Cassio. From 1892 to 1906 Pini-Corsi appeared frequently as a guest at La Scala. In 1899 he sang there as David in ‘’Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg’’ and also created the role of Mime in the Italian première of ‘’Siegfried’’. On 17. 2. 1904 he sang the role of Goro at La Scala in the premiere of Puccini’s ‘’Madame Butterfly’’, In 1907 he took part at the Teatro Comunale in Bologna in the premiere of I. Montemezzi’s ‘’Paolo e Francesca’’. In 1912 he appeared at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. Still in 1923 he performed at the Teatro Regio in Parma as Goro in ‘’Madama Butterfly’’ and sang at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo as Mime in ‘’Siegfried’’. (bio information from forgotten opera singers.)

Maria De Macchi 1870-1909 Italian Soprano Studied with Boccabadati in Milan.Debut 1889 Teatro Grand as a Mezzo singing Laura in 'La Gioconda". Appeared throughout Italy and toured Russia, Portugal and Spain .Guest performances Prague, Bucharest, Berlin in 1904 she made guest appearance at the Metropolitan opera in New York; . . 1902 she appeared at the Teatro Verdi in Vicenza in the premiere of the opera ‘’'Cecilia’’ Orefice. Roles ‘’Lucrezia Borgia’’ of Donizetti ‘’Gli Ugonotti’’, ‘’Aida’’ and ‘’Cavalleria rusticana’’. In 1909 she appeared for the last time at the Teatro Lirico in Milan as Carmen in Bizet’s ‘’Carmen’’.

Alice Esty 1864 – 1935 American soprano Toured United States with the violinist Camilla Urso.Went to England 1891, and performed with the singer Adelina Patti at the Royal Albert Hall and then joined the Carl Rosa Opera Company, Besides touring with the Carl Rosa company through the 1890s, she had numerous concert engagements around the United Kingdom, singing with the Royal Choral Society, the Philharmonic Society, and other groups. She continued singing into the 1910s, working with the Moody-Manners Opera Company as well as the Carl Rosa company.Around 1920 she began teaching in the Carl Rosa Opera Company's newly formed opera school. Roles include Mimi in the first British staging of Giacomo Puccini's opera La Bohème (1897), Eva in the British premiere of Richard Wagner's opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and Effie Deans in the premiere of Hamish MacCunn's opera Jeanie Deans. She also sang in Charles Gounod's Faust, Georges Bizet's Carmen, Wagner's Lohengrin and Tannhäuser, and several other operas.

as Biju "Le Postillon de Lonjumeau" by Adam Hippolyte-Adolphe Belhomme 1854 - 1923 French bass or bass-baritone Studied with Boulanger and Ponchard at the Paris Conservatoire. Debut as Baskir in “Lalla-Roukh” at the Opéra-Comique in 1879 .Sang much of the repertoire for the basses chantantes at the Opéra-Comique up to June 1886 and then again from 1891 to 1916, He also spent time at the opera houses of Lyon , Marseille and Brussels . He created at the Opera Comique Mathurin in “Monsieur de Floridor” by Lajarte 1880, Crespel in “Les contes d'Hoffmann” ny Offenbach 1881,Cordier in “ Les fugitives” by Fijin 1899,Tripalarga in “ La jota” by Laparra 1911 ,Le bohême in ‘ Louis” by Charpentier 1900, Le sonneur in “Marchande d’allumettes” , Hémistikos in “La Marriage de Télémaque “ by Terrass 1910,père Vincent in “ Noel” by Erlanger 1910,Landry in “ On ne badine pas avec l’amour” by Pierne 1910,Albornas in”La sorcière” by Erlanger1912,Le précepteur in “Le voile de bonheur” ny Pons 1911,Un ainé in “Léone” by Rousseau 1910. Roles Carmen (Escamillo and Dancaïre), Cendrillon (Pandolphe), La fille du régiment (Sulpice),Madama Butterfly (the Bonze), Mignon (Lothario), Tosca (Sacristan) and Werther (Le bailli)