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CHRISTINE NILSSON (Sjöabol near Växjö, Sweden, August 20, 1843 - Stockholm, 22 November 1921). Swedish Soprano Debut October 27, 1864, Théâtre-Lyrique. Debuted at l'Opéra de la salle Le Peletier on 09 March 1868 by creating Opehlia in HAMLET ,Sang in the premiere on 03 March 1869 Marguerite in Faust at the Palais Garnier. She sang LA LEGENDE DE SAINTE CECILE , oratorio by Benedict; ROBERT LE DIABLE (Alice). Meyerbeer

ENRICO CARUSO ( February 25, 1873 – August 2, 1921) Italian Tenor Stage debut March 15, 1895 at the Teatro Nuovo in Naples. L'Amico Francesco, by the amateur composer Domenico Morelli. He received instruction from the conductor and voice teacher Vincenzo Lombardi .Caruso's 25-year career, stretching from 1895 to 1920, included 863 appearances at the New York Metropolitan Opera sang at such venues as La Scala in Milan, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in London, the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, and the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, he was also the leading tenor of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City for 18 consecutive seasons. It was at the Met, in 1910, that he created the role of Dick Johnson in Giacomo Puccini's La fanciulla del West. Caruso's voice extended up to high C in its prime and grew in power and weight as he grew older. He sang a broad spectrum of roles, ranging from lyric, to spinto, to dramatic parts, in the Italian and French repertoires. In the German repertoire, Caruso sang only two roles, Assad (in Karl Goldmark's The Queen of Sheba) and Richard Wagner's Lohengrin, both of which he performed in Italian in Buenos Aires in 1899 and 1901, respectively

Frau Louise Thebb opera/actress

Elisa Frandin as Mignon 'Mignon" Thomas 1884 ELISA FRANDIN (Lison Frandin) (1854-1911) Finnish Soprano Studied at the Paris Conservatoire her main teacher was the famous bass Obin. In 1881 she made ​​her debut in Cairo as Mignon , Carmen , and Rosa Friquet of Dragoons of Villars , In 1882 she was engaged at the Opera-Comique in Paris, where she was the first performer of Malika in Lakme by Delibes. In November 1883 she sang in Italian at the Carcano in Milan as Mignon . She sang in Argentina in Rome, Naples , at the Regio of Parma, Trieste Harmony in 1884, where she brought for the first time Carmen , She was an interpreter of all the major lyrical scenes Navarraise Massenet's Cavalleria, Pagliacci, Amico Fritz, Martyr (Samara ) Herodias, Aida and Margherita of Mephistopheles . Left the stage at La Fenice in Venice in May 1897 with Boheme by Leoncavallo. Venice. She died in Milan January 24, 1911, where since 1906 she had opened a school of singing and performing art. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CAROLINA CEPEDA CASANOVA (1847-1910) Spanish Soprano One of the first Spanish sopranos to achieve renown in Europe, later worked as a professor at the Conservatory of Madrid . Performed several seasons at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona 1881-1882 season and was part of the company italina lyrical , at the same theater she was Prima donna soprano assoluta drammatica

ZELIE DE LUSSAN (21 December 1861 – 18 December 1949) American Soprano Zélie de Lussan was born in Brooklyn, New York, to French parents , her mother was a soprano ,training with her mother, de Lussan made her operatic début in 1884 in Boston, Massachusetts, as Arline in Balfe's The Bohemian Girl.Augustus Harris engaged her to appear in the first season under his management at Covent Garden, London, and as Carmen she made the part "peculiarly her own." In London her successes included Zerlina in Don Giovanni, and, in 1897, Musetta in London's first performances of La bohème. Her singing greatly impressed Queen Victoria, and she was more than once invited to sing at BaImoral and Windsor Castle In 1894 she made her début at the Metropolitan Opera as Carmen, and appeared there for three seasons in roles including Nannetta (Falstaff), Zerlina, and Nedda (Pagliacci). In 1910 she sang Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro in Thomas Beecham's Mozart season at His Majesty's Theatre .After her marriage in 1907 to the pianist Angelo Fronani she gradually retired, though she played Carmen as late as 1915

SYBIL SANDERSON (December 7, 1864 – May 16, 1903) American Soprano Born in Sacramento, California, in the United States. After her fathers death in 1886, she and her mother and sisters moved back to Paris and became transplanted socialites. Sanderson proved to be a remarkably gifted singer and began to appear on the stages of the Opéra-Comique, and later Opéra, in Paris, most notably in the works of Jules Massenet.She was his favorite soprano . Her professional debut took place in Paris in the title role in Esclarmonde). She created Esclarmonde by Massenet, on May 14, 1889 , Phryné by Saint-Saëns on May 24, 1893 and Thaïs by Massenet on March 16, 1894 . She was also a famous interpreter of Manon, Massenet's most enduring opera. She recreated the role of Manon. Sanderson was also admired by Camille Saint-Saëns, who wrote the title role in Phryné for her. Success outside of Paris was elusive for Sanderson; she appeared at Covent Garden and the Metropolitan Opera (debut in title role of Manon on January 16, 1895, the last performance as Juliette in Roméo et Juliette on December 31, 1901) .

SOFIA SCALCHI (November 29, 1850 – August 22, 1922) Italian Contralto/Mezzo Studied voice with Augusta Boccabadati. In 1866, she made her stage debut in Mantua as Ulrica in Giuseppe Verdi's " Un Ballo in Maschera ". At the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, on November 5, 1868, she made her London debut as Azucena in "Il trovatore," also by Verdi. She appeared with the Covent Garden company thereafter until 1890, performing most of the standard lower-pitched female operatic roles. These included Urbain, Amneris and Arsarce, among others. Meanwhile, in 1882-83, she toured the United States for the first time, singing on that occasion with Mapleson's company. She did, however, take part in a number of important American premieres, including those of Verdi's last two masterpieces, Otello and Falstaff. She appeared, too, in the initial American productions of Amilcare Ponchielli's La Gioconda and Umberto Giordano's Andrea Chénier.

Hortense Schneider as Duchess in "La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein " Offenbach (Creator role) HORTENSE CATHERINE SCHNEIDER, La Snédèr, (30 April 1833 – 6 May 1920) was a French soprano, one of the greatest operetta stars of the 19th century, particularly associated with the works of composer Jacques Offenbach. ]Born in Bordeaux, where she studied with Schaffner, she made her debut in Agen in 1853, as Inés in La favorite. She came to Paris and was turned down by the director of the Théâtre des Variétés but was noticed by Jacques Offenbach who invited her to the Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens, where she made her debut in 1855 in Le violoneux. She enjoyed immediate success and created for Offenbach the role of Boulotte in Barbe-bleue and the title roles in La belle Hélène, La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein and La Périchole, all resounding triumphs. She also appeared in London and Saint Petersburg, to great acclaim. An accomplished singer and actress, she was much admired for her brio and verve on stage, was the toast of the Second Empire and a favourite of royal visitors to Paris. La Snédèr was reputedly one of King Edward VII's mistresses (because of the favours which she liberally granted to the members of the nobility, she was known as Le Passage des Princes.). She retired in 1878, after her marriage, and died in Paris over forty years later at age 87.

MARIE SCHRODER (30 April 1848 - 5 September 1917), She was a pupil of Pauline Viardot-Garcia.In 1867 she made her debut at the Théâtre-Lyrique as Agathe in Von Weber’s “Der Freischütz”. She remained at the Théâtre-Lyrique until 1870 when the French-German War broke out. For a short period she went to the Breslau Opera and from 1871 she was engaged by the Stutgart Opera. She made very succesful guest appearances at Vienna, Budapest, Munich, Riga .She sang at the Metropolitan Opera as Marie Schröder-Hanfstängl during the 1884–85 and 1888–89 seasons. . In 1895 she became a teacher of singing at the Hoch Conservatory in the same city, where one of her students was Margarete Dessoff. She retired in 1897, and spent her final years in Munich.

Emma Eames as Elsa in " Lohengrin" Wagner EMMA EAMES (August 13, 1865 - June 13, 1952) American Soprano She attended school in Boston where she studied singing with Charles R. Adams.Later she took voice lessons in Paris with Mathilde Marchesi. Operatic debut in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette at the Paris at Palais Garnier, in 1889. She would perform the role of Juliette many other times during the next two years, while adding other leading French-opera parts to her repertoire. As early as November 1889, She left the company in 1891, Towards the end of 1891, Eames debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in her trademark part of Juliette, and she quickly became a favourite with Met audiences. She would perform regularly at the Met in a variety of operas until 1909, Eames also made a number of successful appearances at London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. She sang there intermittently from 1891 to 1901 and established herself as a genuine rival to Covent Garden's reigning diva, Nellie Melba she also sang in Madrid Monte Carlo Opera during the 1890s. In 1906, Eames visited San Francisco with a touring troupe of leading Met singers.Her farewell operatic performances was during the 1911-12 seasons with the Boston opera company. She then undertook a series of concert tours of the United States

EUGENE ETIENNE AUGUSTE MASSOL Jean-Étienne-Auguste Massol ) (23 August 1802 - 30 October 1887) French Tenor and later Baritone Trained at the Paris Conservatory under Charles-Henri Plantade. In 1825 made his stage debut as Licinius in Spontini's La vestale at the Paris Opera. He sang primarily secondary tenor roles until the late 1830s when he increasingly gravitated to baritone roles. In 1845 he went to Brussels where he sang leading baritone roles including the title role of Nabucco in its first performance at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie Sang in London with the Royal Italian Opera at Covent Garden. In 1850 he returned to the Paris Opera and remained there as a principal baritone until his retirement from the stage in 1858. Massol died in Paris at the age of 85. Created Lorenzo (tenor) in La muette de Portici, 1828 ,Second knight (tenor) in Le comte Ory 1828 ,Rodolphe (tenor) in Guillaume Tell, 1829 Herald (tenor) in Robert le diable, 1831 ,Christian (tenor) in Gustave III, 1833,First drinker (tenor) in La Juive, 1835,Cossé (tenor) in Les Huguenots, 1836,Quasimodo (tenor) in La Esmeralda, 1836 ,Michael (tenor) in Stradella, 1837 ,Fortebraccio (tenor) in Guido et Ginevra, 1838,Fieramosca (baritone) in Benvenuto Cellini, 1838 ,Sévère (baritone) in Les Martyrs, 1840 ,Bronzino (baritone) in Le comte de Carmagnola, 1841 ,Mocénigo (baritone) in La reine de Chypre, 1841 ,L'Inconnu (baritone?) in Le guérilléro, 1842 ,L'homme de la forêt du Mans (tenor) in Charles VI, 1843,Abayaldos (baritone) in Dom Sébastien, 1843,Ruben (baritone) in L'enfant prodigue, 1850 ,Ahasvérus (baritone) in Le Juif errant, 1852.

MINNIE HAUK (Amalia Mignon Hauck) (November 16, 1851 – February 6, 1929), American Soprano. In 1862, Hauk began vocal studies with Achille Errani, who secured her a spot with the operatic company of Max Maretzek. At age fourteen she made her debut in Brooklyn as Amina in La sonnambula, and a month later, in November, 1866, her New York City debut as Prascovia in L'étoile du nord. In the American premiere of Gounod's Roméo et Juliette (1867) she sang Juliette. Hauk sang at Covent Garden, London, on 26 October 1868, and debuted in Paris in 1869. The soprano then appeared in Italian and German opera at the Grand Opera in Vienna and other venues throughout Europe. Hauk was the first American Carmen (1878) and Manon (1885). Her voice became a mezzo-soprano of great strength and depth. Hauk's enormous repertory included approximately one hundred roles, and she sang Carmen in four languages.

Minnie Hauk as Manon in 'Manon" By Massenet MINNIE HAUK (Amalia Mignon Hauck) (November 16, 1851 – February 6, 1929), American Soprano. In 1862, Hauk began vocal studies with Achille Errani, who secured her a spot with the operatic company of Max Maretzek. At age fourteen she made her debut in Brooklyn as Amina in La sonnambula, and a month later, in November, 1866, her New York City debut as Prascovia in L'étoile du nord. In the American premiere of Gounod's Roméo et Juliette (1867) she sang Juliette. Hauk sang at Covent Garden, London, on 26 October 1868, and debuted in Paris in 1869. The soprano then appeared in Italian and German opera at the Grand Opera in Vienna and other venues throughout Europe. Hauk was the first American Carmen (1878) and Manon (1885). Her voice became a mezzo-soprano of great strength and depth. Hauk's enormous repertory included approximately one hundred roles, and she sang Carmen in four languages.

GUSTAV WALTER Gustav Walter (11 February 1834, Bílina, Bohemia - 31 January 1910, Vienna) was a Bohemian operatic tenor Debut in 1855 as Edgardo in Brunn. Sang leading roles for more than 30 years at the Vienna Staatsoper in Austria. He was a highly regarded interpreter of the vocal music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the lighter tenor roles composed by Richard Wagner. Walther also created the role of Assad in the world premiere of Karl Goldmark's Die Königin von Saba and performed in some Italian and French operas. After retiring from the stage in 1887, Walter toured Europe as a lauded recitalist of lieder, premiering numerous songs by Johannes Brahms and Antonín Dvořák. He became a celebrated pedagogue, teaching voice at the Vienna Conservatory for more than two decades.

ALBERT NIEMANN (15 January 1831 – 13 January 1917) German Tenor Niemann made a debut in Dessau in 1849, singing in minor roles and in chorus. He received training from Fritz Schneider (director of the ducal Hofkapell), from Albert Nusch and from Gilbert Duprez in Paris. Until 1866 he had various engagements in Stuttgart, Königsberg, Stettin, and from 1854 in Hannover. At Hannover he sang Tannhäuser (from 1854), Lohengrin (from 1855) and Rienzi (from 1859).In 1864, Niemann sang as guest in two performances of Tannhäuser at Munich, and in one of Lohengrin by the arrangement of Ludwig II, shortly before the death of King Maximilian II of Bavaria. Ludwig invited Niemann to repeat these roles in Munich in 1866, but war intervened: in the following year he was again invited, but declined, because the usual cuts were not to be made. In 1866, he became a member of the Berlin Opera, and remained so until 1888. In April 1870, he sang Walther in the Berlin Meistersinger premiere. As Tichatschek had grown old, and after Ludwig Schnorr's death in 1865, Niemann had become one of the most experienced and advanced Wagnerian tenors, In May 1872 he was in the quartet of soloists (with Johanna Jachmann-Wagner, Marie Lehmann and Franz Betz) in the inaugural performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at the foundation-stone laying of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, Niemann remained with the Berlin opera until 1888, but in the later years of his career he participated in several important tours. In 1882, he appeared as Siegmund in the first London Die Walküre, at Her Majesty's Theatre. In 1883, he was one of the twelve pall-bearers at Wagner's funeral at Wahnfried. From 1886 to 1888 he appeared at the Metropolitan Opera House, as the first American Tristan (December 1, 1886, Anton Seidl, conductor, Lilli Lehmann, Isolde, as Siegfried in the first American Götterdämmerung ( January 25, 1888, with Lilli Lehmann as Brünnhilde, and in Spontini's opera Fernando Cortez. In New York, he also sang Siegmund, John of Leyden in Le prophète, Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, Florestan (in Fidelio), and Eleazar in La juive. Angelo Neumann's touring company, in which Niemann took part under Seidl's conductorship, toured with the Ring through many towns of Germany, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Italy, Hungary, and AustriaAlbert Niemann died in Berlin, two days short of his 86th birthday.

ERNESTO NICCOLINI (Ernest Nicolas ) (February 23, 1834 - January 19, 1898) French Tenor Born in Saint Malo, France, he studied at the Paris Conservatory and made his debut in 1857, at the Opéra-Comique in Halevy's Les mousquetaires de la reine. After further study in Italy, he made his debut at La Scala in Milan in 1859, under the name Ernesto Nicolini, as Alfredo in La traviata, other roles there included Rodrigo in Rossini's Otello, and Elvino in Bellini's La sonnambula. On his return to France he sang at the Théâtre-Italien from 1862 until 1869. He made his debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in London in 1866, as Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, without great success due to the pronounced vibrato that marred his singing. Five years later he returned to London to sing in Faust and Robert le diable at Drury Lane, and from 1872 appeared every season at the Royal Opera House until 1884; his roles there included Pery in Il Guarany, Radames in Aida, and the title role in Lohengrin. He created the role of Celio at the premiere of Charles Lenepveu's Velléda in 1882. During the season 1874-75, he appeared in St Petersburg and Moscow, opposite the world-famous soprano Adelina Patti, whom he would partner in almost all her appearances thereafter, accompanying her on concert tours of the major western European capitals (Vienna, Milan, Venice, Brussels, Berlin and so on), as well on tours of the United States and South America. While together in Paris in 1886, singing in Faust at the Grand Opéra, the two created something of a scandal by getting married; Patti had divorced her first husband, the Marquis de Caux, shortly before her wedding to Nicolini. Nicolini appeared on stage for the last time at Drury Lane in 1897, as Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia. He died the following year in Pau, France.

BIANCA BIANCHI Bertha Schwarz, often known by her stage name Bianca Bianchi, was a coloratura soprano opera singer of the late 19th century.. Her greatest successes were at Vienna. Bertha Schwarz was born in Heidelberg, Germany, on 27 January 1855, the daughter of actors who worked at nearby Mannheim. As an opera singer, she was for many years a prominent member of the company of the Vienna Court Opera, where her fame was such that an asteroid discovered on 4 September 1880 was named 218 Bianca in her honour. Two years later Johann Strauss II was inspired by her to compose his Frühlingsstimmen waltz for orchestra and solo soprano voice, still familiar today. Although based in Vienna, Bianca Bianchi sometimes performed in other cities of the German and Austrian empires, notably Hamburg, Karlsruhe and Budapest. In 1894 she married the impresario Bernard Pollini, who had been her manager. She died in Salzburg on 16 February 1947.