Bialystok-Stavenuiter's photos

Marie Desclauzas, born Malvina-Ernestine Armand (1840-1912); French soprano. She created the role of Mademoiselle Lange in Charles Lecocq’s “La fille de Madame Angot” (1872); La belle cousine in Hervé’s “Alice de Nevers” (1875) and Diane de Chateau-Lansac in Lecocq’s “Le petit Duc” (1878). On the photo she is seen as Mademoiselle Lange in "La fille de Madame Angot" by Charles Lecocq.

Pauline Lauters-Gueymard (1834-1908); Belgian (mezzo)soprano who sang various premières. The most known are Blanche in Halévy's "La Magicienne", Massé's "La mule de Pedro" (1863), Balkis in Gounod's "La reine de Saba" (1862), Eboli in Verdi's "Don Carlos" (1867) and Queen Getrude in Ambroise Thomas' "Hamlet" 1868).

Pauline Lauters-Gueymard (1834-1908); Belgian (mezzo)soprano who sang various premières. The most known are Blanche in Halévy's "La Magicienne", Massé's "La mule de Pedro" (1863), Balkis in Gounod's "La reine de Saba" (1862), Eboli in Verdi's "Don Carlos" (1867) and Queen Getrude in Ambroise Thomas' "Hamlet" 1868). On the photo she is seen as Laura Salviati in Prince Joseph Poniatowski's opera "Pierre de Médicis". She created this role at the première by the Paris-Opéra on 9 March 1860.

Elvira Repetto-Trisolini (1849-1922); Italian soprano. She began her career at the beginning of the 1870's and very rapidly reached an international level of guest appearances. In 1873 she appeared in London at Covent Garden, in 1878 in Buenos Aires at the Teatro Colon and in the 1880's at numerous major opera houses (1881/Vienna, 1885 Milan. 1885 and 1888 Buenos Aires, 1886 St. Petersburg, 1887 Monte Carlo and 1890 Milan). She made tours through Spain, France, Italy and Portugal. Her most memorable roles were Mathilde in Guillaume Tell, Amina in La Sonnambula, Leonore in Il Trovatore, Linda in Linda di Chamounix, Rosina in Il Barbieri di Siviglia and Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor. Her sister Vittoria Repetto was a successful mezzo-soprano.

Marietta Alboni (1826-1894); Italian contralto and one of the most famous and celebrated singers of the 19th century. In 1842 she made her debut at Bologna as Climene in Pacini’s "Saffo", and that same year she achieved a notable success in Rossini’s "Le siège de Corinthe" at La Scala in Milan. In the following years she toured Austria, Germany, eastern Europe and Russia. In 1847 she made a sensational London debut at Covent Garden as Arsace in Rossini’s "Semiramide". In 1852/53 she toured Spain and the United States to great acclaim. She married, settled in Paris and left the stage officially in 1863. She continued giving occasional concerts and she sang at Rossini's funeral in 1868. Because of her worsening obesity she made her final appearance in 1872.

Marietta Alboni (1826-1894); Italian contralto and one of the most famous and celebrated singers of the 19th century. In 1842 she made her debut at Bologna as Climene in Pacini’s "Saffo", and that same year she achieved a notable success in Rossini’s "Le siège de Corinthe" at La Scala in Milan. In the following years she toured Austria, Germany, eastern Europe and Russia. In 1847 she made a sensational London debut at Covent Garden as Arsace in Rossini’s "Semiramide". In 1852/53 she toured Spain and the United States to great acclaim. She married, settled in Paris and left the stage officially in 1863. She continued giving occasional concerts and she sang at Rossini's funeral in 1868. Because of her worsening obesity she made her final appearance in 1872.

Constance-Caroline (Faure) Lefebvre (1828-1905); French soprano who made her debut in 1849 at the Opéra-Comique as Carlo Broschi in Auber's "La Part du Diable". In 1859 she married the baritone Jean-Baptiste Faure. She sang at various premières: Massé's "La chanteuse violée" (1850), Ambroise Thomas' "Le songe d'une nuit d'été" (1850), the role of Prascovia in Meyerbeer's "L'étoile du nord" (1854), Ambroise Thomas' "Psyche" (1857), the role of Rita in Donizetti's eponymous opera together with her husband Jean-Baptiste Faure in the role of Bortolo (1860) and the (double) role of Taven and Andreloun in Gounod's "Mireille" (1864).

Constance-Caroline (Faure) Lefebvre (1828-1905); French soprano. The dedication is made to Juliette Chelli* and reads as follows: à ma chère Juliette Chelli souvenir bien affectueux de Caroline Faure novembre 1867 *Juliette Chelli was an opera singer and the wife of the French tenor Jean-Jacques Boulo (1820-1887).

Marie Caroline Miolan-Carvalho, born Marie Caroline Félix-Miolan (1827-1895); French soprano who sang in various premières. The best known are in opera's by Charles Gounod: Marguerite in "Faust" (1859), Baucis in "Philemon et Baucis" (1860) , Sylvie in "La colombe" (1860), the title-role in "Mireille" (1864) and Juliette in "Roméo et Juliette"(1867). She studied singing at the Conservatoire National de Paris where she was a pupil of the famous tenor Gilbert Duprez. In 1849 she made her debut at the Opéra in Brest as Isabella in Meyerbeer's "Robert le Diable". In that same year she was engaged in Paris at the Opéra-Comique where she debuted very successfully in the title role of "Lucia di Lammermoor". Here she remained until 1855. In 1853, she married Léon Carvalho, a French impresario and director of the Théâtre-Lyrique. After their marriage, she began to use the name Caroline Carvalho instead of Marie Miolan and became the prima donna at the Théâtre-Lyrique from 1856 to 1867. From 1868 until her retirement from the stage in 1885 she performed at the Opéra-Comique and at the Grand Opéra Paris. She made international guest appearances at London, Berlin, Brussels and St. Petersburg. On the photo she is seen as Mireille, the role she created in 1864.

Marie Caroline Miolan-Carvalho, born Marie Caroline Félix-Miolan (1827-1895); French soprano who sang in various premières. The best known are in opera's by Charles Gounod: Marguerite in "Faust" (1859), Baucis in "Philemon et Baucis" (1860) , Sylvie in "La colombe" (1860), the title-role in "Mireille" (1864) and Juliette in "Roméo et Juliette"(1867). She studied singing at the Conservatoire National de Paris where she was a pupil of the famous tenor Gilbert Duprez. In 1849 she made her debut at the Opéra in Brest as Isabella in Meyerbeer's "Robert le Diable". In that same year she was engaged in Paris at the Opéra-Comique where she debuted very successfully in the title role of "Lucia di Lammermoor". Here she remained until 1855. In 1853, she married Léon Carvalho, a French impresario and director of the Théâtre-Lyrique. After their marriage, she began to use the name Caroline Carvalho instead of Marie Miolan and became the prima donna at the Théâtre-Lyrique from 1856 to 1867. From 1868 until her retirement from the stage in 1885 she performed at the Opéra-Comique and at the Grand Opéra Paris. She made international guest appearances at London, Berlin, Brussels and St. Petersburg. On the photo she is seen as Marguerite in Gounod's “Faust”.

Constance-Caroline (Faure) Lefebvre (1828-1905); French soprano. A letter (with the imprinted initials "C L") written and signed by Caroline Lefebvre in which she announces she is going to make her debut at the Opéra-Comique in Auber's "La Part du Diable". On 12 October 1849 she made her debut performing the role of Carlo Broschi, which makes it possible dating this letter. The text reads as follows: Chère Madame "Voilà une bien grand nouvelle. Je suis engagée et je débute vendredi à l'Opéra Comique. J'espère Madame que vous aurez quelqu'intérêt à venir voir votre ancienne élève qui sera bien heureuse et bien encouragée de vous savoir parmi ses auditeurs. Vendredi je vous enverrai deux places, il m'est impossible et à mon grand regret de vous en envoyer plus. J'espère Madame que vous voudrez bien les accepter. Je suis engagée déjà depuis plusieurs semaines mais n'étant pas sûre de l'époque de mes débuts je n'ai pu vous en faire part qu'au dernier moment. La Part du Diable est mon rôle de début. Adieu, Madame. Je vous embrasse de cœur et compte sur vous vendredi. Je ne vous verrai pas mais je vous saurai là. Votre dévouée et affectionnée élève C. Lefebvre Mille choses aimables de ma part à ces messieurs et embrassez pour moi enna et Georgette

Constance-Caroline (Faure) Lefebvre (1828-1905); French soprano. A letter (with the imprinted initials "C L") written and signed by Caroline Lefebvre in which she announces she is going to make her debut at the Opéra-Comique in Auber's "La Part du Diable". On 12 October 1849 she made her debut performing the role of Carlo Broschi, which makes it possible dating this letter. The text reads as follows: Chère Madame "Voilà une bien grand nouvelle. Je suis engagée et je débute vendredi à l'Opéra Comique. J'espère Madame que vous aurez quelqu'intérêt à venir voir votre ancienne élève qui sera bien heureuse et bien encouragée de vous savoir parmi ses auditeurs. Vendredi je vous enverrai deux places, il m'est impossible et à mon grand regret de vous en envoyer plus. J'espère Madame que vous voudrez bien les accepter. Je suis engagée déjà depuis plusieurs semaines mais n'étant pas sûre de l'époque de mes débuts je n'ai pu vous en faire part qu'au dernier moment. La Part du Diable est mon rôle de début. Adieu, Madame. Je vous embrasse de cœur et compte sur vous vendredi. Je ne vous verrai pas mais je vous saurai là. Votre dévouée et affectionnée élève C. Lefebvre Mille choses aimables de ma part à ces messieurs et embrassez pour moi enna et Georgette

Gustave Roger (1815-1879); French tenor who sang in numerous premières. The most known are: Jean de Leyde in Meyerbeer's "Le prophète" (1849), Azaël in Auber's "L'enfant prodigue" (1850), Léon in Halevy's "Le juif errant" (1852) and Horace in Gounod's "La colombe" (1860). In 1838 he made his debut at the Opéra-Comique Paris as George in Halévy's "L'Éclair". During the following ten years, he was one of the most famous singers of the Opéra-Comique. In 1849 he was engaged by the Grand Opéra Paris where he made his debut as Jean de Leyde in Meyerbeer's "Le Prophète" with Pauline Viardot as Fidès. In the 1850s he undertook numerous guest appearances in Germany where he also sang in the German language. In 1851 and 1859 he appeared at the Berliner Hofoper, in 1851/52, 1854 and 1857 at the Stadttheater von Hamburg, in 1851 at the Hofoper von Dresden and in many other German cities. Due to a hunting accident in 1859 he lost his right arm. Until 1862 he remained at the Opéra-Comique and until 1868 he made guest appearances (Brussels, Prague etc). In 1868 he received his appointment as professor at the Conservatoire National in Paris. In 1880 his memories were published under the title "Le Carnet d'un Ténor". Marie-Stéphanie Meillet-Meyer (1828-?); French soprano. In 1848 she made her debut (under the name of Meyer) at the Opéra-Comique as Fiamma in Boulanger’s “Le Diable à École”. Here she created the role of Cadige in the première of Halévy’s “La fée aux roses” (1849) and the role of Lisanka in “La dame de pique” (1850) also by Halévy. In 1851 she married the baritone Auguste-Alphonse Meillet (1828-1871), who had studied together with her at the Paris Conservatoire National. From then on they had a kind of joint career; in 1852 they were both engaged at the Théâtre-Lyrique where they were very successfull. In 1854 she sang at the first performance of Hector Berlioz's oratorio "L'enfance du Christ" the rôle of Maria while her husband Auguste Meillet sang the role of Joseph. In 1862 they both left the Théâtre-Lyrique and sang at French provincial theaters. In the season 1863/64 they were enaged at the “La Monnaie” at Brussels and in the following years they continued their careers at Paris.

On the photo Marie Godfrend (left) and Mlle de Taisy (right) are seen as Isolier and Ragonde in Rossini's "Le comte Ory". Mlle de Taisy, born Honorine François (?-?); French soprano. From 1861 until 1866 she was engaged at the Grand Opéra Paris. Here she performed as Isolier in "Le comte Ory", Mathilde in "Guillaume Tell", Ritta in "La Xacarilla", Isabelle in "Robert le Diable", Lucia in "Lucia di Lammermoor", Urbain in "Les Huguenots", Elvire in "La muette de Portici" and SinaÏde in "MoÏse". On 30 December 1861 she created de role of Isaure in "La voix humaine" by Giulio Alary. Hector Berlioz writes in his review on 7 January 1862: "Mlle de Taisy représente avec grâce la jeune Isaure". Marie Godfrend (?-?); French mezzosoprano. She was a pupil of the famous tenor Gilbert Duprez. In 1862 she made her debut at the Grand Opéra Paris as Azucena in Verd's "Il Trovatore". Here she also performed as Lazarillo in "La Xacarilla", Marie in "Moïse", Edwige in "Guillaume Tell" and Inès in La Favorita". In 1867 she married the French tenor François-Pierre Villaret (1830-1896).

Marie Caroline Miolan-Carvalho, born Marie Caroline Félix-Miolan (1827-1895); French soprano who sang in various premières. The best known are in opera's by Charles Gounod: Marguerite in "Faust" (1859), Baucis in "Philemon et Baucis" (1860) , Sylvie in "La colombe" (1860), the title-role in "Mireille" (1864) and Juliette in "Roméo et Juliette"(1867). She studied singing at the Conservatoire National de Paris where she was a pupil of the famous tenor Gilbert Duprez. In 1849 she made her debut at the Opéra in Brest as Isabella in Meyerbeer's "Robert le Diable". In that same year she was engaged in Paris at the Opéra-Comique where she debuted very successfully in the title role of "Lucia di Lammermoor". Here she remained until 1855. In 1853, she married Léon Carvalho, a French impresario and director of the Théâtre-Lyrique. After their marriage, she began to use the name Caroline Carvalho instead of Marie Miolan and became the prima donna at the Théâtre-Lyrique from 1856 to 1867. From 1868 until her retirement from the stage in 1885 she performed at the Opéra-Comique and at the Grand Opéra Paris. She made international guest appearances at London, Berlin, Brussels and St. Petersburg.

Lise Tautin, born Louise Vaissière (1836-1874); French soprano who sang at various Offenbach-premières. She performed the role of Fanchette in "Le mariage aux lanternes" (1857), Croute-au-pot in "Mesdames de la Halle" (march 1858), Minette in "La chatte métamorphosée en femme" (april 1858), Eurydice in "Orphée aux enfers" (october 1858), Rosita in "Un mari à la porte" (1859), deuxieme savant in "Geneviève de Brabant" (1859), Catarina in "Le pont des soupirs" (1861 and second version in 1868), Ernestine in "M. Choufleuri restera chez lui le ..." (1861) and La Sincère in "Les Bergers" (1865).

Delphine Ugalde, born Beaucé (1829-1910); French soprano. At the age of 11 she already performed in a concert with great singers as Rubini, Tamburini and Lablache. In 1848 she made her debut at the Opéra-Comique as Angela in Auber's "Le Domino noir". During her career she created 21 première-roles. In 1871 she left the stage and worked as a voice-teacher; her most famous pupils were her own daughter Marguerite and Marie Sasse. On the photo she is seen as Mademoiselle Lange in "La fille de Madame Angot" by Charles Lecocq.

Delphine Ugalde, born Beaucé (1829-1910); French soprano. The dedication refers to Charles Lecocq's opera "La fille de Madame Angot". The dedication is made to the singer who performed the role of Clairette Angot, while Ugalde performed the role of Mademoiselle Lange (see photo). That is why she signs with "Lange-Ugalde" in stead of "Delphine Ugalde". The dedication reads* as follows: "A ma Clairette à moi, la plus fine des trois. Sa camarade de pension, Lange-Ugalde" * Thanks to Laurent Fraison who was so kind as to decipher the text for me and explain it's content.