Pauline Donalda

Pauline Donalda
(Pauline Lightstone)
1882-1970
Canadian Soprano
Studied with Clara Lichtenstein at the Royal Victoria College Montreal. In 1902 she went to Paris , and studied voice with Edmond Duvernoy, Debut in Nice in 1904 , singing Manon in “Manon” by Massenet . In Nice she sang Jenny in the French premiere of “ Chatterton” by Leoncavallo. London debut 1905 at Covent Garden, singing Micaëla In “Carmen” by Bizet . In 1905 she sang Ah-Joe in the premiere of “L'Oracolo “ by Franco Leoni, In 1919 she was the first London Concepción in the English premiere of Ravel's “L'Heure espagnole” In 1905 she sang at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels. Debut in Canada, singing with her first husband baritone (later Tenor) Paul Seveilhac at a recital in the Montreal Arena. Hammerstein's Manhattan Opera New York 1906 as Marguerite in” Faust” by Gounod. 1907 made her debut at the Opéra-Comique in Paris as Manon in “ Manon” by Massenet. She made concert tours that took her through Central Europe, and to Russia in 1910. After a short visit to Canada in 1910, she returned to Covent Garden and again in 1912-1913. Nice 1914, and then to Canada, pursuing her career in concerts . 1915 at New York and Boston. 1916 sang Nedda in I Pagliacci at the Princess Theatre (Montreal). She returned to Paris in 1917. She sang again in Covent Garden when it reopened in 1919, but this was her last season in this theatre. She began teaching, opening a studio in Paris in 1922. Returning to Montreal in 1937 and opening a studio there. She founded the Opera Guild in 1942 and directed +it until 1969,Rolesf Marguerite in “Faust “ By Gounod, Micaëla In “Carmen” by Bizet, Mimi.in “La Boheme” by Puccini , Nedda in “I Pagliacci” by Leoncavallo. Page in Les Huguenots” “Meybeer ,Violeta “La Traviatta” by Verdi , Elsa in “Lohengrin” and Eva in “Die Meistersinger” both by Wagner