Walther Kirchoff & Martha Leffler-Burckhard

Opera's Golden Age In Postcards


Karl Scheidemantel

29 Sep 2014 325
Karl Scheidemantel 1859-1923 German Baritone At the age of 25 he joined the ensemble of the Dresden Hofoper where he was named Kammersänger, He sang at the 1886, 1888, 1891, and 1892 Bayreuth festivals.He then sang at most of the great European opera houses, especially the Vienna State Opera, . He was a guest singer at La Scala in 1892 Sang over 170 roles in his career. Notably, he created the role of Herr von Faninal in Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier in 1911

Gertrud Runge

29 Sep 2014 566
Gertrud Runge 1880-1948 German Soprano Vocal studies with Mrs. Danker-Dreyschock and Felix Schmidt in Berlin.Debut 1902 at Stadttheater von Kiel and by 1903 at Hoftheater Weimar, From 1913-18 she was engaged at the Hoftheater Mannheim. Performed many roles and was and was well liked, especially as Carmen and Violetta

Bessie Abbot

03 Mar 2015 594
BESSIE ABBOT ( Bessie PICKENS ) American soprano (1878 – February 09, 1919). Debut 10th October 1904 in Lakmé (Lakmé). Sang la Traviata (Violetta), Don Juan (Zerlina).

Bessie Abbot

18 Oct 2014 365
BESSIE ABBOT ( Bessie PICKENS ) American soprano (1878 – February 09, 1919). Debut 10th October 1904 in Lakmé (Lakmé). Sang la Traviata (Violetta), Don Juan (Zerlina).

Bessie Abbot

18 Oct 2014 375
BESSIE ABBOT ( Bessie PICKENS ) American soprano (1878 – February 09, 1919). Debut 10th October 1904 in Lakmé (Lakmé). Sang la Traviata (Violetta), Don Juan (Zerlina).

Bessie Abbot

18 Oct 2014 453
BESSIE ABBOT ( Bessie PICKENS ) American soprano (1878 – February 09, 1919). Debut 10th October 1904 in Lakmé (Lakmé). Sang la Traviata (Violetta), Don Juan (Zerlina).

Frances Alda

18 Oct 2014 423
Frances Alda as Manon "Manon" Massenet FRANCES ALDA ( Frances DAVIS). New Zealand soprano ( 31 May 1883 – 18 May 1952). Debut 23 February 1904 in Manon (Manon). She debuted at the Paris Opéra on June 19, 1910.

Frances Alda

18 Oct 2014 528
Frances Alda as Manon "Manon" Massenet FRANCES ALDA ( Frances DAVIS). New Zealand soprano ( 31 May 1883 – 18 May 1952). Debut 23 February 1904 in Manon (Manon). She debuted at the Paris Opéra on June 19, 1910

Frances Alda

18 Oct 2014 362
Frances Alda as Manon "Manon" Massenet FRANCES ALDA ( Frances DAVIS). New Zealand soprano ( 31 May 1883 – 18 May 1952). Debut 23 February 1904 in Manon (Manon). She debuted at the Paris Opéra on June 19, 1910

Frances Alda

18 Oct 2014 300
Frances Alda as Marguerite 'Faust" Gounod FRANCES ALDA ( Frances DAVIS). New Zealand soprano ( 31 May 1883 – 18 May 1952). Debut 23 February 1904 in Manon (Manon). She debuted at the Paris Opéra on June 19, 1910

Frances Alda

18 Oct 2014 579
Frances Alda as Ophelia "Hamlet" Thomas FRANCES ALDA ( Frances DAVIS). New Zealand soprano ( 31 May 1883 – 18 May 1952). Debut 23 February 1904 in Manon (Manon). She debuted at the Paris Opéra on June 19, 1910

Agnes Borgo

18 Oct 2014 458
AGNES BORGO (Agnès BIANCONI ). - Soprano 20.April 1879 - 07 January, 1958. Married César Vezzani. Debut 05 August 1917 in Tosca (Tosca).

Agnes Borgo

18 Oct 2014 397
AGNES BORGO (Agnès BIANCONI ). - Soprano 20.April 1879 - 07 January, 1958. Married César Vezzani. Debut 05 August 1917 in Tosca (Tosca).

Berthe Mendes

19 Oct 2014 475
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.

Reta Walter

19 Oct 2014 2154
Reta Walter as Mignon 'Mignon" Massenet RETA WALTER (1885?-1906 German soprano ‘PRIMA DONNA SHOT. ‘MURDERED BY DISCARDED LOVER ‘ASSASSIN’S SUICIDE. ‘From Berlin on the night of 5th October [1906] the corresponded of the Daily Mail [published in London] wrote:- ‘A few hours before she would have fallen upon the stage of the Opera Comique as Carmen, stabbed to death with the dagger of the jealous Don Jose, the young and beautiful prima donna Fraulein Rita Walter was last night murdered at her home by her discarded lover. Karl August Hesse, who then turned his weapon against himself and fell shot through the heart. ‘Hesse had waited all the afternoon at Fraulein Walter’s house, expecting to surprise her in the company of his rival, Senor Juan Raventos, a young Spanish tenor at the Opera Comique, for whom the prima donna had latterly shown a fondness, and to whom Hesse suspected that she was about to become engaged. ‘Only the fact that the Spaniard was lying in hospital saved his life, as letter left by Hesse indicate that he intended to kill him. Fraulein Walter’s mother was sitting in the adjoining room when her daughter was shot. ‘The singer was only twenty-one years of age, and of remarkable beauty and promising voice. She was the daughter of a well-to-do manufacturer, who died a few years ago. Hesse’s ambition was to be an operatic star himself, but he did not possess the required talent, and this made him exceedingly jealous of his fiancee’s success, as well as of her smiles upon other men. He had several times struck her in the midst of jealous fits. ‘Fraulein Walter attempted repeatedly to induce him to leave her and go his own way, but Hesse claimed to be madly in love with her and refused to be repulsed. The police found in his apartments to-day letters from his Spanish rival wherein the latter had rejected Hesse’s demand that he should break off his relationship with the prima donna. The murderer’s parent are wealthy residents of Hamburg.’ (The Grenfell Record and Lachlan District Advertiser, Grenvell, NSW, Australia, Saturday, 22 December 1906, p. 7g)

Reta Walter

19 Oct 2014 491
RETA WALTER (1885?-1906 German soprano ‘PRIMA DONNA SHOT. ‘MURDERED BY DISCARDED LOVER ‘ASSASSIN’S SUICIDE. ‘From Berlin on the night of 5th October [1906] the corresponded of the Daily Mail [published in London] wrote:- ‘A few hours before she would have fallen upon the stage of the Opera Comique as Carmen, stabbed to death with the dagger of the jealous Don Jose, the young and beautiful prima donna Fraulein Rita Walter was last night murdered at her home by her discarded lover. Karl August Hesse, who then turned his weapon against himself and fell shot through the heart. ‘Hesse had waited all the afternoon at Fraulein Walter’s house, expecting to surprise her in the company of his rival, Senor Juan Raventos, a young Spanish tenor at the Opera Comique, for whom the prima donna had latterly shown a fondness, and to whom Hesse suspected that she was about to become engaged. ‘Only the fact that the Spaniard was lying in hospital saved his life, as letter left by Hesse indicate that he intended to kill him. Fraulein Walter’s mother was sitting in the adjoining room when her daughter was shot. ‘The singer was only twenty-one years of age, and of remarkable beauty and promising voice. She was the daughter of a well-to-do manufacturer, who died a few years ago. Hesse’s ambition was to be an operatic star himself, but he did not possess the required talent, and this made him exceedingly jealous of his fiancee’s success, as well as of her smiles upon other men. He had several times struck her in the midst of jealous fits. ‘Fraulein Walter attempted repeatedly to induce him to leave her and go his own way, but Hesse claimed to be madly in love with her and refused to be repulsed. The police found in his apartments to-day letters from his Spanish rival wherein the latter had rejected Hesse’s demand that he should break off his relationship with the prima donna. The murderer’s parent are wealthy residents of Hamburg.’ (The Grenfell Record and Lachlan District Advertiser, Grenvell, NSW, Australia, Saturday, 22 December 1906, p. 7g)

Alexander Bragin

19 Oct 2014 364
Alexander Bragin as Escamillo 'Carmen" Bizet ALEXANDER BRAGIN 1881-???? Russian Baritone A pupil of Glabely he went for further study in Vienna and Berlin before making his debut at the Kiev opera in 1899.He was engaged at the Marinsky where he remained until 1911 , for one season he appeared at the Bolshoi in Moscow. His repertory included Germont, Rigoletto ,Prince igor , The Demon , Don Goivanni , Figaro and Yeletsky , Fom 1911 he sang mostly in operetta , touring with various companies throughout Russia

Regina Pacini

19 Oct 2014 420
REGINA PACINI 1871-1965 Portuguese Soprano Pupil of Vallani and made her debut in 1888 at Sao Carlos Lisbon as Amelia,1889 appeared in London in the Mapelson season . She sang at Milan , Palmero , Madrid , Barcelona , Warsaw , St Persburg , Florence , Monte Carlo , and Naples . Her repertory included Annetta , Lucia , Linda , Elvira , Gilda , Rosina Ophelie , Leila .In 1902 she was Adina 7 Lucia opposite Caruso in London . In 1907 she married Marcello Alvear , a diplomat who later became President of his country and she retired from the stage

1066 items in total