| YODELING operatic contralto - SCHUMANN-HEINK - Millocker |
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A PARTY RECORD for your opera buddies!
Schumann-Heink lets down her hair to yodel!
Ernestine Schumann-Heink (1861-1936) sings a
little-known Alpine YODELING song by
Millocker, "I und mei Bua," recorded for
Victor Sept. 29, 1908.
One wonders when and why Schumann-Heink
learned to yodel...and whether she had 2nd
thoughts about having recorded this gem, as
it didn't remain in the Victor catalog all
that long.
Shumann-Heink was born as Tini Rössler to a
German-speaking family in the town of Lieben,
near Prague, now in the Czech Republic but
then part of the Austrian Empire. Her father
Hans Rössler was a shoemaker. The family
moved to Graz when Tini was thirteen. Here
she met Marietta von LeClair, a retired opera
singer who agreed to give her voice lessons.
In 1877 she made her first professional
performance, in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in
Graz. Tini made her operatic debut at
Dresden's Royal Opera House on October 15,
1878 as Azucena in Il Trovatore—at age 17.
The photo in the video, showing the THIN
young contralto, was taken when she was 18,
in 1879.
In 1882 she married Ernest Heink, secretary
of the Dresden Opera, with whom she had four
children; this violated the terms of their
contracts, and both were abruptly terminated
from their positions. Heink took a job at the
local customs house and was soon transferred
to Hamburg. Ernestine remained in Dresden to
pursue her career, and eventually rejoined
her husband when she secured a position at
the Hamburg Opera.
Ernest Heink was again thrown out of work
when Saxons were banned from government
positions, and departed to Saxony to find
work. Ernestine, pregnant, did not follow
him; they were divorced in 1893. That year
she married actor Paul Schumann, with whom
she had three more children. The second
marriage lasted until Paul Schumann's death
in 1904.
Her breakthrough into leading roles was
provided when prima donna Marie Goetze argued
with the director of the Hamburg opera. He
asked Ernestine to sing the title role of
CARMAN, without rehearsal, which she did to
great acclaim. Goetze, in a fit of pique,
cancelled out of the role of Fides in La
Prophete, to be performed the FOLLOWING
night, and was again replaced by Ernestine.
Schumann-Heink replaced Goetze as Ortrud in
Lohengrin the NEXT evening, again without
rehearsal--and was offered a ten-year
contract.
She performed with Gustav Mahler at the Royal
Opera House, Covent Garden, London, and
became well known for her performances of the
works of Richard Wagner at Bayreuth, singing
at the Bayreuth Festivals from 1896 to 1914.
She first sang at the Metropolitan Opera in
New York City in 1898, and performed with the
Met regularly thereafter for decades.
Schumann-Heink made the first of her many
phonograph recordings in 1900.
In 1905 she married William Rapp, Jr., her
manager. They divorced in 1915.
She and her new husband lived near Montclair,
New Jersey from 1906 to 1911.
She then moved to 500 acres of farmland just
outside of San Diego, California, where she
would live for most of the remainder ofher
life.
In 1909 she created the role of Clytemnestra
in debut of Richard Strauss' Elektra, of
which she said she had no high opinion.
Strauss, for his part, was not entirely taken
by Schumann-Heink; according to one story,
during rehearsals he told the orchestra
"Louder! I can still hear Mme.
Schumann-Heink!"
During World War I she toured the United
States raising money for the war effort,
although she had relatives fighting on both
sides of the war - including her son August
Heink, a merchant mariner who joined the
German submarine service, and stepson Walter
Schumann, and sons Henry Heink and George
Washington Schumann, all in the United States
Navy.
In 1915 she appeared as herself in the early
documentary film Mabel and Fatty Viewing the
World's Fair at San Francisco, which was
directed by and starred Fatty Arbuckle.
In 1926 she first sang Silent Night (in both
German and English) over the radio for
Christmas. This became a Christmas tradition
with US radio listeners through Christmas of
1935.
Her last performance at the Met was in 1932.
In her later years she had a weekly radio
program, the Gerber (baby food) Hour. Most
of these programs survive which,
incidentally, don't run an hour!
Ernestine Schumann-Heink died of leukaemia in
1936. Tags : gmmix yodel yodeling Millocker Alpine opera contralto Schumann-Heink Wagner Wagnerian Victor |
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Affichage : 7714
Durée : 231 s |
| coloratura contralto - SCHUMANN-HEINK -- Arditi ditty - 1907 |
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Ernestine Schumann-Heink (1861-1936) sings
Luigi Arditi's "Leggero Invisible."
Lest anyone think that a contralto who
devoted most of her career to heavy roles in
Wagner couldn't shed her Rhein Maiden garb
and take to the boards to sing an Arditi
coloratura ditty, MAGNIFICANTLY, listen
carefully to this recording. Schumann-Heink
often included it in her concerts.
She recorded it twice---on July 24, 1907--and
again about 20 years later as
an electric Victor Orthophonic.
Shumann-Heink was born as Tini Rössler to a
German-speaking family in the town of Lieben,
near Prague, now in the Czech Republic but
then part of the Austrian Empire.
Her father Hans Rössler was a shoemaker.
The family moved to Graz when Tini was
thirteen. Here she met Marietta von LeClair,
a retired opera singer, who agreed to give
her voice lessons. In 1877 she made her first
professional performance, in Beethoven's
Ninth Symphony in Graz.
Tini made her operatic debut at Dresden's
Royal Opera House on October 15, 1878 as
Azucena in Il Trovatore—at age 17. The
photo in the video, showing the THIN young
contralto, was taken when she was 18, in
1879.
In 1882 she married Ernest Heink, secretary
of the Dresden Opera, with whom she had four
children; this violated the terms of their
contracts, and both were abruptly terminated
from their positions. Heink took a job at the
local customs house and was soon transferred
to Hamburg. Ernestine remained in Dresden to
pursue her career, and eventually rejoined
her husband when she secured a position at
the Hamburg Opera.
Ernest Heink was again thrown out of work
when Saxons were banned from government
positions, and departed to Saxony to find
work. Ernestine, pregnant, did not follow
him; they were divorced in 1893. That year
she married actor Paul Schumann, with whom
she had three more children. The second
marriage lasted until Paul Schumann's death
in 1904.
Her breakthrough into leading roles was
provided when prima donna Marie Goetze argued
with the director of the Hamburg opera. He
asked Ernestine to sing the title role of
CARMAN, without rehearsal, which she did to
great acclaim. Goetze, in a fit of pique,
cancelled out of the role of Fides in La
Prophete, to be performed the FOLLOWING
night, and was again replaced by Ernestine.
Schumann-Heink replaced Goetze as Ortrud in
Lohengrin the NEXT evening, again without
rehearsal---and was offered a ten-year
contract.
She performed with Gustav Mahler at the Royal
Opera House, Covent Garden, London, and
became well known for her performances of the
works of Richard Wagner at Bayreuth, singing
at the Bayreuth Festivals from 1896 to 1914.
She first sang at the Metropolitan Opera in
New York City in 1898, and performed with the
Met regularly thereafter for decades.
Schumann-Heink made the first of her many
phonograph recordings in 1900.
In 1905 she married William Rapp, Jr., her
manager. They divorced in 1915. She and her
new husband lived near Montclair, New Jersey
from 1906 to 1911. She then moved to 500
acres of farmland just outside of San Diego,
California, where she would live for most of
the remainder ofher life.
In 1909 she created the role of Clytemnestra
in debut of Richard Strauss' Elektra, of
which she said she had no high opinion.
Strauss, for his part, was not entirely taken
by Schumann-Heink; according to one story,
during rehearsals he told the orchestra
"Louder! I can still hear Mme.
Schumann-Heink!"
During World War I she toured the United
States raising money for the war effort,
although she had relatives fighting on both
sides of the war - including her son August
Heink, a merchant mariner who joined the
German submarine service, and stepson Walter
Schumann, and sons Henry Heink and George
Washington Schumann, all in the United States
Navy.
In 1915 she appeared as herself in the early
documentary film Mabel and Fatty Viewing the
World's Fair at San Francisco, which was
directed by and starred Fatty Arbuckle.
In 1926 she first sang Silent Night (in both
German and English) over the radio for
Christmas. This became a Christmas tradition
with US radio listeners through Christmas of
1935.
Her last performance at the Met was in 1932.
In her later years she had a weekly radio
program, the Gerber (baby food) Hour. Most
of these programs survive which,
incidentally, don't run an hour!
Ernestine Schumann-Heink died of leukaemia in
1936. Tags : gmmix coloratura contralto Schumann-Heink Arditi Wagner Wagnerian Victor |
|
Affichage : 4399
Durée : 236 s |
| KATHLEEN FERRIER. Contralto. THE KEEL ROW. |
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Cheerful and footapping! English folksong.
Far from her Mahler, Gluck, Schubert, and
Brahms!Bless her.
Enjoy.
To hear her in her classical singing you may
want a taster ---
SEE ALSO MY POSTINGS OF-- KATHLEEN FERRIER UM
MITTERNACHT--KATHLEEN FERRIER THE LAST
RECORDINGS---KATHLEEN FERRIER ALTO RHAPSODY
PART 2 Brahms.
Thankyou.
People ask,"Why is she so fondly remembered
55 years following her death?"
I think the recordings answer that. Tags : kathleen ferrier the keel row english folk songs |
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Affichage : 12226
Durée : 108 s |
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