Emma Albani

48
Emma Albani bigraphy, stories - Canadian opera soprano

Emma Albani : biography

1 November 1847 – 3 April 1930

Dame Emma Albani, (1 November 18473 April 1930) was a leading soprano of the 19th century and early 20th century, and the first Canadian singer to become an international star. Her repertoire focused on the operas of Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini and Wagner. She performed across Europe and North America.

Honours and legacy

Emma Albani in costume for the role of Violetta in La traviata Albani received the gold medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society in 1897, often known as the "Beethoven Medal".

Madame Selitsky, the prima donna who performs in Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables (1908) was inspired by Albani. Montgomery later wrote a profile of the singer for Courageous Women (1934), a non-fiction work.

In 1925, Albani was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire by King George V.

The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada mounted a plaque at her birthplace in 1939. It was replaced with a stele in 1977.

Several streets and places have been named after her in Quebec. Two streets in Montreal have been named in her honour. The first, rue Albani, was dedicated in 1912. It disappeared when road construction merged it with another street. The second, avenue Albani, was named 19 March 1969 by the city’s council.

Canada Post commissioned a postage stamp honoring her on the 50th anniversary of her death. The stamp was designed by artist Huntley Brown, portraying her in costume as Violetta from the opera La traviata. The stamp was released on 4 July 1980 with 11,700,000 stamps printed. It is a colourised version of the image to the right.

She is depicted in a stained-glass mural in the Place-des-Arts metro station in Montreal.

Operatic career

Development in Italy

Her funds began to run low, and although her training was not yet complete she began to look for work to help support her schooling. She found a position in Messina, and her operatic debut was on 30 March 1870, in Messina, playing Amina in La sonnambula. Her debut performance was very well received. She later recalled:

Emma Albani, in her 1870 role as Amina

She returned to Milan after her contract in Messina had expired, to resume her instruction by Lamperti. Additional work offers began to pour in. She soon accepted a role in Rigoletto being performed in Cento. Further roles followed in Florence and Malta, with parts in La sonnambula, Lucia di Lammermoor, Robert le diable, The Barber of Seville and L’Africaine. After spending the winter of 1870-1871 performing in Malta, she auditioned for Frederick Gye, the manager of Covent Garden in London. He was impressed by her talent and signed her to a five-year contract. She was scheduled to make her London debut in the spring of 1872. Before her London contract began, she returned to Italy to resume her studies with Lamperti. She made one last performance in Florence, giving renditions of La sonnambula and Lucia di Lammermoor before returning to London.

Move to London’s Covent Garden

Albani arrived in London in the spring, and made her professional debut on 2 April 1872 as Amina in La sonnambula. Critics and audience members alike were impressed with her strong performance in the role, and her admirers presented her with gifts of flowers and jewellery. At Covent Garden she developed an interest in oratorio after being introduced to it by Sir Julius Benedict and Josiah Pittman, who encouraged her to explore it. Her first opportunity to present a piece came in October 1872, when she performed "Angels, ever bright and fair" from Handel’s Theodora at the Norwich Festival. She also found time and opportunity to travel to Paris, where she performed at the Salle Ventadour during the off season.

Her second season in London included performances in the roles of Ophelia in Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet and the Countess in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. During the off time after the second season she travelled to Moscow to perform in La sonnambula, Rigoletto, Hamlet, and Lucia di Lammermoor. She then went to St. Petersburg where the Tsar viewed her performances. The reception to her in Russia was extremely positive.