Edyth Walker
Edyth Walker (March 27, 1867 – February 19, 1950) was an American
Early life and career
Born in
Walker made her professional debut as a concert singer at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig in 1892. She made her professional opera debut on 11 November 1894 at the Berlin State Opera as Fidès in Giacomo Meyerbeer's Le prophète. The following year she became a member of the Vienna State Opera where she was a leading mezzo-soprano with the company for eight seasons.[1] She notably sang the role of Magdalena in the Vienna premiere of Wilhelm Kienzl's Der Evangelimann in 1896. She was also much admired in Vienna for her interpretation of the role of Amneris in Giuseppe Verdi's Aida.[4]
While under contract in Vienna, Walker made guest appearances with other European theatres. She made her first appearance in the UK at the Royal Opera House in London, singing the role of Amneris on 16 May 1900. She sang several more roles at Covent Garden in 1900–1901, all of them from the Wagnerian repertoire, including Erda in Siegfried, Fricka in both Die Walküre and Das Rheingold, Ortrud in Lohengrin, and Waltraute in Götterdämmerung.[1] In 1901 she portrayed the role of Elvira in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Salzburg Festival.[4]
Metropolitan Opera years and later career
At the close of the 1902–1903 season, Walker left her position in Vienna abruptly after a dispute with Gustav Mahler. Having broken her contract with the influential Vienna opera house, she found it impossible to gain a permanent position with another German or Austrian theatre under such circumstances.[4] She therefore returned to the United States and signed a contract with the Metropolitan Opera of New York City. She made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera House on November 30, 1903 as Amneris to the Aida of Johanna Gadski and the Radamès of Enrico Caruso.
She sang at the Met for three seasons, notably appearing in the Met's first stagings of
While on contract with the Met, Walker began adding soprano roles to her repertoire, beginning with Brünnhilde in Die Walküre which she first performed at the Metropolitan Opera House in December 1905. That was the only soprano role she sang on the Met Stage[1][5] However, after leaving the Met in 1906 to return to Europe, she added more soprano roles to her stage credits. Walker had already been performing periodically as a guest artist with the Hamburg State Opera (HSO) since 1903, and upon her return to Europe she signed a contract with that company. She remained with the HSO through 1912 performing both mezzo and soprano roles. Among the soprano parts she performed there were Isolde in Tristan und Isolde, Kundry in Parsifal, and the title role in Salome.[1]
In 1908 Walker sang the roles of Ortrud and Kundry at the Bayreuth Festival. That same year she had a major triumph as Isolde at Covent Garden.[1] She returned to the Royal Opera House in 1910 to portray the title role in the critically acclaimed UK premiere of Richard Strauss' Elektra under the baton of Sir Thomas Beecham,[4][6] and to sing the part of Thirza in Ethel Smyth's The Wreckers.[1]
That same year she sang at the wedding of
Post singing career
After her retirement from the stage, Walker resided in
References
- ^ ISBN 9780195337655.
- ISBN 078764076X. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- ^ "2015 Inductees". Rome Arts Hall of Fame. Capital Arts Complex. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f "Edyth Walker". www.isoldes-liebestod.info.
- ^ a b c "Die Königin von Saba". Metropolitan Opera Archives. April 16, 1906. CID:37650.
- ^ "King and Queen At Elektra Premiere: Many Members of Royalty in London Audience at Strauss's Opera – A Popular Success". The New York Times. February 20, 1910.
- ^ a b "Edyth Walker, 79, Soprano, Is Dead: Voice Teacher Who Sang at Metropolitan, 1903–06, Also Appeared in Germany" (PDF). The New York Times. February 26, 1950.
External links
- Edyth Walker, recording from the archive of the Austrian Mediathek: ("Arie des Adriano" from Rienzi)