Entertainment Memorabilia > Autographs-Original > Music > Classical, Opera & Ballet
(name)
Frances Alda
(size)
5" x 8"
(date)
1950
(notes)
- BIO - Frances Davis Alda (31 May 1879 – 18 September 1952) was a New Zealand-born, Australian-raised operatic soprano. She achieved fame during the first three decades of the 20th century due to her outstanding singing voice, fine technique and colourful personality, as well as her frequent onstage partnerships at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, with Enrico Caruso.
In 1908, the former La Scala impresario Giulio Gatti-Casazza became director of the Metropolitan Opera. On 7 December 1908 Alda made her debut there. On 4 April 1910, Alda and Gatti-Casazza married. According to American Art News (New York, 19 March 1910), Adolfo Müller-Ury was painting Alda just before her marriage. It was in New York that Alda furthered her career, appearing to acclaim in such famous operas as Martha, Manon Lescaut, Otello, Faust, Mefistofele and La bohème.
She began recording for the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1908 and several of her records became best-sellers. She created the title roles in Victor Herbert's Madeleine and Henry Hadley's Cleopatra's Night as well as Roxane in Walter Damrosch's Cyrano. She also sang regularly with Enrico Caruso.
Alda toured Australia and New Zealand in 1927, saying in an interview she loathed the former. She and Gatti-Casazza separated the following year and then divorced. In 1929, she left the Met but continued to give concerts, make radio broadcasts and appear in vaudeville. Alda's 1937 autobiography was titled Men, Women, & Tenors. -wikipedia
- This was part of a collection that belonged to a life-time member of the New Orleans Opera Association.
- All autographs are authentic and original. We offer unlimited, lifetime guarantee of authenticity.
Have a listen to Frances Alda below !
Soprano Frances ALDA: O mio babbino caro (1919) - YouTube
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