Emmy Destinn

Дестин (Destinn) Эмми (26.2.1878, Прага — 28.1.1930, Ческе-Будеёвице) - чешская певица (драматическое сопрано).
Настоящеее имя - Эмилия Китлова (Kittlová).

Even now, more than 70 years after her death in 1930, thanks to the surviving recordings, her rich, dark, passionate, dramatic soprano is still capable of captivating admirers both in her native Bohemia and all around the world. An international figure, she sang in all the world"s great opera houses. During her triumphant career, Destinn - universally known as the divine Emmy - sung in over eighty roles; her interpretations of Aida, Tosca and Salome, to quote a few of her best known roles, were considered unparalleled by those who heard her. In the 1900s she was the highest paid female singer at the Metropolitan Opera.

A quintessential femme fatale, she was a flamboyant but tragic figure. Her love affairs were legendary. Among her admirers was the great Enrico Caruso, whom she partnered on stage on 47 occasions, Arturo Toscanini, and the French baritone Dinh Gilly, who learnt Czech to be able to sing with her in Prague - although that eventually meant an internment by the Germans there during the First World War.

Destinn"s close links with the Royal Opera House in London began in May 1904, when she made her first appearance as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni. During the following eleven consecutive seasons there she made 231 appearances in 18 operas. She created the roles of Madam Butterfly and Tess of the D"Urbervilles, and performed her legendary Aida at the coronation of King George V in 1911.

Born Emilie Kittlová into an affluent Prague family, by the age of twelve she was considered a child prodigy on violin and at thirteen her remarkable voice held such promise that she begun to study singing under the great singing coach Mme Loewe-Destinn, whose name she later adopted. Possessed of the ability to learn a piece of music virtually on first hearing, she acquired a solid vocal method so rapidly that her teacher considered her ready for a debut at twenty.


Following her phenomenally successful debut - in Berlin in 1898 - Richard Strauss asked her to create the eponymous role of Salome. That caused a sensation, setting the tone for the start of her career. She was soon a favourite of Cosima Wagner and in 1901 created the role of Senta in The Flying Dutchman in Bayreuth. Giacomo Puccini chose her to sing the title role in Madama Butterfly at the London premiere in 1905 and wrote La Fanciulla Del West with her in mind. That premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1910, with "the divine Emmy" singing alongside Caruso, Gilly and Toscanini.

Her talents were many and varied - and not only musical. Destinn also wrote plays, novels, short stories, librettos, and poetry; painted on canvas and porcelain; and translated and composed songs. She wrote her first play at the age of 16, and by 18 had followed that with three more. Her 1915 novel Dr. Casanova was based on her own experiences during the early years of her operatic career. The most significant of her works, however, is the 1924 novel In the Shadow of the Blue Rose, along with her play Rahel and a collection of poems, Storm and Silence. Her sharp wit, sense of humour and ability to write vividly about any situation is evident in her vast correspondence. She spoke five languages fluently and wrote her literary work in Czech and German.

Although she travelled the world she loved her country above all. Her fierce patriotism, however, had a fateful effect on her career. During the First World War she returned home from America against the advice of her friends, carrying with her messages for the Czech resistance, a move which almost cost her life. In Prague, she refused to sing for the Austro-Hungarian troops and as a result was placed under a house arrest for two years. Even this did not break her spirit, and people travelled from all over the country to hear her sing at impromptu open-air concerts. After the armistice in 1918 she gave numerous benefit concerts to help alleviate the suffering of her countrymen, and after the creation of an independent Czechoslovakia, she became one of the most potent symbols of national liberation, a deeply revered and important figure in Czech history.

Her singing career, however, never recovered from her enforced absence from the world stages. Her last public concert was at the Queen"s Hall in London in 1928, to mark the tenth anniversary of Czechoslovakia"s independence. After a brief and unfulfilling marriage to a young air force pilot, Josef Halsbach, her final years were spent in isolation and penury. She died alone, at the age of 52.

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Wagner - Der Fliegende Hollander , Lohengrin , Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg - Seidler-Winkler (CD)

Wagner - Der Fliegende Hollander , Lohengrin , Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg - Seidler-Winkler (CD)

Wagner - Der Fliegende Hollander ,Lohengrin ,Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg - Seidler-Winkler - 4049..

$17.99

Bizet, Wagner, Strauss, Thomas, Mascagni, Verdi, Puccini, Smetana, Leoncavallo, Mozart - Her Berliner's Records and G&T Recordings (1901-1908) - Emmy Destinn (CD)

Bizet, Wagner, Strauss, Thomas, Mascagni, Verdi, Puccini, Smetana, Leoncavallo, Mozart - Her Berliner's Records and G&T Recordings (1901-1908) - Emmy Destinn (CD)

Bizet,Wagner,Strauss,Thomas,Mascagni,Verdi,Puccini,Smetana,Leoncavallo,Mozart - Her Berliner's Recor..

$17.99

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