Bella Alten
Encyclopedia
Bella Alten was an operatic soprano who performed at the Metropolitan Opera House (39th St)
during the early 1900s. Bella Alten was born in Zaxaczewo, Poland. She studied with Gustav Engel and Joachim at the Imperial Conservatory in Berlin, and later with
Aglaja Orgeni
in Dresden. Her first appearance in opera was as Aennchen in Der Freischütz
in 1897 after which engagements followed in Berlin, Brunswick, Cologne and London. She was singing Cherubino in Marriage of Figaro, Nedda in Pagliacci
and Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
under Hans Richter (conductor)
when Heinrich Conried
(then the Metropolitan Opera’s General Manager) heard her at the Covent Garden
and engaged her for the Met.
Her New York debut took place in November 1904 as Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro
in a cast that included Emma Eames
, Marcella Sembrich
and Antonio Scotti
.
During her nine seasons at the Metropolitan (1904-1908 and 1909-1914) she sang 31 different roles and a total of 426 performances. She appeared in casts that included such singers as Enrico Caruso, Frances Alda
, Pol Plancon
, Nellie Melba
, Emmy Destinn
, Ernestine Schumann-Heink
, Pasquale Amato
, Olive Fremstad
, Louise Homer
, and Geraldine Farrar
, among others.
Her operatic career included six Metropolitan premiere performances – Adele in Die Fledermaus
(1905), Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel (opera) (1905), Saffi in Der Zigeunerbaron (1906), Olga in Fedora (opera) (1906), Columbina in Le Donne Curiose
(1912), and Lisetta in L'amore Medico
(1914).
In November 1905 when she sang Gretel in the premiere Metropolitan performance of Hänsel und Gretel , the composer Engelbert Humperdinck
was in the audience. This opera received 11 performances that first season and was selected by Theodore Roosevelt's wife as a benefit for the Legal Aid Society. Alten sang Gretel in this opera every season she was with the Met (77 times.) The one season she was not there the opera wasn’t presented. Her other most frequently performed roles were Musetta in La Bohème
(68 times), and Nedda in Pagliacci
(34 times).
In 1908-1909 Alten went to Braunchweig, Germany where she created Madama Butterfly
for that city. She also appeared in Bayreuth. Her only recordings date from this period; three selections from Madama Butterfly
and the Ballatella from Pagliacci recorded for the Grammophone Company and all sung in German.
Alten also appeared on Broadway as Maid Marion in Reginald De Koven
's Robin Hood (opera)
with Wallace Hyde and Florence Wickham. This opened May 6, 1912 at the New Amsterdam Theatre
and ran for 64 performances. The hit song from this work, Oh Promise Me
, is still heard frequently at weddings today.
During her Metropolitan career in 1912, Bella Alten married Hermann Deri, an Austrian State Banker, and became Bella Alten-Deri. She returned to Vienna and continued to sing at both the Wiener Hofoper and Volksoper. She gave concerts and radio broadcasts as late as 1936. When the Nazis came
to power in Austria, she and her husband moved to London where she died December 31, 1962 following her husband’s death in 1941.
Metropolitan Opera House (39th St)
The Metropolitan Opera House was an opera house located at 1411 Broadway in New York City. Opened in 1883 and demolished in 1967, it was the first home of the Metropolitan Opera Company.-History:...
during the early 1900s. Bella Alten was born in Zaxaczewo, Poland. She studied with Gustav Engel and Joachim at the Imperial Conservatory in Berlin, and later with
Aglaja Orgeni
Aglaja Orgeni
Aglaja Orgeni, real name Anna Maria von Görger St. Jörgen , was a Hungarian operatic coloratura soprano.-Biography:Orgeni was born in Rimászombat, Galicia...
in Dresden. Her first appearance in opera was as Aennchen in Der Freischütz
Der Freischütz
Der Freischütz is an opera in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind. It premiered on 18 June 1821 at the Schauspielhaus Berlin...
in 1897 after which engagements followed in Berlin, Brunswick, Cologne and London. She was singing Cherubino in Marriage of Figaro, Nedda in Pagliacci
Pagliacci
Pagliacci , sometimes incorrectly rendered with a definite article as I Pagliacci, is an opera consisting of a prologue and two acts written and composed by Ruggero Leoncavallo. It recounts the tragedy of a jealous husband in a commedia dell'arte troupe...
and Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is an opera in three acts, written and composed by Richard Wagner. It is among the longest operas still commonly performed today, usually taking around four and a half hours. It was first performed at the Königliches Hof- und National-Theater in Munich, on June 21,...
under Hans Richter (conductor)
Hans Richter (conductor)
Hans Richter was an Austrian orchestral and operatic conductor.-Biography:Richter was born in Raab , Kingdom of Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Empire. His mother was opera-singer Jozsefa Csazenszky. He studied at the Vienna Conservatory...
when Heinrich Conried
Heinrich Conried
Heinrich Conried was a theatrical manager and director of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.-Biography:...
(then the Metropolitan Opera’s General Manager) heard her at the Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
and engaged her for the Met.
Her New York debut took place in November 1904 as Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro
Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
in a cast that included Emma Eames
Emma Eames
Emma Eames was an American soprano renowned for the beauty of her voice. She sang major lyric and lyric-dramatic roles in opera and had an important career in New York, London and Paris during the last decade of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century.-Early life:The daughter of...
, Marcella Sembrich
Marcella Sembrich
Marcella Sembrich was the stage name of the Polish coloratura soprano, Prakseda Marcelina Kochańska...
and Antonio Scotti
Antonio Scotti
Antonio Scotti was an Italian baritone. He was a principal artist of the New York Metropolitan Opera for more than 33 seasons, but also sang with great success at London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and Milan's La Scala.-Life:Antonio Scotti was born in Naples, Italy...
.
During her nine seasons at the Metropolitan (1904-1908 and 1909-1914) she sang 31 different roles and a total of 426 performances. She appeared in casts that included such singers as Enrico Caruso, Frances Alda
Frances Alda
Frances Alda 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—and frequent onstage partnerships at the New York Metropolitan Opera with the...
, Pol Plancon
Pol Plançon
Pol-Henri Plançon was a distinguished French operatic bass . He was one of the most acclaimed singers active during the 1880s, 1890s and early 20th century—a period often referred to as the "Golden Age of Opera".In addition to being among the earliest international opera stars to have made...
, Nellie Melba
Nellie Melba
Dame Nellie Melba GBE , born Helen "Nellie" Porter Mitchell, was an Australian operatic soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian Era and the early 20th century...
, Emmy Destinn
Emmy Destinn
Emmy Destinn was a Czech operatic soprano with a strong and soaring lyric-dramatic voice. She had a career both in Europe and at the New York Metropolitan Opera.- Biography :...
, Ernestine Schumann-Heink
Ernestine Schumann-Heink
Ernestine Schumann-Heink was a celebrated Austrian, later American, operatic contralto, noted for the size, beauty, tonal richness, flexibility and wide range of her voice.- Early life:...
, Pasquale Amato
Pasquale Amato
Pasquale Amato was an outstanding Italian operatic baritone. Amato enjoyed an international reputation but attained the peak of his fame in New York City, where he sang with the Metropolitan Opera from 1908 until 1921....
, Olive Fremstad
Olive Fremstad
Olive Fremstad was the stage name of Anna Olivia Rundquist, a celebrated Swedish-American opera diva who sang in both the mezzo-soprano and soprano ranges. -Background:...
, Louise Homer
Louise Homer
Louise Homer was an American operatic contralto who had an active international career in concert halls and opera houses from 1895 until her retirement in 1932. After a brief stint as a vaudeville entertainer in New England, she made her professional opera debut in France in 1898...
, and Geraldine Farrar
Geraldine Farrar
Geraldine Farrar was an American soprano opera singer and film actress, noted for her beauty, acting ability, and "the intimate timbre of her voice." She had a large following among young women, who were nicknamed "Gerry-flappers".- Early life and opera career :Farrar was born in Melrose,...
, among others.
Her operatic career included six Metropolitan premiere performances – Adele in Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...
(1905), Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel (opera) (1905), Saffi in Der Zigeunerbaron (1906), Olga in Fedora (opera) (1906), Columbina in Le Donne Curiose
Le donne curiose
Le donne curiose is an opera in three acts by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari to a text by Luigi Sugana after Carlo Goldoni's play.-Performance history:...
(1912), and Lisetta in L'amore Medico
L'amore medico
L'amore medico is an opera in two acts by composer Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari. Based on Moliere's comedy L'Amour médecin, the work uses an Italian language libretto by Enrico Golisciani...
(1914).
In November 1905 when she sang Gretel in the premiere Metropolitan performance of Hänsel und Gretel , the composer Engelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck was a German composer, best known for his opera, Hänsel und Gretel. Humperdinck was born at Siegburg in the Rhine Province; at the age of 67 he died in Neustrelitz, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.-Life:After receiving piano lessons, Humperdinck produced his first composition...
was in the audience. This opera received 11 performances that first season and was selected by Theodore Roosevelt's wife as a benefit for the Legal Aid Society. Alten sang Gretel in this opera every season she was with the Met (77 times.) The one season she was not there the opera wasn’t presented. Her other most frequently performed roles were Musetta in La Bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
(68 times), and Nedda in Pagliacci
Pagliacci
Pagliacci , sometimes incorrectly rendered with a definite article as I Pagliacci, is an opera consisting of a prologue and two acts written and composed by Ruggero Leoncavallo. It recounts the tragedy of a jealous husband in a commedia dell'arte troupe...
(34 times).
In 1908-1909 Alten went to Braunchweig, Germany where she created Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
for that city. She also appeared in Bayreuth. Her only recordings date from this period; three selections from Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
and the Ballatella from Pagliacci recorded for the Grammophone Company and all sung in German.
Alten also appeared on Broadway as Maid Marion in Reginald De Koven
Reginald de Koven
Henry Louis Reginald De Koven was an American music critic and prolific composer, particularly of comic operas.-Biography:...
's Robin Hood (opera)
Robin Hood (opera)
For the comic opera by Reginald De Koven, see Robin Hood .Robin Hood is a ballad opera by Michael Tippett based on the legend of Robin Hood. Composed in 1934, the score remains unpublished...
with Wallace Hyde and Florence Wickham. This opened May 6, 1912 at the New Amsterdam Theatre
New Amsterdam Theatre
The New Amsterdam Theatre is a Broadway theater located at 214 West 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the Theatre District of Manhattan, New York City, off of Times Square...
and ran for 64 performances. The hit song from this work, Oh Promise Me
Oh Promise Me
Oh Promise Me is a song with music by Reginald De Koven and lyrics by Clement Scott. The song was written in 1887 and first published in 1889 as an art song. De Koven may have based the melody partly on an aria by Stanislao Gastaldon, "Musica Proibita". In 1890, De Koven wrote his most...
, is still heard frequently at weddings today.
During her Metropolitan career in 1912, Bella Alten married Hermann Deri, an Austrian State Banker, and became Bella Alten-Deri. She returned to Vienna and continued to sing at both the Wiener Hofoper and Volksoper. She gave concerts and radio broadcasts as late as 1936. When the Nazis came
to power in Austria, she and her husband moved to London where she died December 31, 1962 following her husband’s death in 1941.