Elsa Stralia
Encyclopedia
Elsa Stralia was an Australian soprano with an international reputation in Europe and America. She was born Elsie Mary Fischer.
, she studied in Milan
and London
. She made her Covent Garden, London
debut as Donna Elvira in Mozart's Don Giovanni
in 1913, under the professional name of Elsa Stralia (after Australia, like Florence Austral
). She appeared at Covent Garden, and in Milan, Paris
, South Africa
and New York
. She toured in South Africa, and in a number of American cities, once singing "The Star-Spangled Banner
" while dressed as the Statue of Liberty
. She recorded for the Columbia Graphophone Company
, and toured Australasia in 1925 and 1934.
, New Zealand
until he died in 1943. She then moved to Melbourne where she died, childless, at Belgrave. Her estate was used to establish a scholarship for young Australian female singers.
Biography
After appearing in SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, she studied in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. She made her Covent Garden, London
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
debut as Donna Elvira in Mozart's Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
in 1913, under the professional name of Elsa Stralia (after Australia, like Florence Austral
Florence Austral
Florence Austral was an Australian operatic soprano renowned for her interpretation of the most demanding Wagnerian female roles, although she never gained the opportunity to appear at the Bayreuth Festival or the New York Metropolitan Opera.She was born Florence Mary Wilson, but adopted the...
). She appeared at Covent Garden, and in Milan, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. She toured in South Africa, and in a number of American cities, once singing "The Star-Spangled Banner
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry", a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships...
" while dressed as the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
. She recorded for the Columbia Graphophone Company
Columbia Graphophone Company
The Columbia Graphophone Company was one of the earliest gramophone companies in the United Kingdom. Under EMI, as Columbia Records, it became a very successful label in the 1950s and 1960s...
, and toured Australasia in 1925 and 1934.
Personal
She was born in Adelaide, to Hugo and Annie Fischer. The family moved to Melbourne in 1899, and she was convent-educated there. She married William Mountford Moses in 1908 in Sydney. She divorced him and married Adolph Theodor Christensen in Sydney in 1935. They lived in PateaPatea
Patea is the third-largest town in South Taranaki, New Zealand. It is on the western bank of the Patea River, 61 kilometres north-west of Wanganui on State Highway 3. Hawera is 27 km to the north-west, and Waverley 17 km to the east. The Patea River flows through the town from the...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
until he died in 1943. She then moved to Melbourne where she died, childless, at Belgrave. Her estate was used to establish a scholarship for young Australian female singers.