Louise Kirkby Lunn (b.
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. In 2007, the population of the city was estimated to be 458,100...
, 8 November 1873, d.
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
17 February 1930) was an English
contraltoIn music, a contralto is a type of classical female singing voice with a vocal range somewhere between a tenor and a mezzo-soprano. The term is used to refer to the deepest female singing voice. The typical contralto range lies between the F below middle C to two Fs above middle C...
singer (sometimes called a
mezzo-sopranoA mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
), one of the leading English-born singers of the period 1900–1920, admired in concert, oratorio and opera.
Training
Kirkby Lunn (pronounced
Kirby) had her early singing training in
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. In 2007, the population of the city was estimated to be 458,100...
at All Saints Church, where she sang in the choir under Dr J. H. Greenwood, the organist, and later sang at concerts in the city. In 1890, she obtained a place at the
Royal College of MusicThe Royal College of Music is a conservatoire located in the South Kensington district of London, England.-Background:The Royal College of Music's building, designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield, is situated on Prince Consort Road in the district of South Kensington, next to Imperial College, directly...
in London and studied for three years with Albert Vissetti, also training for opera. Winning a scholarship in her second year, she took the role of Margaret in
SchumannRobert Schumann, sometimes given as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic...
's
GenovevaGenoveva is an opera in four acts by Robert Schumann in the genre of German Romanticism with a libretto by Robert Reinick and the composer. The only opera Schumann ever wrote, it received its first performance on 25 June 1850 at the Stadttheater in Leipzig, with the composer conducting...
in a College production at
Drury LaneDrury Lane is a street in the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster....
in December 1893, and then as the Marquise de Montcontour in
DelibesClément Philibert Léo Delibes was a French composer of ballets, operas, and other works for the stage.-Biographical data:...
'
Le roi l'a ditLe roi l'a dit is an opéra comique in three acts by Léo Delibes to a French libretto by Edmond Gondinet. It is a lively comedy, remarkably requiring 14 singers – six men and eight women...
at the
Prince of Wales TheatreThe Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre on Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in the City of Westminster. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner...
a year later. She also studied for some time with
Jacques BouhyJacques-Joseph-André Bouhy a Belgian baritone, most famous for being the first to sing the Toreador Song in the role of Escamillo in Carmen....
in Paris.
Early career
In 1895, she appeared in the first season of Promenade concerts for Henry J. Wood.
Augustus HarrisSir Augustus Henry Glossop Harris , was a British actor, impresario, and dramatist.-Early life:Harris was born in Paris, France, the son of Augustus Glossop Harris , who was also a dramatist...
gave her a five-year contract almost upon first hearing. In 1896 she appeared as Nora in
StanfordSir Charles Villiers Stanford was an Irish composer, resident in England for much of his life.- Life :...
's
Shamus O'Brien at the Theatre Comique, again under Wood, with Joseph O'Mara,
Maggie DaviesMaggie Davies is a British skeleton racer who has competed since 2004. Her best Skeleton World Cup finish was seventh at Winterberg in February 2008....
, W.H. Stevens and Denis O'Sullivan, a production which ran for 100 nights from March 2. This was followed by a number of small roles at Covent Garden. However the contract expired with Harris's death in June 1896, whereupon she joined the
Carl Rosa Opera CompanyThe Carl Rosa Opera Company was founded in 1873 by Carl August Nicholas Rosa, a German-born musical impresario to present opera in English in London and the British provinces. The company survived Rosa's death in 1889, and continued to present opera in English on tour until 1960, when it was...
, performing as principal mezzo in London and on tour in the provinces in
CarmenCarmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
,
LohengrinLohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself...
,
RigolettoRigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
,
MignonMignon is an opéra comique in three acts by Ambroise Thomas. The original French libretto was by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on Goethe's novel Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre. The Italian version was translated by Giuseppe Zaffira...
and other works. In 1898 at
Queen's HallThe Queen's Hall was a classical music concert hall in Central London, England, opened in 1893 and was beloved by Londoners until its destruction by an incendiary bomb in 1941. It is best known for being where the Promenade Concerts were founded by Robert Newman, with Henry J...
she sang as a Rhinemaiden in excepts from
Das RheingoldDas Rheingold is the first of the four operas that comprise Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner...
with
Lillian BlauveltLillian Blauvelt was a popular opera singer in New York City, USA in the first decade of the 20th century. Her voice was a lyric soprano with...
and Helen Jaxon, with
David BisphamDavid Scull Bispham was the first American–born operatic baritone to win an international reputation.- Early life and family:...
as Alberich. She remained with the Carl Rosa until 1899, the year in which she was married to W.J. Pearson.
She was particularly active in the 1900–1901 Queen's Hall season with Wood, appearing with Blauvelt, Lloyd Chandos and Daniel Price, and the Wolverhampton Festival Choral Society, in Beethoven's last symphony on 16 March, and in
Gilbert and SullivanGilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian era partnership of librettist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
excerpts (with Lloyd Chandos and Florence Schmidt). In the midst of a series of Wagner concerts with
Marie BremaMarie Brema was an English dramatic mezzo-soprano singer in concert, operatic and oratorio work in the last decade of the 19th and the first decade of the 20th centuries...
, Philip Brozel, David Ffrangçon-Davies and Olga Wood, on 22 November 1901 (first anniversary of the death of
Arthur SullivanSir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO was an English composer, of Irish and Italian descent, best known for his operatic collaborations with librettist W. S. Gilbert, including such continually-popular works as H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, and The Mikado...
) she sang in a special performance of
The Golden Legend, with Blauvelt,
John CoatesJohn Coates was a leading English tenor, who sang in opera and oratorio and on the concert platform.- Training and career as baritone :...
and Ffrangçon-Davies.
Operatic career
From 1901 to 1914, Louise Kirkby Lunn appeared regularly at
Covent GardenThe Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in the London district of Covent Garden. 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...
, and for several of those years also in the United States (especially
the MetThe Metropolitan Opera Association of New York City, founded in April 1880, is a major presenter of all types of opera including Grand Opera. Peter Gelb is the company's general manager. The music director is James Levine....
, 1902–03, 1906–08 and 1912–14. She was particularly successful in Wagnerian opera, especially as Fricka, Brangane, Ortrud and Erda, and in 1904 gave the first English language performance of the role of Kundry (
ParsifalParsifal is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner. It is loosely based on Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, the 13th century epic poem of the Arthurian knight Parzival and his quest for the Holy Grail....
) in America, at
BostonBoston is the capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is considered the economic and cultural center of the region and is sometimes regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England"...
. Her American 1902 debut, however, was as Amneris in
AidaAida is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
, a role in which she formed a long and famous partnership with
Emmy DestinnEmmy Destinn was a renowned Czech operatic soprano.- Biography :Destinn was born Emílie Pavlína Věnceslava Kittlová in Prague, in what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire....
as Aida. (This partnership is preserved on record, in a 1911 'Ebben qual nuovo fremito', and also in 'L'amo come il fulgor' from Ponchielli's
Gioconda.) Both in England and America she was also a famous Dalila. She sang in the Covent Garden premieres of Massenet's
Helene and
Herodiade, Gluck's
Armide and Tchaikowsky's
Eugene Onegin. Gluck's
Orfeo, which she first delivered in 1905, was considered one of her best parts, and her 'Che faro?' was committed to disc.
Oratorio and concert work
Herny Wood first conducted the
Prelude and Angel's farewell from
The Dream of GerontiusThe Dream of Gerontius, popularly called just Gerontius, is an oratorio in two parts composed by Edward Elgar in 1900, to text from the poem by Cardinal Newman. It relates the journey of a pious man's soul from his deathbed to his judgment before God and settling into Purgatory. It is widely...
with Kirkby Lunn in February 1901. In March 1904, Kirkby Lunn was a principal soloist in the Elgar Festival concerts given at Covent Garden, appearing on the first night with John Coates and Ffrangcon-Davies in
Gerontius, and on the second with them and with
Agnes NichollsAgnes Nicholls , was one of the greatest English sopranos of the early twentieth century, both in the concert hall and on the operatic stage....
, Kennerley Rumford and Andrew Black in
The Apostles. In this way she effectively replaced Marie Brema, the original choice for the
Gerontius angel. Two years later she performed it with the same colleagues (but for Henry Wood) in Leeds. She sang it under
Hans RichterHans Richter was an Austrian conductor.Richter was born in Raab , Hungary, and studied at the Vienna Conservatory. He had a particular interest in the horn, and developed his conducting career at several opera-houses in the Austro-Hungarian Empire...
at
BirminghamThe Birmingham Triennial Musical Festival, in Birmingham, England, founded in 1784, was the longest-running classical music festival of its kind. Its last performance was in 1912.-History:...
in 1909 with John Coates and
Frederic AustinFrederic Austin was a leading English baritone singer, a musical teacher and composer in the period 1905–30. He is best remembered for his restoration and production of The Beggar's Opera by John Gay and Johann Christoph Pepusch, and its sequel, Polly, in 1920–23...
;
The Athenaeum remarked, 'each, in turn, brought to it an accession of glory.' Wood greatly admired her, and employed her frequently, choosing her for a Sheffield Festival presentation of a suite from Rimsky-Korsakov's opera
Christmas Eve, with Francis Hurford, in 1908.
In 1909, Kirkby Lunn performed the
Sea Pictures under Elgar's baton at the
Royal Philharmonic SocietyThe Royal Philharmonic Society is a British music society, formed in 1813. It was originally formed in London to promote performances of instrumental music there. Many distinguished composers and performers have taken part in its concerts...
concerts. On that occasion she was awarded the Gold Medal of the Society, when the Hon Secretary, composer and pianist Francesco Berger, referred to her 'rare combination of personal artistic achievement added to a richly endowed nature.' She made two further appearances before the Society before the war, on the opening nights (November) of the 1913 and 1914 seasons. At the former she sang the
scena from Wagner's
RienziRienzi, der Letzte der Tribunen is an early opera by Richard Wagner in five acts, with the libretto written by the composer after Bulwer-Lytton's novel of the same name....
, 'Gerechter Gott!', for
Willem MengelbergJoseph Willem Mengelberg was a Dutch conductor.- Biography :Mengelberg was born 4th of 15 children to German-born parents in Utrecht, Netherlands. He studied in the Cologne conservatory, including piano and composition. He was chosen as General Music Director of the city of Lucerne Switzerland at...
, and on the second occasion the Ballade
La Fiancee du Timbalier by
Saint-SaënsCharles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French composer, organist, conductor, and pianist, known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse Macabre, Samson and Delilah, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo capriccioso, and his Symphony No...
, for
Thomas BeechamSir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, CH was a British conductor and impresario. From the early twentieth century until his death, Beecham was a major influence on the musical life of Britain and, according to Neville Cardus, was the first British conductor to have a regular international career.From...
. She performed the Brahms
Alto Rhapsody at
Queen's HallThe Queen's Hall was a classical music concert hall in Central London, England, opened in 1893 and was beloved by Londoners until its destruction by an incendiary bomb in 1941. It is best known for being where the Promenade Concerts were founded by Robert Newman, with Henry J...
under
Henri VerbrugghenHenri Verbrugghen was a Belgian musician, who directed orchestras in England, Scotland, Australia and the United States....
in the Festival of April 1915, and she also sang in the Festival of British Music there in the following month . In November 1916 she reappeared with the RPO to sing Mozart's 'Non piu di fiori' (
La clemenza di TitoLa clemenza di Tito , K. 621, is an opera seria composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with text after Metastasio. It was started after the bulk of The Magic Flute, the last opera that Mozart worked on, was already written .-Background:In July 1791, the last year of his life,...
). She also made
gramophone recordA gramophone record, commonly known as phonograph record, vinyl record, or simply record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed modulated spiral groove usually starting near the periphery and ending near the centre of the disc...
s of the
Rienzi and
Clemenza items.
Recordings
Before the War Kirkby Lunn was in great demand for oratorio appearances on the Continent, and sang frequently in Budapest and in New York. In 1912 she made a tour of Australia with
William MurdochWilliam David Murdoch was an Australian pianist, composer and author.-Early life and education:Murdoch was born at Bendigo, Victoria, the son of Andrew Murdoch. While a child he won several competitions as a pianist, and about the year 1905 was awarded the Bendigo Austral scholarship...
, the celebrated pianist who had made his London debut two years earlier. In that year she recorded two duets with
John McCormackJohn Count McCormack , was a world-famous Irish tenor and recording artist, celebrated for his performances of the operatic and popular song repertoires, and renowned for his diction and breath control...
from operas of Wolf-Ferrari. Her
Gramophone CompanyThe Gramophone Company, based in the United Kingdom, was one of the early recording companies, and was the parent organization for the famous "His Master's Voice" label...
recordings were made mostly between 1909 and 1916: there are also
PathePathé Records was a France based international record label active from the 1890s through the 1930s.Pathé was founded by brothers Charles & Émile Pathé, who were owners of a successful bistro in Paris. About 1890 they saw an Edison phonograph demonstrated at a fair and, captivated by the device,...
records made earlier, including duets with the tenor
Ben DaviesBen Davies was a Welsh tenor singer, who appeared in opera with the Carl Rosa Opera Company, in operetta and light opera, and on the concert and oratorio platform...
. The gramophone was not particularly kind to her 'warm rich notes of true contralto quality' (as
Herman KleinHerman Klein was an English music critic, author and teacher of singing. Klein's famous brothers included Charles and Manuel Klein...
spoke of her voice), though in recordings such as the Gounod 'Entreat me not to leave thee' or the
Arthur Goring ThomasArthur Goring Thomas was an English composer. He was the youngest son of Freeman Thomas and Amelia, daughter of Colonel Thomas Frederick.He was born at Ratton Park, Sussex, and educated at Haileybury College...
'A Summer night' her famed control of the broad compass, and the poise and grandeur of her delivery are apparent.
Farewells
In 1919–1922, she reappeared at Covent Garden, choosing her famous role as Kundry for her last appearances there with the
British National Opera CompanyThe British National Opera Company presented opera in English in London and on tour in the British provinces between 1922 and 1929. It was founded in December 1921 by singers and instrumentalists from Thomas Beecham's Beecham Opera Company , which was disbanded when financial problems over buying...
in 1921. After this she remained before the public for several years more in concert and recital. (At much the same time Marie Brema was making her reappearances in
Orfeo.)
Despite the fact that she could speak and sing easily in four different languages, Kirkby Lunn always retained her distinctive Manchester accent in conversation.
Sources
- J R Bennett, Voices of the Past: Vol I, A Catalogue of Vocal recordings from the English Catalogue of the Gramophone Company (1955).
- J.R. Bennett, Voices of the Past: Vol II, A Catalogue of Vocal recordings from the Italian Catalogues of the Gramophone Company (Oakwood Press, 1965).
- G. Davidson, Opera Biographies (Werner Laurie, London 1955).
- A. Eaglefield-Hull, A Dictionary of Modern Music and Musicians (Dent, London 1924).
- R. Elkin, Royal Philharmonic – The Annals of the Royal Philharmonic Society (London 1946).
- H. Klein, Thirty Years of Musical Life in London 1870–1900 (Century Co, New York 1903).
- M. Lee-Browne, Nothing so charming as Musick! The Life and Times of Frederic Austin (Thames 1999).
- H. Rosenthal and J Warrack, Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera (OUP, London 1974 reprint).
- M. Scott, The Record of Singing
The Record of Singing is the most important compilation of singing from the first half of the 20th century, the era of the 78 rpm record.It was published by EMI, successor to the British company His Master's Voice , the leading organization in the early history of audio recording.It covers the...
to 1914 (Duckworth 1977).
- H. Wood, My Life of Music (Gollancz, London 1938).
- P.M. Young, Letters of Edward Elgar (Geoffrey Bles, London 1956).