Marie Tiffany
Encyclopedia
Marie Tiffany was an American opera
tic soprano
. She was a member of the Metropolitan Opera
in New York City from 1916-1928; making a total of 208 appearances at the Met during her career. She created roles in several world premieres at the Met and was notably the only performer to appear in all three one act operas at the premiere of Giacomo Puccini
's Il Trittico
in 1918.
. She made her Met debut on November 17, 1916 as the Milliner in Richard Strauss
' Der Rosenkavalier
under conductor Artur Bodanzky
. She remained at the Met for the next 12 years, singing mainly comprimario
roles. She performed in several world premieres at the Met, including Reginald De Koven
's The Canterbury Pilgrims
(1917), Charles Wakefield Cadman
's Shanewis (1918), Giacomo Puccini
's Il Trittico
(1918), Albert Wolff
's L'oiseau bleu
(1919), and Henry Kimball Hadley
's Cleopatra's Night
(1920). She also portrayed the role of Pomone in the United States premiere of Xavier Leroux
's La reine Fiammette
. Some of her other Met roles were Clémence in Mireille
, Frasquita in Carmen
, Gerhilde in Die Walküre
, Giannetta in L'elisir d'amore
, the High Priestess in Aida
, Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly
, Mme. Dufresne in Zazà
, Poussette in Manon
, the Sandman in Hänsel und Gretel, Suzanne in Louise
, and the Young Woman in L'amore dei tre re
. Her last appearance in an opera at the Met was on April 7, 1928 as Nella in Gianni Schicchi
. She returned to the Met stage for one concert appearance in 1929.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
. She was a member of the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
in New York City from 1916-1928; making a total of 208 appearances at the Met during her career. She created roles in several world premieres at the Met and was notably the only performer to appear in all three one act operas at the premiere of Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
's Il Trittico
Il trittico
Il trittico is the title of a collection of three one-act operas, Il tabarro, Suor Angelica, and Gianni Schicchi, by Giacomo Puccini...
in 1918.
Life and career
Born Marie Berg, Tiffany married court reporter Willis N. Tiffany in 1900 and resided with him for 16 years in California where she was a soloist at the First Presbyterian Church of Pasadena. In 1916 she moved to New York City where she soon became a member of the Metropolitan OperaMetropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
. She made her Met debut on November 17, 1916 as the Milliner in Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
' Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac...
under conductor Artur Bodanzky
Artur Bodanzky
Artur Bodanzky was an Austrian-American conductor particularly associated with the operas of Wagner.- Career :...
. She remained at the Met for the next 12 years, singing mainly comprimario
Comprimario
A Comprimario is a supporting role in an opera. Derived from the Italian "con primario", or "with the primary", the term refers to a performer who sings small role pieces....
roles. She performed in several world premieres at the Met, including 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 The Canterbury Pilgrims
The Canterbury Pilgrims
The Canterbury Pilgrims is an opera by the American composer Reginald De Koven. It premiered at the Metropolitan Opera House on March 8, 1917...
(1917), Charles Wakefield Cadman
Charles Wakefield Cadman
Charles Wakefield Cadman was an American composer.Cadman’s musical education, unlike that of most of his American contemporaries, was completely American. Born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, he began piano lessons at 13...
's Shanewis (1918), Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
's Il Trittico
Il trittico
Il trittico is the title of a collection of three one-act operas, Il tabarro, Suor Angelica, and Gianni Schicchi, by Giacomo Puccini...
(1918), Albert Wolff
Albert Wolff
Albert Wolff was a French conductor and composer of Dutch descent. Most of his career was spent in European venues, with the exception of two years that he spent as a conductor at the Metropolitan Opera and a few years in Buenos Aires during the Second World War...
's L'oiseau bleu
L'oiseau bleu
L'oiseau bleu is an opera in four acts by the French composer and conductor Albert Wolff. The libretto by Maurice Maeterlinck is based on his 1908 play of the same name.-Performance history:...
(1919), and Henry Kimball Hadley
Henry Kimball Hadley
Henry Kimball Hadley was an American composer and conductor.-Life:Hadley was born into a musical family in Somerville, Massachusetts...
's Cleopatra's Night
Cleopatra's Night
Cleopatra's Night is a short opera in two acts by American composer Henry Kimball Hadley. Its libretto is by Alice Leal Pollock based on a story by French author Théophile Gautier. The opera premiered at the Metropolitan Opera on January 31, 1920...
(1920). She also portrayed the role of Pomone in the United States premiere of Xavier Leroux
Xavier Leroux
Xavier Henry Napoleón Leroux was a French composer.Leroux was the son of a military bandleader. He studied at the Paris Conservatory under Jules Massenet and Théodore Dubois, and won the Prix de Rome in 1885 with the cantata Endymion...
's La reine Fiammette
La reine Fiammette
La reine Fiammette is an opera in 4 Acts by composer Xavier Leroux. The opera uses a French language libretto by Catulle Mendès which is based on Mendès's 1898 work of the same name, a conte dramatique in six acts set in Renaissance Italy. The opera's premiere was given by the Opéra-Comique at the...
. Some of her other Met roles were Clémence in Mireille
Mireille (opera)
Mireille is an opera in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Michel Carré after Frédéric Mistral's poem Mireio.-Composition history:...
, Frasquita in Carmen
Carmen
Carmen 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 possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
, Gerhilde in Die Walküre
Die Walküre
Die Walküre , WWV 86B, is the second of the four operas that form the cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner...
, Giannetta in L'elisir d'amore
L'elisir d'amore
L'elisir d'amore is an opera by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. It is a melodramma giocoso in two acts...
, the High Priestess in Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, 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...
, Kate Pinkerton in 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...
, Mme. Dufresne in Zazà
Zazà
Zazà is an opera by Ruggero Leoncavallo, with the libretto by the composer. Its première at the Teatro Lirico di Milano on November 10, 1900, starring Rosina Storchio as Zazà, Edoardo Garbin as Milio, Mario Sammarco as Cascart and Clorinda Pini-Corsi as Anaïde, and conducted by Arturo Toscanini,...
, Poussette in Manon
Manon
Manon is an opéra comique in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by the Abbé Prévost...
, the Sandman in Hänsel und Gretel, Suzanne in Louise
Louise (opera)
Louise is an opera in four acts by Gustave Charpentier to an original French libretto by the composer, with some contributions by Saint-Pol-Roux, a symbolist poet and inspiration of the surrealists....
, and the Young Woman in L'amore dei tre re
L'amore dei tre re
L'amore dei tre re is an opera in three acts by Italo Montemezzi. Its Italian-language libretto was written by playwright Sem Benelli who based it on his own play of the same title.-Performance history:...
. Her last appearance in an opera at the Met was on April 7, 1928 as Nella in Gianni Schicchi
Gianni Schicchi
Gianni Schicchi is a comic opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, composed in 1917–18. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's Divine Comedy. The work is the third and final part of Puccini's Il trittico —three one-act operas with...
. She returned to the Met stage for one concert appearance in 1929.