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Adrienne Matzenauer
Adrienne Matzenauer Ferrari-Fontana (January 20, 1914 – June 10, 2010) was an American singer and television host. Early life and education Adrienne Matzenauer Ferrari-Fontana was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the daughter of Margaret Matzenauer and Edoardo Ferrari-Fontana. She was known as "the first grand opera baby", because her mother was ''prima donna'' contralto with the Metropolitan Opera, and her father, an Italian physician, was leading dramatic tenor with the Boston Opera Company. Enrico Caruso was her godfather. Her parents divorced in 1917. She was raised in her mother's household, and toured with her mother in 1923. Career As a young woman, Matzenauer appeared in two Broadway theatre, Broadway productions, ''Life Begins at 8:40'' (1934) and ''Symphony'' (1935). In 1936, she was cast in the George Cukor film Camille (1936 film), ''Camille'', but she collapsed on the set and was replaced by Jean Acker. She sang on radio broadcasts, and was a nightclub singer at the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margaret Matzenauer
Margaret Matzenauer (sometimes spelled Margarete Matzenauer or Margarethe Matzenaur) (1 June 1881 – 19 May 1963) was an Austria-Hungary-born, later resident in the United States, mezzo-soprano. She had an opulent timbre and wide range. She performed key works from both the Italian and German operatic repertoires in Europe and the United States. Biography Matzenauer was born in Temesvár, Austria-Hungary (now Timișoara, Romania). Her father Ludwig was a conductor, her mother an opera singer. She reportedly considered herself Hungarian although she was born in what is now western Romania, of German Jewish descent. Matzenauer studied opera in Graz and Berlin, making her operatic debut in 1901 as Puck in Weber's ''Oberon (Weber), Oberon''. She began singing major roles such as Azucena in Verdi's ''Il trovatore'', Bizet's Carmen, Mignon by Ambroise Thomas, Waltraute and Erda in the Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, ''Ring'' cycles and Ortrud in ''Lohengrin (opera), Lohengr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
