Augusta Lenska (probably born 1880s)
was a Russian-born American concert and opera singer in the 1910s and 1920s, based in Chicago.
Early life
In publicity and interviews, Lenska described herself as being born in Russia, raised in the
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...
, and educated in England and Belgium.
Another version of her background described her as being born to Russian parents in England, or to Russian-British parents in South Africa, with training in Germany and Italy.
Career
Lenska was singer, associated with
La Monnaie
The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (, ; , ; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National Opera of Belgium, a federal institution, takes the name of this theatre in which it is ho ...
opera house in Brussels,
and with the
Chicago Civic Opera Company. Her range was variously described as
mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...
,
alto
The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: '' altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In four-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in ch ...
,
and
contralto
A contralto () is a classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range is the lowest of their voice type, voice types.
The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare, similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to ...
.
"The singer has a voice of good quality, especially in its middle and lower registers," explained ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' in 1927, "and is also gifted with dramatic temperament, knowledge of style and ability to convey he mood and significance of a song to her audience."
["Augusta Lenska, Contralto, Pleases"](_blank)
''The New York Times'' (October 16, 1927): 30.
Lenska's musical career flourished in middle America in the 1910s and 1920s. In 1916, she was a guest artist at a concert in Missouri and hosted a "soiree musicale" in Iowa. She gave recitals in Mississippi and Minnesota in 1918,
and toured the
Chautauqua circuit with the Culp String Quartet in 1919.
["Mme. Lenska and the Culp String Quartet"](_blank)
(1919 program), in the Iowa Digital Library. In 1921 she gave a recital at the
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...
. She sang in Italy in 1923. She was a soloist in a 1925 production of ''
La Gioconda La Gioconda ( , ; "the joyful one" feminine_gender.html" ;"title="'feminine gender">f.'' may refer to:
* ''Mona Lisa'' or ''La Gioconda'', a painting by Leonardo da Vinci
* Lisa del Giocondo, the model depicted in da Vinci's painting
* La Gioconda ...
'' and a 1926 production of ''
Lohengrin
Lohengrin () is a character in German Arthurian literature. The son of Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which first appears in Wo ...
'', both with the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891, the ensemble has been based in the Symphony Center since 1904 and plays a summer season at the Ravinia F ...
.
She toured in the United States in 1926. In 1927, she sang the Azucena role in ''
Il Trovatore'' in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and gave "a program of rare musical value" in Muncie, Indiana. She sang in Berlin in 1929.
Later life
Along with others in the Chicago opera world, Lenska lost her life savings in 1929, buying worthless stock from investor
Samuel Insull
Samuel Insull (November 11, 1859 – July 16, 1938) was a British American business magnate. He was an innovator and investor based in Chicago who helped create an integrated electrical infrastructure in the United States. Insull created hold ...
. Her career never recovered. In 1933, Lenska was injured when she was struck by a streetcar in Chicago;
during a suspected suicide attempt. She was reported to be 51 years old at that time.
She was an inmate of the
Kankakee State Hospital
Samuel H. Shapiro Developmental Center, formerly named the Kankakee State Hospital, is a developmental center in Kankakee, Illinois, on the banks of the Kankakee River.
History
In 1877, the General Assembly established the Illinois Eastern Hospi ...
by 1940, and still institutionalized there in 1950.
[United States federal censuses for 1940 and 1950, Kankakee State Hospital, via Ancestry.]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenska, Augusta
1880s births
1988 deaths
Singers from Chicago
American opera singers