Emmanuel Christian Hedmondt (24 October 1857 – 25 April 1940) was a Canadian-born

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

who made a long and distinguished career, mainly within the

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

tic repertoire. He changed to this stage name from his family name Hausgen.Bullen, Matt (2017) Personal Communication www.operascotland.org
/ref> He also used the name Charles Hedmont, although spellings of this vary.

Early life and career

E C Hedmondt was born in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

on 24 October 1857. After studying in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

and

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, he made his debut at

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. From 1882-87 he was a principal tenor at Leipzig, where his repertoire included several Mozart roles including Belmonte, Ottavio, Tamino, and Idomeneo (the latter being a rarity at the time). He also sang Max in ''Der Freischütz''. In 1886, he appeared at Bayreuth as David in ''Die Meistersinger''. On 20 January 1888 at the Leipzig house he created the role of Don Gaston de Viratos (the romantic lead) at the premiere of the Weber opera Die Drei Pintos, which had been completed by Gustav Mahler. And on that occasion, Mahler himself was the conductor. From 1891 to 1909 Hedmondt was a principal tenor with the

Carl Rosa Opera Company The Carl Rosa Opera Company was founded in 1873 by Carl Rosa, a German-born musical impresario, and his wife, British operatic soprano Euphrosyne Parepa-Rosa to present opera in English in London and the British provinces. The company premiere ...

. In 1895 he sang Siegmund at Covent Garden, the first time it was performed in English. When Karl Richter conducted the famous English language Ring cycle at Covent Garden in 1908, Hedmondt was stage manager (i.e. director) as well as singing Loge. In 1914 he was a member of the Quinlan Opera Company that toured to South Africa, Australia and Canada. His wife Marie sang until a throat operation forced her retirement, after which she taught at Leipzig Conservatorium and subsequently. When in Britain they lived in Liverpool and were friendly with the Boult family. It was because of this connection that

Adrian Boult Sir Adrian Cedric Boult, CH (; 8 April 1889 – 22 February 1983) was a British conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family, he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, with early conducting work in London ...

was introduced to Artur Nikisch and encouraged to study with him in Leipzig from September 1912. While there he also acted as accompanist at lessons given by Mrs Hedmondt. Through Hedmondt's work with Carl Rosa and as producer with other companies he spent some time in Scotland, Edinburgh in particular. In 1917 he toured Scotland in the musical comedy Our Theodore. In 1922, he is recorded as acting as producer for the Edinburgh Opera Company's third season, at the King's Theatre. By 1934, The Stage (April 12) was able to note that the Edinburgh Opera Company was back at the King's with ''

Yeomen of the Guard The King's Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard is a Sovereign's Bodyguard, bodyguard of the British monarch. The List of oldest military units and formations in continuous operation, oldest British military corps still in existence, it was ...

'' and ''

Jeanie Deans Jeanie Deans is a fictional character in Sir Walter Scott's novel '' The Heart of Midlothian'' first published in 1818. She was one of Scott's most celebrated characters during the 19th century; she was renowned as an example of an honest, uprig ...

''. The writer pointed out that Hedmondt had in fact performed a leading role, that of George Staunton, at the latter's premiere forty years previously. Hedmondt died in London on 25 April 1940.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hedmondt, E C 1857 births 1940 deaths Canadian operatic tenors Singers from Ontario 20th-century Canadian male opera singers Immigrants to the German Empire Canadian emigrants