Amalia Mignon Hauck (November 16, 1851 – February 6, 1929), commonly known as Minnie Hauk, was an American operatic first

dramatic soprano A dramatic soprano is a type of operatic soprano with a powerful, rich, emotive voice that can sing over, or cut through, a full orchestra. Thicker vocal folds in dramatic voices usually (but not always) mean less agility than lighter voices but a ...

than

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 ...

Early life

She was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on November 16, 1851, the only child of Francis Hauck, a German emigrant, and his American wife. Soon after Minnie's birth the Haucks moved to

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, and then to Sumner, Kansas, in 1857. It was later wrongly rumoured that Hauk was the daughter of the financier Leonard Jerome, who was a devotee of the opera.

Career

In 1865, Hauk began vocal studies with Achille Errani, who secured her a spot with the Max Maretzek Italian Opera Company. At age fourteen she made her public debut as opera singer in Brooklyn as Amina in ''

La sonnambula ''La sonnambula'' (; ''The Sleepwalker'') is an opera semiseria in two acts, with music in the ''bel canto'' tradition by Vincenzo Bellini set to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, based on a scenario for a ''ballet-pantomime'' written by Eu ...

'', and a month later, in November 1866, her New York City debut as Prascovia in '' L'étoile du nord''. In the American premiere of Gounod's '' Roméo et Juliette'' (November 15, 1867) she sang Juliette. Hauk sang for the first time in Europe at

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, on 26 October 1868, and debuted in Paris in 1869. The soprano then appeared in Italian and German opera at the Grand Opera in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

(1870–1874) and other venues throughout Europe. Hauk interpreted the role

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

, the previously unsuccessful opera by

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', w ...

, in a new intensive way for the first time on January 2, 1878 in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. The immediate success brought the opera to longlasting fame. She then played the role at the opera's British and American premieres in 1878. Hauk performed '' Manon'' at its American premiere in 1885. Her voice became a

of great strength and depth. Hauk stopped to sing intensive opera tours by end of 1893. Hauk's enormous repertory included approximately one hundred roles, and she sang Carmen in four languages.

Later life and death

In 1878 she married Ernst von Hesse-Wartegg, the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n- American writer and traveler. Much of Hauk's fortune was lost during World War I. By 1920 she was thought to be impoverished and was nearly blind. Hauk died at her home near

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, in 1929.

Notes

References

* Edward T. James, Janet Wilson James, Paul S. Boyer, ''Notable American women, 1607–1950''. Radcliffe College, 1971. * *Andreas Dutz and Elisabeth Dutz: ''Ernst von Hesse-Wartegg. Reiseschriftsteller, Wissenschaftler, Lebemann.'' Böhlau-Verlag, Vienna 2017. (comprehensive biography of Minnie Hauk and her husband Ernst von Hesse-Wartegg)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hauk, Minnie American stage actresses American operatic sopranos American operatic mezzo-sopranos American people of German descent Singers from New York City 1851 births 1929 deaths 19th-century American women opera singers People from Sumner County, Kansas Singers from Kansas Classical musicians from New York (state)