Forgotten Opera Singers

Forgotten Opera Singers

Apr 26, 2015

Maude Fay (Maud Fay) (San Francisco, California, USA 1878 – Connellsville, Pennsylvania, USA 1964)





She studied singing under Aglaja Orgeni in Dresden and made her debut in 1906 at the Hofoper of Munich as Marguerite in ‘’Faust’’ of C. Gounod. She remained active till 1914 in Munich. She sang in 1908 the title role in the Munich première of the opera ‘’Donna Diana’’ of  E. N. Reznicek, also appeared in the premières of the operas ‘’Elektra’’ (1908) and ‘’Ariadne auf Naxos’’ (1913) by R. Strauss. She had there a huge success as  Gräfin in ‘’Figaros Hochzeit’’ and as Donna Anna ‘’Don Giovanni’’. Her other roles in Munich were the Elsa in ‘’Lohengrin’’, the title role in ‘’Jessonda’’of  L. Spohr, Ada in Die Feen of R. Wagner, Norma and the Irene in ‘’Rienzi’’ of R. Wagner. She guested during this time at the Stadttheater of Zurich (1909), at the Hofoper in Berlin (1909), at the Oper of Frankfurt a. M. (1910) and Leipzig (1911). At Covent Garden in London she appeared in 1914 as Sieglinde in ‘’Walküre’’, as Gutrune in ‘’Götterdämmerung’’ and as Elsa in ‘’Lohengrin’’. She made also guest appearances in St. Petersburg, Brussels and in the 1912-1913 season in Amsterdam, where she had a huge success as Elisabeth in ‘’Tannhäuser’’ and as Sieglinde in ‘’Walküre’’. From 1915 to 1917 seasons she was engaged by the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In 1916 she sang there as a beginning role the part of Sieglinde. In the 1916-1917 season she made guest appearance at the Chicago Opera. In  the 1920-1921 season she was to be heard again at the San Carlo Opera Company in the USA. After she had married to American naval officer Powers, she gave only seldom guest performances and concerts. Later she lived in San Francisco.

Chronology of some appearances

1906-1914 Munich  Hofoper
1909 Zurich  Stadttheater
1909  Berlin Hofoper
1910 Frankfurt a. M. Oper
1911 Leipzig Oper
1912-1913 Amsterdam Opera
1914 London Covent Garden
1915-1917 New York Metropolitan Opera
1916-1917  Chicago Opera
1920-1921 USA San Carlo Opera Company

RECORDING FOR SALE 









G&T, Münchenn 1907
Lohengrin (Wagner): Das süsse Lied verhallt with Heinrich Knote 044068 214s

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