Marcella Sembrich Created Met Opera's Queen of Night March 30, 1900

Summary: Marcella Sembrich created Met Opera's Queen of the Night on Friday, March 30, 1900, and sang her last Queen of the Night on Wednesday, April 6, 1904.

Met Opera's Queen of the Night lineage traces back to Polish coloratura soprano Marcella Sembrich, who created the role in the opera house's Friday, March 30, 1900, premiere of Mozart's fairy-tale opera, Die Zauberflöte: The Metropolitan Opera Guild @metropolitanoperaguild, via Facebook Aug. 6, 2020

Marcella Sembrich created Met Opera's Queen of the Night on Friday, March 30, 1900, and, four seasons later, on Wednesday, April 6, 1904, made her 26th and last appearance as Met Opera's first Queen of the Night.

The Metropolitan Opera premiere of Die Zauberflöte by Classical Era composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791) took place Friday, March 30, 1900. Mozart's two-act, German-language singspiel ("sing-play") received five performances in the 1899-1900 Met Opera season. All five performances were sung in Italian and staged at the Metropolitan Opera House. The second through fifth, closing performances took place Wednesday, April 4; Saturday, April 7; Monday, April 9; and Thursday, April 12.

Marcella Sembrich (Feb. 15, 1858-Jan. 11, 1935) sang the Queen of the Night in all five of the 1899-1900 season's performances of Die Zauberflöte. The Polish coloratura soprano had made her Met Opera debut Wednesday, Oct. 24, 1883, in the title role in the first season's second premiere, Lucia di Lammermoor by Italian opera composer Gaetano Donizetti (Nov. 29, 1797-April 8, 1848). In fact, her second Lucia reprisal occurred in the 1899-1900 season's two performances (Tuesday, March 6; Wednesday, March 21) of Lucia di Lammermoor.

The Metropolitan Opera did not offer Die Zauberflöte in the next, 1900-1901 season but did stage the fairy-tale opera in the 1901-1902 season. Eight performances, sung in Italian, were given in the 1901-1902 season. The Metropolitan Opera House was the venue for the season's first (Monday, Jan. 27, 1902), third (Saturday, Feb. 8) and fourth (Friday, Feb. 28) performances of Die Zauberflöte. The second performance (Thursday, Feb. 6) took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The fifth (Thursday, March 13) and sixth (Saturday, March 22) were held in Boston, Massachusetts. The last two performances (Thursday, April 3; Friday, April 11) were staged in Chicago, Illinois. Marcella Sembrich reprised her role for all eight performances.

Marcella Sembrich made her second Queen of the Night reprisal in the succeeding, 1902-1903 season. Six performances, sung in Italian, were offered. The Metropolitan Opera House was the venue for the first (Wednesday, Feb. 25, 1903) and second (Friday, March 6) performances. The third performance (Thursday, March 12) took place at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The fourth performance (Thursday, April 2) was given at the Boston Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts. The fifth performance (Saturday, April 18) was held at The Auditorium in Chicago, Illinois. The sixth, closing performance (Tuesday, April 21) was staged at Music Hall in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Marcella Sembrich's third and last Queen of the Night reprisal occurred in the next season. She sang in all seven of the 1903-1904 season's performances of Die Zauberflöte. The Metropolitan Opera House was the venue for the first four performances (Monday, Jan. 11, 1904; Wednesday, Jan. 20; Thursday, Feb. 18; Saturday, Feb. 27). The fifth performance (St. Patrick's Day, Thursday, March 17) was held at The Auditorium in Chicago, Illinois. The sixth performance (Wednesday, March 30) took place at Nixon Theatre in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The seventh, closing performance (Wednesday, April 6) was staged at Boston Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts.

The Metropolitan Opera Archives Database (MetOpera Database) notes that some of the 1903-1904 season's performances of Die Zauberflöte were sung in German and some in Italian. The second (Jan. 20) and fourth (Feb. 27) performances, held at home, and the fifth (March 17) performance, held on tour in Chicago, are specified as sung in Italian.

Marcella Sembrich's appearance in the season's closing performance of Die Zauberflöte marked her last Queen of the Night at the Metropolitan Opera. Her April 6 appearance numbered as her 26th performance in the Mozart role that she had honed over four seasons (1899-1900, 1901-1902, 1902-1903, 1903-1904) and that she had created at the opera house four years earlier, on Friday, March 30, 1900.

The takeaways for Marcella Sembrich's creation of Met Opera's Queen of the Night on March 30, 1900, are that the Polish coloratura soprano sang the expressive Die Zauberflöte role in 26 performances over four seasons; and that the first three seasons were staged in Italian, while the fourth season featured some performances in German.

Eugène Castel-Bert made his Met Opera debut Friday, March 30, 1900, as costume designer in the opera house's premiere of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte: The Sembrich @TheSembrich, via Facebook June 19, 2015

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Met Opera's Queen of the Night lineage traces back to Polish coloratura soprano Marcella Sembrich, who created the role in the opera house's Friday, March 30, 1900, premiere of Mozart's fairy-tale opera, Die Zauberflöte: The Metropolitan Opera Guild @metropolitanoperaguild, via Facebook Aug. 6, 2020, @ https://www.facebook.com/metropolitanoperaguild/photos/a.10150144873997754/10158958120897754/

Eugène Castel-Bert made his Met Opera debut Friday, March 30, 1900, as costume designer in the opera house's premiere of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte: The Sembrich @TheSembrich, via Facebook June 19, 2015, @ https://www.facebook.com/TheSembrich/photos/a.481908958541300/855530581179134/

For further information:

"Debuts: Marcella Sembrich, Giuseppe Kaschmann, Achille Augier, Amadeo Grazzi, Imogene Forti, Vincenzo Fornaris." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 1010 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Lucia di Lammermoor {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/24/1883.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=1010

Marriner, Derdriu. "Ernani Opened Jan. 28, 1903, as Eighth Verdi Opera at Met Opera." Earth and Space News. Monday, March 1, 2021.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/01/ernani-opened-jan-28-1903-as-eighth.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Manru Opened Feb. 14, 1902, as First Polish Opera Staged at Met Opera." Earth and Space News. Monday, Feb. 22, 2021.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/02/manru-opened-feb-14-1902-as-first.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Marcella Sembrich Made Last Met Opera Appearance Feb. 6, 1909." Earth and Space News. Monday, Feb. 15, 2021.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/02/marcella-sembrich-made-last-met-opera.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Marcella Sembrich Sang Met Opera's Mimì December 1902 to February 1909." Earth and Space News. Monday, March 8, 2021.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/01/marcella-sembrich-sang-met-operas-mimi.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Marcella Sembrich Sang Mozart's Susanna as Last Met Role Feb. 4, 1909." Earth and Space News. Monday, Feb. 8, 2021.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/01/marcella-sembrich-sang-mozarts-susanna.html

The Metropolitan Opera Guild @metropolitanoperaguild. "#OTD in 1900, Mozart's DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE had its Met premiere with Marcella Sembrich singing the famous Queen of the Night! #TodayInOpera #TBT." Facebook. March 30, 2017.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/metropolitanoperaguild/photos/a.10150144873997754/10155221251227754/

The Metropolitan Opera Guild @metropolitanoperaguild. "With some of the most recognizable music in the operatic canon come a variety of striking looks for this week's #OperaThroughTheYears feature: The Queen of the Night from Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, portrayed in these photos by: Marcella Sembrich (1900) Roberta Peters (1956) Lucia Popp (1967) Mary Dunleavy (1998) L'ubica Vargicová (2004) #TBT #KoniginDerNacht #Mozart #DieZauberflote #MarcellaSembrich #RobertaPeters #LuciaPopp #MaryDunleavy #LubicaVargicova #soprano #coloratura #HighNotes #YasQueen." Facebook. Aug. 6, 2020.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/metropolitanoperaguild/photos/a.10150144873997754/10158958120897754/

Owen, H. (Henry) Goddard. A Recollection of Marcella Sembrich. First edition. Bolton Landing NY: Marcella Sembrich Memorial Association: Jan. 1, 1950.

Owen, H. (Henry) Goddard; and Philip Lieson Miller. A Recollection of Marcella Sembrich, With a New Introduction. Da Capo Press Series in Architecture and Decorative Art. New York NY: Da Capo Press, April 21, 1982.

Rous, Samuel Holland. The Victrola Book of the Opera: Stories of One Hundred and Twenty Operas With Seven-Hundred Illustrations and Descriptions of Twelve-Hundred Victor Opera Records. Fourth revised edition. Camden NJ: Victor Talking Machine Company, 1917.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/victrolabookofop00vict

The Sembrich @TheSembrich. "Marcella Sembrich as The Queen of the Night, by Aime Dupont, the official photographer for the Metropolitan Opera, c. 1900." Facebook. June 19, 2015.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/TheSembrich/photos/a.481908958541300/855668221165370/

The Sembrich @TheSembrich. "This magnificent costume, worn by Marcella Sembrich as The Queen of the Night at the Met's premiere of The Magic Flute in 1900, is now on display at the Sembrich Museum through Sept. 15. We hope to see you this summer! http://www.thesembrich.org/." Facebook. June 19, 2015.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/TheSembrich/photos/a.481908958541300/855530581179134/