Minnie Hauk Sang Her Third, Last Met Opera Carmen March 4, 1891

Summary: Minnie Hauk sang her third and last Met Opera Carmen on Wednesday, March 4, 1891, less than one month after her Feb. 10, 1891, Met Opera debut.

Minnie Hauk created Bizet's Carmen at the opera's London premiere, June 17, 1878, at Her Majesty's Theatre, and at the opera's United States premiere, Oct. 23, 1878, at the New York Academy of Music; cabinet card photograph of Minnie Hauk as Carmen by American lithographer and photographer Napoleon Sarony (March 9, 1821-Nov. 9, 1896); George Eastman Museum, Rochester, New York: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

American operatic soprano Minnie Hauk, stage name of Amalia Mignon Hauck (Nov. 16, 1851-Feb. 6, 1929), made her Met Opera debut Tuesday, Feb. 10, 1891, as Sélika at the Metropolitan Opera House in the opera house's seventh performance of L'Africaine by German Jewish opera composer Giacomo Meyerbeer (Sept. 5, 1791-May 2, 1864). The five-act opera, sung in a German translation of the original French libretto, received three performances in the 1890-1891 season: Wednesday, Jan. 21, 1891; Tuesday, Feb. 10; and Saturday, Feb. 14. Minnie Hauk sang Sélika in the season's second and third, closing performances.

L'Africaine had received its Metropolitan Opera premiere Friday, Dec. 7, 1888. The opera received five performances, all sung in German instead of the original French, in the 1888-1889 season.

On Friday, Feb. 20, six days after her second and last Met Opera Sélika, Minnie Hauk appeared in the title role of the seductive Spanish Gypsy. The Metropolitan Opera staged three performances of Carmen by French Romantic Era composer Georges Bizet (Oct. 25, 1838-June 3, 1875) in the 1890-1891 season: Friday, Feb. 20; Saturday, Feb. 28, and Wednesday, March 4. The Metropolitan Opera House was the venue for all three performances, sung in German, with Minnie Hauk in the title role.

The 1890-1891 season marked the second season in which Met Opera performed Carmen in German. The opera's Metropolitan Opera premiere had taken place Friday, Jan. 5, 1884, as the 16th of 20 operas offered in the opera house's inaugural season, 1883-1884. The opening season's 10 performances of Carmen were sung in Italian. Met Opera's next offering of Carmen occurred in the 1885-1886 season, with four performances, sung in German.

Minnie Hauk sang Carmen opposite Andreas Dippel's tragically infatuated Don José in all three of the 1890-1891 season's Carmen performances. Andreas Dippel's casting in Carmen marked his second opera with Minnie Hauk. The German-born operatic tenor (Nov. 30, 1866-May 12, 1932) had sung Vasco de Gama to Minnie Hauk's lovelorn Sélika in L'Africaine. Andreas Dippel had made his Met Opera debut Wednesday, Nov. 26, 1890, in the title role in the opera house's United States premiere of Asrael by Italian Jewish opera composer Alberto Franchetti (Sept. 18, 1860-Aug. 4, 1942).

Walter Johannes Damrosch (Jan. 30, 1862-Dec. 22, 1950) conducted all three of the 1890-1891 season's Carmen performances. His conductorship of Carmen marked his second opera with Minnie Hauk, as he had held the baton during her two performances in her Met Opera debut role as L'Africaine's Sélika. The German-born American conductor and composer had made his Met Opera debut Wednesday, Feb. 11, 1885, in the opera house's eighth performance of Tannhäuser by German Romantic era composer-librettist Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813-Feb. 13, 1883).

Theodore (Theodor) Habelmann (April 20, 1834-June 6, 1920) directed the 1890-1891 season's Carmen production. The German-born operatic tenor and stage manager also had directed the 1890-1891 season's production of Meyerbeer's L'Africaine as his first reprisal of his premiere directorship of the opera.

The Metropolitan Opera Archives Database (MetOpera Database) notes that the 1890-1891 season's third, closing performance of Carmen marked the last Met Opera appearances by Minnie Hauk and Hannah Rothe. Hannah Rothe had shared all five of Minnie Hauk's Met Opera performances. The German mezzo-soprano had sung L'Africaine's Anna and Carmen's Mercédès. Hannah Rothe had made her Met Opera debut Wednesday, Dec. 3, 1890, as a Lady of Honor in the opera house's 15th performance of Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots.

Sadly, according to MetOpera Database's reprints of a review in The New York Tribune by American music critic and musicologist Henry Edward Krehbiel (March 10, 1854-March 20, 1923) and two unsigned reviews in The New York Times, the 1890-1891 season's Carmen production suffered from disappointingly imperfect performances. Mr. Krehbiel, however, complimented the opera as "well dressed," in contrast to the performances. Costumes were designed by D. Ascoli and Henry Dazian (May 3, 1854-May 4, 1937), who had made their Met Opera debuts Monday, Oct. 22, 1883, in the opening season's first premiere, Faust by French composer Charles-François Gounod (June 17, 1818-Oct. 18, 1893).

The takeaways for Minnie Hauk's performance of her third and last Met Opera Carmen on Wednesday, March 4, 1891, are that the American operatic soprano claimed a Met Opera career of less than one month; that her Met Opera portfolio contained two roles, Meyerbeer's Sélika and Bizet's Carmen; and that she made her Met Opera debut Tuesday, Feb. 10, 1891, in L'Africaine.

Minnie Hauk's Academy of Music Carmen, created for the opera's United States premiere in the New York opera house's 1878-1879 season, preceded her Met Opera Carmen; cabinet card photograph of Minnie Hauk, in title role of Bizet's Carmen at New York's Academy of Music, by American lithographer and photographer Napoleon Sarony (March 9, 1821-Nov. 9, 1896); George Eastman Museum, Rochester, New York: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Minnie Hauk created Bizet's Carmen at the opera's London premiere, June 17, 1878, at Her Majesty's Theatre, and at the opera's United States premiere, Oct. 23, 1878, at the New York Academy of Music; cabinet card photograph of Minnie Hauk as Carmen by American lithographer and photographer Napoleon Sarony (March 9, 1821-Nov. 9, 1896); George Eastman Museum, Rochester, New York: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Accession_Number-_1981-4081-0003_(2720790494).jpg?uselang=it; no known copyright restrictions, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/george_eastman_house/2720790494/

Minnie Hauk's Academy of Music Carmen, created for the opera's United States premiere in the New York opera house's 1878-1879 season, preceded her Met Opera Carmen; cabinet card photograph of Minnie Hauk, in title role of Bizet's Carmen at New York's Academy of Music, by American lithographer and photographer Napoleon Sarony (March 9, 1821-Nov. 9, 1896); George Eastman Museum, Rochester, New York: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Minnie_Hauk_ca1880.jpg; no known copyright restrictions, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/george_eastman_house/2719967097/

For further information:

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Available @ https://www.carlrosatrust.org.uk/troupe/troupe_Hauk.html

Davis, Peter G. "Ball of Fire: The Sizzling Life and Times of Minnie Hauk, America's First International Opera Superstar." Opera News. vol. 61, no. 13 (March 22, 1997): 14–19, 27.

"Debut: Andreas Dippel, Marie Jahn, Marie Ritter-Götze, Bruno Lurgenstein, Peter Mastorff, Miss Leontine, Miss Francioli, Fanny Lengyelffy, Miss Polednik, E. S. Freisinger." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 9150 United States Premiere Asrael {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/26/1890. (United States Premiere) (Opening Night {8} Edmund C. Stanton, General Manager.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=9150

"Debut: Jennie Broch, Pauline Schöller-Haag, Juan Luria, Hannah Rothe." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 9190 Les Huguenots {15} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/3/1890.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=9190

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Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=9590

"Debut: Walter Damrosch." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 3520 Tannhäuser {8} Metropolitan Opera House: 02/11/1885.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=3520

"Debuts: Italo Campanini, Christine Nilsson, Franco Novara, Giuseppe Del Puente, Sofia Scalchi, Louise Lablache, Ludovico Contini, Auguste Vianesi, Mr. Corani, Mr. Abbiati, Charles Fox, Jr., William Schaeffer, Gaspar Maeder, Mr. Thompson, D. Ascoli, Henry Dazian." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID:1000 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Faust {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/22/1883. Metropolitan Opera Premiere Opening Night {1}.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=1000

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Available via HathiTrust @ https://hdl.handle.net/2027/njp.32101073370700
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/marieburroughsar00chic/

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