Kathleen Howard Sang Nancy Most With Frances Alda and Beniamino Gigli

Summary: Kathleen Howard sang Nancy most with Frances Alda and Beniamino Gigli, who shared 17 of her 18 performances in von Flotow's Martha at Met Opera.

Beniamino Gigli's Lionel with Frances Alda's Lady Harriet in Friedrich von Flotow's Martha; Bain News Service glass negatives; George Grantham Bain Collection, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress, Washington DC: No known publication restrictions, via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC)

Kathleen Howard sang Nancy most with Frances Alda and Beniamino Gigli, who sang Lady Harriet and Lionel, respectively, in 17 of the American mezzo-soprano's 18 performances in Friedrich von Flotow's Martha at the Metropolitan Opera.

The Metropolitan Opera premiere of Martha by German composer Friedrich von Flotow (April 27, 1812-Jan. 24, 1883) took place Friday, Jan. 4, 1884, at the Boston Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts. The four-act opera lirica (lyric opera) premiered as the 15th of 20 operas presented during the Metropolitan Opera's inaugural season, 1883-1884. Martha received six performances in its Met Opera premiere season.

American mezzo-soprano Kathleen Howard (July 27, 1884-April 15, 1956) made her Metropolitan Opera debut Tuesday, Nov. 14, 1916, as the Nurse in the opera house's 27th performance of Boris Godunov by Russian composer Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (March 21, 1839-March 28, 1881). She succeeded Maria Duchène (Dec. 5, 1883-April 2, 1947), who had created the role Wednesday, March 19, 1913, in the Metropolitan Opera's United States premiere of Boris Godunov. The French contralto had made her Met Opera debut March 16, 1912, as La Cieca in the opera house's 52nd performance of La Gioconda by Italian composer and librettist Arrigo Boito (Feb. 24, 1842-June 10, 1918).

Two years five and one-third months after her Met Opera debut, Kathleen Howard claimed her 26th opera at Met Opera. She made her role debut as Nancy/Julia Thursday, April 24, 1919, in the opera house's 65th performance of von Flotow's Martha.

Kathleen Howard's role debut in Martha took place in the 1918-1919 season's sixth, closing performance, which was held at the Auditorium in Atlanta, Georgia. The season's first five Martha performances (Saturday, Dec. 7, 1918; Monday, Dec. 30; Wednesday, Jan. 15, 1919; Friday, March 14; Thursday, March 27) took place at the opera house.

Kathleen Howard succeeded Louise Homer (April 30, 1871-May 6, 1947), who sang Nancy in the 1918-1919 season's first five performances. The American operatic contralto had made her Met Opera debut Wednesday, Nov. 14, 1900, as Amneris in the opera house's 55th performance of Aida by Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901).

In her first Met Opera appearance as Nancy, Kathleen Howard sang quartets with Maria Barrientos as Lady Harriet/Martha, Enrico Caruso as Lionel and Adamo Didur as Plunkett. María Alejandra Barrientos Llopis (March 4, 1884-Aug. 8, 1946) had made her Met Opera debut Monday, January 31, 1916, in the title role in the opera house's 82nd performance of Lucia di Lammermoor by Italian opera composer Gaetano Donizetti (Nov. 29, 1797-April 8, 1848). Italian operatic tenor Caruso (Feb. 25, 1873-Aug. 2, 1921) had made his Met Opera debut Monday, Nov. 23, 1903, as the Duke of Mantua in the opera house's 35th performance of Verdi's Rigoletto. Adamo Didur (Dec. 24, 1874-Jan. 7, 1946) had made his Met Opera debut Saturday, Nov. 14, 1908, as Méphistophélès in the opera house's 256th performance of Faust by 19th-century French composer Charles-François Gounod (June 17, 1818-Oct. 18, 1893).

Kathleen Howard's first appearance in Met Opera's Martha marked her only overlap with Maria Barrientos and Enrico Caruso in von Flotow's opera at the opera house. She did not appear in the six performances offered in the following season, 1919-1920. Both Maria Barrientos and Enrico Caruso made their last appearances in Met Opera's Martha in the season's sixth, closing performance (Wednesday, April 21, 1920). Three Martha-less seasons (1920-1921, 1921-1922, 1922-1923) succeeded their last Martha appearances.

After her first Nancy, Kathleen Howard revisited the role for the 1923-1924 season's new production. She sang Nancy in all eight of the season's performances of Martha. The opera house was the venue for the season's first five performances (Friday, Dec. 14, 1923; Thursday, Dec. 27; Monday, Jan. 7, 1924; Friday, Jan. 24; Saturday, Feb. 9) and the seventh performance (Saturday, Feb. 23). The sixth performance (Tuesday, Feb. 19) took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The season's eighth, closing performance of Martha was held Monday, April 21, at the Auditorium in Atlanta, Georgia.

Kathleen Howard reprised Nancy in all three of the 1924-1925 season's Martha performances. New York City's Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) was the venue for the first performance (Tuesday, Nov. 4, 1924). The second (Friday, Dec. 5) and third, closing performance (Monday, Jan. 19, 1925) took place at the Metropolitan Opera.

She sang Nancy in both of the 1925-1926 season's Martha performances. The season's first Martha performance took place Tuesday, Nov. 10, 1925, at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Metropolitan Opera was the venue for the season's second, closing Martha performance (Saturday, Dec. 19).

The Metropolitan Opera was the venue for both performances (Friday, Nov. 5, 1926; Wednesday, Dec. 1) of Martha in the 1926-1927 season. Kathleen Howard sang Nancy in the second performance.

Kathleen Howard sang Nancy in the 1927-1928 season's three performances (Saturday, Nov. 26, 1927; Thursday, Dec. 15; New Year's Eve, Saturday, Dec. 31) were held at the opera house. She sang her 18th and last Met Opera Nancy in the season's third, closing performance, which numbered as the opera house's 89th performance of Martha.

In her 18 Met Opera performances in Martha, Kathleen Howard sang with only two Lady Harriets and only two Lionels. After her role debut of Nancy in the company of Maria Barrientos and Enrico Caruso, Kathleen Howard shared her remaining 17 performances with Frances Alda (May 31, 1879-Sept. 18, 1952) as Lady Harriet and Beniamino Gigli (March 20, 1890-Nov. 30, 1957) as Lionel. The New Zealand-born, Australian-raised operatic soprano had made her Met Opera debut Monday, Dec. 7, 1908, as Gilda in the opera house's 59th performance of Verdi's Rigoletto. The Italian operatic tenor had made his Met Opera debut Friday, Nov. 26, 1920, as Faust in the opera house's 23rd performance of Boito's Mefistofele.

Kathleen Howard's Nancy married two Plunketts. Besides singing Plunkett in Kathleen Howard's role debut as Nancy, Adamo Didur returned for five additional Plunkett appearances. He sang Plunkett in the 1923-1924 season's fourth and fifth performances and in all three 1924-1925 performances.

Giuseppe De Luca (Dec. 25, 1876-Aug. 26, 1950) claimed 12 appearances as Kathleen Howard's second Plunkett. The Italian baritone had made his Met Opera debut Thursday, Nov. 25, 1915, in the title role of Figaro in the opera house's 84th performance of Il Barbiere di Siviglia by Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (Feb. 29, 1792-Nov. 13, 1868).

Kathleen Howard sang Nancy for two conductors. Gennaro Papi (Jan. 21, 1885-Nov. 29, 1941) conducted Martha during Kathleen Howard's first 14 Nancy performances. The Italian operatic conductor had made his Met Opera debut Thursday, April 29, 1915, in the opera house's 82nd performance of Verdi's Rigoletto. Tullio Serafin (Sept. 1, 1878-Feb. 2, 1968), who conducted during Kathleen Howard's last four Nancy appearances, had made his Met Opera debut Monday, Nov. 3, 1924, in the opera house's 294th performance of Verdi's Aida.

Kathleen Howard sang Nancy for two directors. Richard Ordynski (Oct. 5, 1878-Aug. 13, 1953) directed Martha during Kathleen Howard's first appearance as Nancy. The Polish film and theatre director had made his Met Opera debut Thursday, March 8, 1917, in the opera house's world premiere of The Canterbury Pilgrims by American composer Henry Louis Reginald De Koven (April 3, 1859-Jan. 16, 1920). Wilhelm von Wymetal (1862-Nov. 11, 1937) directed the new production in which Kathleen Howard appeared for 17 performances. The Viennese stage director had made his Met Opera debut Friday, Nov. 17, 1922, in the opera house's 28th performance of Der Rosenkavalier by German composer Richard Strauss (June 11, 1864-Sept. 8, 1949).

The takeaways for Kathleen Howard's singing Nancy the most times with Frances Alda and Beniamino Gigli are that the American mezzo-soprano shared 17 of her 18 appearances as Nancy with Frances Alda's Lady Harriet and Beniamino Gigli's Lionel; that Adamo Didur made six appearances as Kathleen Howard's first Plunkett while Giuseppe De Luca claimed 12 appearances as her second Plunkett; that Gennaro Papi made 14 appearances as Kathleen Howard's first Martha conductor and Tullio Serafin claimed four performances as her second Martha conductor; and that Richard Ordynski claimed one performance as Kathleen Howard's first Martha director and Wilhelm von Wymetal made 17 appearances as her second Martha director.

Friedrich von Flotow's quartets in Martha for Lady Harriet/Martha, Lionel, Nancy/Julia and Plunkett include Act II's spinning wheel quartet (Italian: Che vuol dir; German original: Was soll ich dazu sagen); S.H. Rous, Victrola Book of Opera (1917), page 299: No known copyright restrictions, 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:

Beniamino Gigli's Lionel with Frances Alda's Lady Harriet in Friedrich von Flotow's Martha; Bain News Service glass negatives; George Grantham Bain Collection, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress, Washington DC: No known publication restrictions, via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Online Catalog @ https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2014716797/; Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gigli_%26_Alda_-_%22Martha%22_LCCN2014716797.jpg

Friedrich von Flotow's quartets in Martha for Lady Harriet/Martha, Lionel, Nancy/Julia and Plunkett include Act II's spinning wheel quartet (Italian: Che vuol dir; German original: Was soll ich dazu sagen); S.H. Rous, Victrola Book of Opera (1919), page 299: No known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons @; No known copyright restrictions, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14763389192/; via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/victrolabookofop00vict/page/299/mode/1up?view=theater

For further information:

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Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=25050

"Debut: Maria Barrientos." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 356544 Lucia di Lammermoor {82} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/31/1916.
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"Debut: Tullio Serafin." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 88000 Aida {294} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/3/1924.
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Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=42000

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Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=61120

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/06/kathleen-howard-sang-boris-godunov-with.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/01/martha-opened-jan-4-1884-as-15th-opera.html

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Rous, Samuel Holland. Victrola Book of Opera. Fourth revised edition. Camden NJ: Victor Talking Machine Company, 1917.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/victrolabookofop00vict/
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