Pauline Donalda ( born Pauline Donalda ; real name Pauline Lightstone [1] , March 5, 1882 - October 22, 1970 ) is a Canadian singer ( soprano ), teacher and founder of the Opera Guild in Montreal . She made her debut in Nice in 1904. She performed in Covent Garden with Enrico Caruso [1] .
| Pauline Donald Pauline donalda | |
|---|---|
| basic information | |
| Birth name | |
| Full name | Pauline Lightstone |
| Date of Birth | March 5, 1882 |
| Place of Birth | Montreal Canada |
| Date of death | October 22, 1970 (88 years old) |
| Place of death | Montreal Canada |
| A country |  Canada |
| Professions | opera singer , teacher |
| Singing voice | soprano |
| Instruments | |
| Genres | |
| Aliases | |
| Awards |  |
Content
Biography
The early years
Pauline Lightstone was born March 5, 1882 in Montreal. She was the third child in a Jewish family with 11 children. Parents Pauline - Russian emigrant Mikhail Lichtenstein and Polish Fanny Goldberg, emigrated to Canada around 1868, married in Montreal and changed their surname to Lightstone [1] [2] . Parents tried to give their children a good education, including music. At the age of 7, Pauline first appeared on stage as a queen in the play Cinderella. She won the singing contest at 10 years old. After a successful solo performance in the choir in 1901 at the Jewish Congress, the choir leader evaluated the student’s potential and arranged an audition with the music director of Queen's College Victoria . Pauline received a full scholarship for college, the director of the college recommended that she also study in Europe. After the Metropolitan Opera confirmed her abilities, Pauline left to study in France in 1902 with the support of Sir Donald Smith, Lord Strachkon. He awarded her a scholarship of $ 50 per month to cover living expenses and tuition. Pauline adopted the stage name "Pauline Donald" in honor of her benefactor. She began attending singing lessons at the Edmund Doverny at the Paris Conservatory , and also studied stage skills, French and Italian [3] .
Opera career
After two years of study, she made her debut on December 30, 1904 in Nice, starring in the opera Manon . Critics wrote [3] :
“Pauline Donald dared to appear for the first time before the public in the role of Manon. Only she had the courage to do it and succeed. She has an unusually sophisticated physique; strong, excellent and flexible voice; her sophistication and intelligence are emphasized by a wonderful game and sparkling eyes that are open to life or full of love. ”
After the debut, Pauline received a three-year contract in Covent Garden ( London ). Her first appearance was in the role of Michaela in Carmen in May 1905. Two weeks later, she played the role of Margarita in Faust , which was highly praised by English critics [4] . In June 1905, Nelli Melba , who played a major role in Bohemia's opera, was ill, and the role was offered to 23-year-old Pauline because of the similarity of the voices of the singers. [2] She rehearsed only 4 days, and retrained the text from French to Italian. Her performance in this opera with Enrico Caruso was highly appreciated. In her first season, she sang Zerlina's party in Don Giovanni (composed of Enrico Caruso, Antonio Scotti , Emma Destinova , Marcel Journe ). The following season, she was part of the operas of Rigoletto with Caruso, in La Traviata with John McCormack [5] . Pauline Donald has been performing at Covent Garden for 9 years and has also played at La Monnet in Brussels, Opera Comic in Paris and the Manhattan Center in New York. In 1906, Pauline married the baritone Paul Sevillac [3] .
At the beginning of World War I, Pauline's tour of Australia was canceled, and the singer spent the war years in Canada [1] . She spoke a lot to support the Red Cross, the Patriotic Fund. Pauline returned to Europe in 1917. After a divorce from Sevillac, she married the Danish tenor Misha Leon (this marriage also ended in divorce). With opera, she traveled to Canada, the USA, Russia, Hungary, Holland, Germany, Ireland, Wales and Scotland. Pauline Donald performed with famous opera singers, musicians and conductors, Landon Ronald , Mikhail Elman , Ignacy Paderewski and Ephraim Cymbalist . Pauline's career lasted from 1905 to 1922, when she left the stage.
Teaching
In 1922, Pauline opened a studio in Paris, where she trained novice performers before returning to Montreal in 1937. The studio had excellent acoustics, a stage with professional lighting and a hall for 100 people. Teaching class Donalds were often visited by famous composers such as Paul Duc and Vincent D'Andy , who watched the performances of the students, many of whom later became famous performers [2] . In her hometown, she created the Opera Guild in 1942 and headed it until 1969. The first performance, organized by the opera guild, took place on May 3, 1942, scenes from " Country Honor ", "Carmen", " Barber of Seville " were presented [2] . Under the direction of Donald, the guild staged 29 operas and provided work to Canadian performers [3] .
Rewards and memory
Pauline Donald received many awards, she is an officer of the Order of Canada for "her contribution to the arts, especially opera, as a singer and founder of the Opera Guild in Montreal" [6] . In 1966, the Council of Citizens of Montreal awarded Pauline the Distinguished Citizen of Montreal award [3] . She also became an Honorary Doctor of Music at McGill University in 1954 [2] . Despite the relatively short opera career, Donald became known for her special voice and good play. 9 recordings of Pauline’s speeches were made, which are included in the recordings of the Great Voices of Canada (Great Voices of Canada / Les Grandes voix du Canada, vol 1 (Analekta AN @ 7801, 7803, 1993)) [1] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 Pauline Donalda . The Canadian Encyclopedia. Date of treatment February 2, 2016.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 Pauline Lightstone Donalda, soprano, voice teacher and administrator (1882-1970) . Library and Archives Canada. Date of treatment February 2, 2016.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 M.Forster, 2011 , p. 124-126.
- ↑ Eric McLean. Pauline Donalda: a gem in glittering opera world . The Montreal Gazette (March 6, 1982). Date of treatment February 2, 2016.
- ↑ Irving Guttman. Pauline Donalda: A Tribute . Opera Canada, Vol. 50, No. 2, 2009. Date of treatment February 2, 2016.
- ↑ Pauline Donalda, SM . Order of Canada. Date of treatment February 2, 2016.
Literature
- Merna Forster. 100 more canadian heroines. - Toronto: Dundurn, 2011 .-- 488 p. - ISBN 1554889707 .