Evelyn Scotney
Encyclopedia
Evelyn Scotney was an Australia
n coloratura soprano
of great renown in the period from 1913 to the late 1920s. Her range extended to E in altissimo. In her time she was considered by some to be the world's greatest soprano. She was compared very favourably with Amelita Galli-Curci
, Luisa Tetrazzini
and others. Her recording of "Caro nome" from Verdi
's Rigoletto
was described by a critic as "one of the best soprano records in existence", and her recording of The Blue Danube
and other Strauss
vocal waltzes was described as "absolutely perfect coloratura singing". She appears in The Record of Singing
.
who had come to Australia to study minerals, married there, and decided to stay. Her family moved to Melbourne
when she was young. She studied singing there with Elise Wiedermann, who also taught Elsa Stralia
, Florence Austral
and others. She was first noticed by Nellie Melba
, while singing at a reception for Lord Kitchener
in Melbourne. Melba sent her to Paris
to study with her own teacher Mathilde Marchesi
. She later studied with Paolo Tosti in London
. There she was heard by Henry Russell
, the director of the Boston Opera Company
, who engaged her to sing in Boston. She first appeared as La Charmeuse in Massenet
's Thais
, then deputised for Luisa Tetrazzini
in the title role of Donizetti
's Lucia di Lammermoor
, the Mad Scene from which became her most famous part. In this and other roles she was said to surpass Tetrazzini. Her other roles in Boston included Carmen
and Olympia (The Tales of Hoffmann). She also sang in Debussy
's Le martyre de Saint Sébastien
in 1912 with Jeska Swartz, conducted by André Caplet
.
Evelyn Scotney married Howard J. White, a bass singer with the company, and was then known as "Madame Scotney". She later sang at the Metropolitan Opera
in New York
, in operas such as Rimsky-Korsakov
's Le Coq d'Or
, Lucia di Lammermoor, L'elisir d'amore
and the revival of Fromental Halévy
's La Juive
, in which she sang opposite Enrico Caruso.
During World War I
she had various tours of Australia with her husband. Her only brother Henry died in 1915, aged 21. She returned to the US after the war. It was Evelyn Scotney who appeared opposite Enrico Caruso in his final performance, in La Juive, on Christmas Eve 1920. She sang in Melbourne
in 1923. By 1925 she was singing Gilda (Rigoletto
) in London. She sang with the Beecham Opera Company
and appeared at The Proms
in the 1920s.
Evelyn Scotney remarried in London in the 1920s, to B. H. Russell, London manager of the Cunard Line
. Their wedding was attended by Sir Joseph Cook
(then Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and a former Prime Minister of Australia
) and Lady Cook. She and Russell had a son in 1924 and another son in mid-1926.
She gave a series of six Farewell Concerts in Australia in 1926.
A full discography of Evelyn Scotney's recordings is available.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n coloratura soprano
Coloratura soprano
A coloratura soprano is a type of operatic soprano who specializes in music that is distinguished by agile runs and leaps. The term coloratura refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, which is a typical component of the music written for this voice...
of great renown in the period from 1913 to the late 1920s. Her range extended to E in altissimo. In her time she was considered by some to be the world's greatest soprano. She was compared very favourably with Amelita Galli-Curci
Amelita Galli-Curci
Amelita Galli-Curci was an Italian operatic soprano. She was one of the best-known coloratura singers of the early 20th century with her gramophone records selling in large numbers.-Early life:...
, Luisa Tetrazzini
Luisa Tetrazzini
Luisa Tetrazzini was an Italian coloratura soprano of great international fame.Tetrazzini's voice was remarkable for its phenomenal flexibility, thrust, steadiness and thrilling tone...
and others. Her recording of "Caro nome" from Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
's Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
was described by a critic as "one of the best soprano records in existence", and her recording of The Blue Danube
The Blue Danube
The Blue Danube is the common English title of An der schönen blauen Donau, Op. 314 , a waltz by the Austrian composer Johann Strauss II, composed in 1866...
and other Strauss
Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II , also known as Johann Baptist Strauss or Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, or the Son , was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas...
vocal waltzes was described as "absolutely perfect coloratura singing". She appears in The Record of Singing
The Record of Singing
The Record of Singing is a compilation of classical-music singing from the first half of the 20th century, the era of the 78-rpm record.It was issued on LP by EMI, successor to the British company His Master's Voice — perhaps the leading organization in the early history of audio recording.The...
.
Biography
Evelyn Scotney was born in Ballarat in 1896, to parents Henry Bailey Scotney and Eliza Scotney. Her father was a professor from the University of OxfordUniversity of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
who had come to Australia to study minerals, married there, and decided to stay. Her family moved to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
when she was young. She studied singing there with Elise Wiedermann, who also taught Elsa Stralia
Elsa Stralia
Elsa Stralia was an Australian soprano with an international reputation in Europe and America. She was born Elsie Mary Fischer.-Biography:After appearing in Sydney, she studied in Milan and London...
, Florence Austral
Florence Austral
Florence Austral was an Australian operatic soprano renowned for her interpretation of the most demanding Wagnerian female roles, although she never gained the opportunity to appear at the Bayreuth Festival or the New York Metropolitan Opera.She was born Florence Mary Wilson, but adopted the...
and others. She was first noticed by Nellie Melba
Nellie Melba
Dame Nellie Melba GBE , born Helen "Nellie" Porter Mitchell, was an Australian operatic soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian Era and the early 20th century...
, while singing at a reception for Lord Kitchener
Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener
Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener KG, KP, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, ADC, PC , was an Irish-born British Field Marshal and proconsul who won fame for his imperial campaigns and later played a central role in the early part of the First World War, although he died halfway...
in Melbourne. Melba sent her to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to study with her own teacher Mathilde Marchesi
Mathilde Marchesi
Mathilde Marchesi was a German mezzo-soprano, a renowned teacher of singing, and a proponent of the bel canto vocal method.-Biography:...
. She later studied with Paolo Tosti in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. There she was heard by Henry Russell
Henry Russell (impresario)
Henry Russell was an English impresario, conductor, opera director, and singing teacher.-Biography:Henry Ronald Russell was born in London. He was the son of Henry Russell, a composer, pianist, and baritone, and his wife Hannah...
, the director of the Boston Opera Company
Boston Opera Company
The Boston Opera Company was an American opera company located in Boston, Massachusetts that was active from 1909 to 1915.-History:The company was founded in 1908 by Bostonian millionaire Eben Dyer Jordan, Jr. and impresario Henry Russell...
, who engaged her to sing in Boston. She first appeared as La Charmeuse in Massenet
Jules Massenet
Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet was a French composer best known for his operas. His compositions were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and he ranks as one of the greatest melodists of his era. Soon after his death, Massenet's style went out of fashion, and many of his operas...
's Thais
Thaïs (opera)
Thaïs is an opera in three acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Louis Gallet based on the novel Thaïs by Anatole France. It was first performed at the Opéra Garnier in Paris on 16 March 1894, starring the American soprano Sybil Sanderson, for whom Massenet had written the title role...
, then deputised for Luisa Tetrazzini
Luisa Tetrazzini
Luisa Tetrazzini was an Italian coloratura soprano of great international fame.Tetrazzini's voice was remarkable for its phenomenal flexibility, thrust, steadiness and thrilling tone...
in the title role of Donizetti
Gaetano Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. His best-known works are the operas L'elisir d'amore , Lucia di Lammermoor , and Don Pasquale , all in Italian, and the French operas La favorite and La fille du régiment...
's Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
, the Mad Scene from which became her most famous part. In this and other roles she was said to surpass Tetrazzini. Her other roles in Boston included Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
and Olympia (The Tales of Hoffmann). She also sang in Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
's Le martyre de Saint Sébastien
Le martyre de Saint Sébastien
Le martyre de Saint Sébastien, L 124 is a musical work by the French composer Claude Debussy.Written in 1911, the work—a five-act musical mystery play on the subject of Saint Sebastian -- was produced in collaboration with Gabriele d'Annunzio and designed as a vehicle for Ida Rubinstein...
in 1912 with Jeska Swartz, conducted by André Caplet
André Caplet
André Caplet was a French composer and conductor now known primarily through his orchestrations of works by Claude Debussy.-Biography:...
.
Evelyn Scotney married Howard J. White, a bass singer with the company, and was then known as "Madame Scotney". She later sang at the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, in operas such as Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...
's Le Coq d'Or
The Golden Cockerel
The Golden Cockerel is an opera in three acts, with short prologue and even shorter epilogue, by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Its libretto, by Vladimir Belsky, derives from Alexander Pushkin's 1834 poem The Tale of the Golden Cockerel, which in turn is based on two chapters of Tales of the Alhambra by...
, Lucia di Lammermoor, L'elisir d'amore
L'elisir d'amore
L'elisir d'amore is an opera by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. It is a melodramma giocoso in two acts...
and the revival of Fromental Halévy
Fromental Halévy
Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, usually known as Fromental Halévy , was a French composer. He is known today largely for his opera La Juive.-Early career:...
's La Juive
La Juive
La Juive is a grand opera in five acts by Fromental Halévy to an original French libretto by Eugène Scribe; it was first performed at the Opéra, Paris, on February 23, 1835.-Composition history:...
, in which she sang opposite Enrico Caruso.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
she had various tours of Australia with her husband. Her only brother Henry died in 1915, aged 21. She returned to the US after the war. It was Evelyn Scotney who appeared opposite Enrico Caruso in his final performance, in La Juive, on Christmas Eve 1920. She sang in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
in 1923. By 1925 she was singing Gilda (Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
) in London. She sang with the Beecham Opera Company
Thomas Beecham
Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet CH was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic orchestras. He was also closely associated with the Liverpool Philharmonic and Hallé orchestras...
and appeared at The Proms
The Proms
The Proms, more formally known as The BBC Proms, or The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in London...
in the 1920s.
Evelyn Scotney remarried in London in the 1920s, to B. H. Russell, London manager of the Cunard Line
Cunard Line
Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
. Their wedding was attended by Sir Joseph Cook
Joseph Cook
Sir Joseph Cook, GCMG was an Australian politician and the sixth Prime Minister of Australia. Born as Joseph Cooke and working in the coal mines of Silverdale, Staffordshire during his early life, he emigrated to Lithgow, New South Wales during the late 1880s, and became General-Secretary of the...
(then Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and a former Prime Minister of Australia
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
) and Lady Cook. She and Russell had a son in 1924 and another son in mid-1926.
She gave a series of six Farewell Concerts in Australia in 1926.
Recordings
Evelyn Scotney's recordings include:- "The Jewel Song" from GounodCharles GounodCharles-François Gounod was a French composer, known for his Ave Maria as well as his operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette.-Biography:...
's FaustFaust (opera)Faust is a drame lyrique in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part 1...
(it can be heard here http://www.nme.com/awards/video/id/Aji3Fu8gSiU/search/bijoux)
- "C'est histoire amoureuse" ("The Laughing Song") from AuberDaniel AuberDaniel François Esprit Auber was a French composer.-Biography:The son of a Paris print-seller, Auber was born in Caen in Normandy. Though his father expected him to continue in the print-selling business, he also allowed his son to learn how to play several musical instruments...
's Manon LescautManon LescautManon Lescaut is a short novel by French author Abbé Prévost. Published in 1731, it is the seventh and final volume of Mémoires et aventures d'un homme de qualité . It was controversial in its time and was banned in France upon publication...
- "Charmant oiseau" from Félicien-César DavidFélicien-César DavidFélicien-César David was a French composer.-Biography:Félicien David was born in Cadenet , France, and began to study music at five under his father, whose early death however left him an impoverished orphan...
's La perle du Brésil
- Polonaise ("Je suis Titania") from ThomasAmbroise ThomasCharles Louis Ambroise Thomas was a French composer, best known for his operas Mignon and Hamlet and as Director of the Conservatoire de Paris from 1871 till his death.-Biography:"There is good music, there is bad music, and then there is Ambroise Thomas."- Emmanuel Chabrier-Early life...
's MignonMignonMignon is an opéra comique in three acts by Ambroise Thomas. The original French libretto was by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on Goethe's novel Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre. The Italian version was translated by Giuseppe Zaffira. The opera is mentioned in James Joyce's The Dead,...
- "Una voce poco fa" from Rossini's The Barber of SevilleThe Barber of SevilleThe Barber of Seville, or The Futile Precaution is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's comedy Le Barbier de Séville , which was originally an opéra comique, or a mixture of spoken play with music...
(the critic Herman KleinHerman KleinHerman Klein was an English music critic, author and teacher of singing. Klein's famous brothers included Charles and Manuel Klein...
compared some notable recordings of this aria in 1924, and Scotney's was mentioned along with those by Luisa TetrazziniLuisa TetrazziniLuisa Tetrazzini was an Italian coloratura soprano of great international fame.Tetrazzini's voice was remarkable for its phenomenal flexibility, thrust, steadiness and thrilling tone...
, Amelita Galli-CurciAmelita Galli-CurciAmelita Galli-Curci was an Italian operatic soprano. She was one of the best-known coloratura singers of the early 20th century with her gramophone records selling in large numbers.-Early life:...
, Marcella SembrichMarcella SembrichMarcella Sembrich was the stage name of the Polish coloratura soprano, Prakseda Marcelina Kochańska...
and Celys Beralta)
- "Caro nome" from VerdiGiuseppe VerdiGiuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
's RigolettoRigolettoRigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
- "Ah! fors' è lui" from Verdi's La traviataLa traviataLa traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
- "Zun leiden bin ich" from MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
's The Magic FluteThe Magic FluteThe Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
- Mozart's Cavatina "Deh, non varcar", from the concert aria 'Ah, lo previdi', K. 272
- Sir Henry Bishop's "Lo, Hear the Gentle Lark"
- some Scots folk songs (which were compared favourably with recordings by Isobel BaillieIsobel BaillieDame Isobel Baillie DBE was a Scottish soprano, popular in opera, oratorio and lieder. She was regarded as one of the 20th century's great oratorio singers.Isobel Baillie was born in Hawick, Scottish Borders, in 1895...
)
A full discography of Evelyn Scotney's recordings is available.