Fritzi Scheff
Encyclopedia
Fritzi Scheff was an American
actress and vocalist.
, Austria
, she studied at the Hoch Conservatory
in Frankfurt
and made her début in Munich
in the title röle of Martha (1898). In 1901 she first appeared at the Metropolitan Opera House
, New York
, singing rôles in La Bohème
, Die Meistersinger
, Die Walküre
, and Don Giovanni
. She sang in the Victor Herbert
operetta Babette at Washington
and New York (1903). Toward the end of the following year's season Schiff became ill and was replaced by her understudy
Ida Hawley
to close out the remaining performances of Babette. Schiff had immense success as Fifi in Mlle. Modiste
(1905–1908) and 1913) and appeared also in The Prima Donna (1908), The Mikado
(1910), The Duchess (1911), and The Love Wager
(1912). From 1913 to 1918, she appeared principally in vaudeville
, returning in the latter year to the musical opera stage in Glorianna.
. She made no other silent pictures. In the late 40s and early 50s Scheff ventured into sound movies and television. She appeared in night clubs and on talk shows such as Ralph Edwards This is Your Life shortly before her death.
author of Trail of the Lonesome Pine, and, in 1913, George Anderson, an actor. She bore no children in any of the marriages.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress and vocalist.
Biography
Born in ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, she studied at the Hoch Conservatory
Hoch Conservatory
Dr. Hoch’s Konservatorium - Musikakademie was founded in Frankfurt am Main on September 22, 1878. Through the generosity of Frankfurter Joseph Hoch, who bequeathed the Conservatory one million German gold marks in his testament, a school for music and the arts was established for all age groups. ...
in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
and made her début in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
in the title röle of Martha (1898). In 1901 she first appeared at the Metropolitan Opera House
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...
, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, singing rôles in La Bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
, Die Meistersinger
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is an opera in three acts, written and composed by Richard Wagner. It is among the longest operas still commonly performed today, usually taking around four and a half hours. It was first performed at the Königliches Hof- und National-Theater in Munich, on June 21,...
, Die Walküre
Die Walküre
Die Walküre , WWV 86B, is the second of the four operas that form the cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner...
, and Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
. She sang in the Victor Herbert
Victor Herbert
Victor August Herbert was an Irish-born, German-raised American composer, cellist and conductor. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and conductor, he is best known for composing many successful operettas that premiered on Broadway from the 1890s to World War I...
operetta Babette at Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and New York (1903). Toward the end of the following year's season Schiff became ill and was replaced by her understudy
Understudy
In theater, an understudy is a performer who learns the lines and blocking/choreography of a regular actor or actress in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to appear on stage because of illness or emergencies, the understudy takes over the part...
Ida Hawley
Ida Hawley
Ida Hawley was a Canadian musical comedy actress and soprano singer.-Early life:Ida Hawley was born on 26 April 1876 at Belleville, Ontario and later raised in Toronto, where she received her higher education at the Loretto Abbey Catholic Secondary School Little is known about Ida Hawley’s life,...
to close out the remaining performances of Babette. Schiff had immense success as Fifi in Mlle. Modiste
Mlle. Modiste
Mlle. Modiste is an operetta in two acts written by Victor Herbert, libretto by Henry Blossom. It concerns hat shop girl Fifi, who longs to be an opera singer, but who is such a good hat seller that her employer, Mme. Cecil discourages her in her ambitions and exploits her commercial talents...
(1905–1908) and 1913) and appeared also in The Prima Donna (1908), The Mikado
The Mikado
The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations...
(1910), The Duchess (1911), and The Love Wager
The Love Wager
The Love Wager is a 1933 British comedy film directed by A. Cyran and starring Pat Paterson, Frank Stanmore and Wallace Douglas. Before he can receive her father's consent a young man works to try and earn £1,500 in a year to marry his girlfriend.-Cast:...
(1912). From 1913 to 1918, she appeared principally in vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
, returning in the latter year to the musical opera stage in Glorianna.
Movies and television
In 1915 Scheff appeared in her first film, Pretty Mrs. Smith, based on a Broadway play she starred in. It was produced and directed by Hobart BosworthHobart Bosworth
Hobart Bosworth was an American film actor, director, writer, and producer.-Early life:Born Hobart Van Zandt Bosworth, he was a direct descendant of Miles Standish and John and Priscilla Alden on his father's side and of New York's Van Zandt family, the first Dutch settlers to land in the New...
. She made no other silent pictures. In the late 40s and early 50s Scheff ventured into sound movies and television. She appeared in night clubs and on talk shows such as Ralph Edwards This is Your Life shortly before her death.
Marriages
She married, first, Baron Fritz von Bardeleben a Prussian nobleman, then in 1908 John Fox, Jr.John Fox, Jr.
John Fox, Jr. was an American journalist, novelist, and short story writer.-Biography:Born in Stony Point, Bourbon County, Kentucky, to John William Fox, Sr., and Minerva Worth Carr, Fox studied English at Harvard University. He graduated in 1883 before becoming a reporter in New York City...
author of Trail of the Lonesome Pine, and, in 1913, George Anderson, an actor. She bore no children in any of the marriages.
Sources
- Sadie, S. (ed.) (1980) The New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians, [vol. # 16].
External links
- Fritzi Scheff at Findagrave
- Fritzi Scheff portrait gallery at NYP Library
- Fritzi Scheff; PeriodPaper.com about 1910