Maggie Teyte
Encyclopedia
Dame Maggie Teyte DBE (17 April 188826 May 1976) was an English operatic
soprano
and interpreter of French art song.
, England, one of ten children of Jacob James Tate, a successful wine and spirit merchant and proprietor of public houses and later lodgings. Her parents were keen amateur musicians and opera enthusiasts. She was the sister of composer James W. Tate
. Her family moved to London in 1898, where Teyte attended St. Joseph's Convent School, Snow Hill
, and later studied at the Royal School of Music.
. She made her first public appearance in Paris in 1906 when she sang Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro
and Zerlina in Don Giovanni
, both conducted by Reynaldo Hahn
. Her professional debut took place at the Opera House
in Monte Carlo
on 1 February 1907, where she performed Tyrcis in Myriame et Daphné (André Bloch's arrangement of Jacques Offenbach
's Daphnis et Chloé
), with Paderewski
. The following week, again at the Opera House in Monte Carlo, she sang Zerlina.
Finding that her surname was generally mispronounced in France, she changed it from Tate to Teyte before joining the Opéra-Comique
in Paris. After a few small parts, she was cast as Mélisande in Pelléas et Mélisande
by Debussy
, replacing the originator of the role, Mary Garden
. To prepare for Pelléas et Mélisande, she studied with Debussy himself, and she is the only singer ever to be accompanied by Debussy on the piano with an orchestra in public (see Beau Soir
). In 1910, Sir Thomas Beecham
cast Teyte as Cherubino and Mélisande and also as Blonde in Die Entführung aus dem Serail
for his London season. Despite her early singing successes, Teyte did not easily establish herself in the main opera houses. Instead, she moved to America and performed with the Chicago Opera Company
from 1911–1914 and the Boston Opera Company
from 1914–17, singing in Philadelphia and elsewhere, but not in New York, though she created the title role in Henry Kimball Hadley
's opera, Bianca
, at Manhattan
's Park Theater in 1918. Returning to Britain in 1919, she created the rôle of Lady Mary Carlisle in André Messager
's operetta, Monsieur Beaucaire
, at the Prince's Theatre. She married for a second time in 1921, to Canadian millionaire Sherwin Cottingham, and went into semi-retirement until 1930, when she performed as Mélisande and played the title role in Puccini
's Madama Butterfly
.
and variety (24 performances a week) at the Victoria Palace in London. Finally, in 1936, her recordings of Debussy songs accompanied by Alfred Cortot
attracted attention, and recordings remained an important factor in her renewed fame, as she gained a reputation in England and the United States as the leading French art song interpreter of her time. She sang at the Royal Opera House
in 1936–37 in Hansel and Gretel, as Eurydice
in Gluck
's Orfeo ed Euridice
and as Butterfly in Madama Butterfly
. In 1938–39 she broadcast performances of Massenet
's Manon
in English, in addition to an ill-advised Eva in Wagner
's Die Meistersinger
. She also appeared in operetta and musical comedy between the wars.
She made her first New York appearances in 1948, including a Town Hall recital followed by performances of Pelléas at the New York City Center
Opera. She continued to record and perform in opera until 1951, making her final appearance in the part of Belinda (to Kirsten Flagstad
’s Dido) in Purcell
's Dido and Aeneas
at the Mermaid Theatre
in London. Her final concert appearance was at the Royal Festival Hall
on 22 April 1956, aged 68. She spent her last years teaching. She died in London in 1976, aged 88.
sponsors a prize in her honour. The Maggie Teyte Prize of £2,000, which is coupled with the Miriam Licette
Scholarship of £3,000, is open to women singers under the age of 30. The winner is offered a recital in association with the Friends of Covent Garden for the Royal Opera House
.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
and interpreter of French art song.
Early years
Margaret Tate was born in WolverhamptonWolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
, England, one of ten children of Jacob James Tate, a successful wine and spirit merchant and proprietor of public houses and later lodgings. Her parents were keen amateur musicians and opera enthusiasts. She was the sister of composer James W. Tate
James W. Tate
James William Tate was a songwriter, accompanist, and composer and producer of revues and pantomimes in the early years of the 20th century...
. Her family moved to London in 1898, where Teyte attended St. Joseph's Convent School, Snow Hill
Snow Hill
Snow Hill may refer to:in Antarctica* Snow Hill Island, Antarctica, where the Swedish Antarctic Expedition explorers over-wintered in 1902in the United Kingdom* Birmingham Snow Hill station** Snowhill, the development project adjacent to the station...
, and later studied at the Royal School of Music.
Career
Her father died in 1903 and she went to Paris the following year to become a pupil of the celebrated tenor Jean de ReszkeJean de Reszke
Jean de Reszke, born Jan Mieczyslaw, , was a Polish tenor. Renowned internationally for the high quality of his singing and the elegance of his bearing, he became the biggest male opera star of the late 19th century....
. She made her first public appearance in Paris in 1906 when she sang Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro
Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
and Zerlina in 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...
, both conducted by Reynaldo Hahn
Reynaldo Hahn
Reynaldo Hahn was a Venezuelan, naturalised French, composer, conductor, music critic and diarist. Best known as a composer of songs, he wrote in the French classical tradition of the mélodie....
. Her professional debut took place at the Opera House
Opéra de Monte-Carlo
The Opéra de Monte-Carlo is an opera house located in the principality of Monaco.With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Prince Charles III, along with the Société des Bains de Mer, decided on the construction of an opera house. Initially, it was Charles III's...
in Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
on 1 February 1907, where she performed Tyrcis in Myriame et Daphné (André Bloch's arrangement of Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....
's Daphnis et Chloé
Daphnis et Chloé (Offenbach)
Daphnis et Chloé is a one-act opérette by Jacques Offenbach. The libretto was by Clairville and Jules Cordier , based on the story of Daphnis and Chloe....
), with Paderewski
Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Ignacy Jan Paderewski GBE was a Polish pianist, composer, diplomat, politician, and the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland.-Biography:...
. The following week, again at the Opera House in Monte Carlo, she sang Zerlina.
Finding that her surname was generally mispronounced in France, she changed it from Tate to Teyte before joining the Opéra-Comique
Opéra-Comique
The Opéra-Comique is a Parisian opera company, which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with, and for a time took the name of its chief rival the Comédie-Italienne at the Hôtel de Bourgogne, and was also called the...
in Paris. After a few small parts, she was cast as Mélisande in Pelléas et Mélisande
Pelléas et Mélisande (opera)
Pelléas et Mélisande is an opera in five acts with music by Claude Debussy. The French libretto was adapted from Maurice Maeterlinck's Symbolist play Pelléas et Mélisande...
by 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...
, replacing the originator of the role, Mary Garden
Mary Garden
Mary Garden , was a Scottish operatic soprano with a substantial career in France and America in the first third of the 20th century...
. To prepare for Pelléas et Mélisande, she studied with Debussy himself, and she is the only singer ever to be accompanied by Debussy on the piano with an orchestra in public (see Beau Soir
Beau Soir
"Beau Soir" is a French art song written by Claude Debussy. It is a setting of a poem by Paul Bourget. Debussy was twenty or twenty one when he wrote this song , and his music was marked by the aesthetics of the period....
). In 1910, Sir Thomas Beecham
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...
cast Teyte as Cherubino and Mélisande and also as Blonde in Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail is an opera Singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner with adaptations by Gottlieb Stephanie...
for his London season. Despite her early singing successes, Teyte did not easily establish herself in the main opera houses. Instead, she moved to America and performed with the Chicago Opera Company
Chicago Opera Company
The Chicago Opera Company was a grand opera company in Chicago, organized from the remaining assets of the bankrupt Chicago City Opera Company, that produced six seasons of opera at the Civic Opera House from 1940 to 1946 . Fausto Cleva was artistic director 1944-1946, and until 1945 Fortune Gallo...
from 1911–1914 and 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...
from 1914–17, singing in Philadelphia and elsewhere, but not in New York, though she created the title role in Henry Kimball Hadley
Henry Kimball Hadley
Henry Kimball Hadley was an American composer and conductor.-Life:Hadley was born into a musical family in Somerville, Massachusetts...
's opera, Bianca
Bianca (opera)
Bianca is a one act opera by American composer Henry Kimball Hadley. The opera's libretto was an English-language adaptation of Carlo Goldoni's comedy The Mistress of the Inn by Grant Stewart...
, at Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's Park Theater in 1918. Returning to Britain in 1919, she created the rôle of Lady Mary Carlisle in André Messager
André Messager
André Charles Prosper Messager , was a French composer, organist, pianist, conductor and administrator. His stage compositions included ballets and 30 opéra comiques and operettas, among which Véronique, had lasting success, with Les p'tites Michu and Monsieur Beaucaire also enjoying international...
's operetta, Monsieur Beaucaire
Monsieur Beaucaire (operetta)
Monsieur Beaucaire is a romantic opera in three acts, composed by André Messager. The libretto, based on the 1900 novel by Booth Tarkington, is by Frederick Lonsdale, with lyrics by Adrian Ross...
, at the Prince's Theatre. She married for a second time in 1921, to Canadian millionaire Sherwin Cottingham, and went into semi-retirement until 1930, when she performed as Mélisande and played the title role in Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
's Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
.
Later years
After difficulty in reviving her career, she ended up performing music hallMusic hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
and variety (24 performances a week) at the Victoria Palace in London. Finally, in 1936, her recordings of Debussy songs accompanied by Alfred Cortot
Alfred Cortot
Alfred Denis Cortot was a Franco-Swiss pianist and conductor. He is one of the most renowned 20th-century classical musicians, especially valued for his poetic insight in Romantic period piano works, particularly those of Chopin and Schumann.-Early life and education:Born in Nyon, Vaud, in the...
attracted attention, and recordings remained an important factor in her renewed fame, as she gained a reputation in England and the United States as the leading French art song interpreter of her time. She sang at the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
in 1936–37 in Hansel and Gretel, as Eurydice
Eurydice
Eurydice in Greek mythology, was an oak nymph or one of the daughters of Apollo . She was the wife of Orpheus, who loved her dearly; on their wedding day, he played joyful songs as his bride danced through the meadow. One day, a satyr saw and pursued Eurydice, who stepped on a venomous snake,...
in Gluck
Christoph Willibald Gluck
Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck was an opera composer of the early classical period. After many years at the Habsburg court at Vienna, Gluck brought about the practical reform of opera's dramaturgical practices that many intellectuals had been campaigning for over the years...
's Orfeo ed Euridice
Orfeo ed Euridice
Orfeo ed Euridice is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck based on the myth of Orpheus, set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the azione teatrale, meaning an opera on a mythological subject with choruses and dancing...
and as Butterfly in Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
. In 1938–39 she broadcast performances of 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 Manon
Manon
Manon is an opéra comique in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by the Abbé Prévost...
in English, in addition to an ill-advised Eva in Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
's 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,...
. She also appeared in operetta and musical comedy between the wars.
She made her first New York appearances in 1948, including a Town Hall recital followed by performances of Pelléas at the New York City Center
New York City Center
New York City Center is a 2,750-seat Moorish Revival theater located at 131 West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in Manhattan, New York City. It is one block south of Carnegie Hall...
Opera. She continued to record and perform in opera until 1951, making her final appearance in the part of Belinda (to Kirsten Flagstad
Kirsten Flagstad
Kirsten Målfrid Flagstad was a Norwegian opera singer and a highly regarded Wagnerian soprano...
’s Dido) in Purcell
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...
's Dido and Aeneas
Dido and Aeneas
Dido and Aeneas is an opera in a prologue and three acts by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell to a libretto by Nahum Tate. The first known performance was at Josias Priest's girls' school in London no later than the summer of 1688. The story is based on Book IV of Virgil's Aeneid...
at the Mermaid Theatre
Mermaid Theatre
The Mermaid Theatre was a theatre at Puddle Dock, in Blackfriars, in the City of London and the first built there since the time of Shakespeare...
in London. Her final concert appearance was at the Royal Festival Hall
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
on 22 April 1956, aged 68. She spent her last years teaching. She died in London in 1976, aged 88.
Personal life
- In 1909 she married her first husband, Eugene de Plumon, a French advocate. The marriage ended in divorce in 1915. Her second marriage also ended in divorce, in 1931.
- During World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Teyte sang in a series of concerts sponsored by the French Committee of National Liberation for which she received the Gold Cross of Lorraine for services to France. - In 1958, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British EmpireOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
. - In 1958, her autobiography Star at the Door was published.
Legacy
The Musicians' Benevolent FundMusicians' Benevolent Fund
The Musicians' Benevolent Fund is a United Kingdom charity offering help and support to working and retired musicians, other professionals in the music industry, and their dependants....
sponsors a prize in her honour. The Maggie Teyte Prize of £2,000, which is coupled with the Miriam Licette
Miriam Licette
Miriam Licette was an English operatic soprano whose career spanned 35 years, from the mid-1910s to after World War II. She was also a singing teacher, and created the Miriam Licette Scholarship.-Career:...
Scholarship of £3,000, is open to women singers under the age of 30. The winner is offered a recital in association with the Friends of Covent Garden for the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
.