Mignon Nevada
Encyclopedia
Mignon Nevada was an English opera
tic soprano
. She was born in Paris
, daughter of the American operatic soprano Emma Nevada
and her English husband Raymond Palmer. She was named after the title character of the 1866 opera Mignon
, written by her godfather, French composer Ambroise Thomas
. Her voice was light and agile, and her mother trained her to be a coloratura soprano
, although Sir Thomas Beecham thought this was a mistake, that she should have been a mezzo-soprano
instead.
reported that her mother's friends, Adelina Patti
and Mary Garden
travelled all the way to Rome just to attend Mignon's debut. Her performances were so well received that she was engaged to sing eight more times beyond her original four performances. Her success led her mother to request an audience for Mignon with Pope Pius X
. (Her mother had had an audience with Leo XIII ten years prior.)
Mignon made other early appearances in Italy and Portugal and then made her way to England where she appeared as Ophelia in Thomas' Hamlet
under Thomas Beecham
at the opening of the 1910 winter season at Covent Garden. In 1917 she appeared as Desdemona in Verdi's Otello
with Frank Mullings
in the title role and Frederic Austin
as Iago. Beecham described her portrayal of Desdemona as "the best I have seen on any stage." Her other roles in London included Olympia in Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann, Zerlina in Mozart's Don Giovanni
, and Marguerite in Gounod's Faust
. Her last appearance there was in 1922.
Other venues included the Opéra Comique
in Paris in 1920 (in the title role of Lakmé
by Delibes and as Mimì in Puccini's La bohème
), La Scala
in Milan in 1923, and the Opéra in Paris in 1932. She also appeared at the Royal Opera in Lisbon
, at the Aldwych Theatre
in London, and with the Royal Philharmonic Society
.
Later in her career she became a vocal teacher. One of her students was Kyra Vayne
. She died in Long Melford
.
ca. 1965 on the same label as part of a compilation (cat. no. IRCC L-7025). Raymond Ericson
of The New York Times described her performance of it as quite charming. The LP also included Schumann's Frauenliebe und Leben
, sung by Julia Culp
(1910); "Casta diva" from Bellini's Norma
and "Non mi dir" from Mozart's Don Giovanni
, both sung by Frieda Hempel
; "Printemps qui commence" from Saint-Saens' Samson et Dalila, sung by Kathleen Howard
; "Regal in His Low Estate" from Goldmark's The Queen of Sheba
, sung by Marie Rappold
; and an aria from Massenet's Thaîs
, a song by Bemberg, and two settings by Reynaldo Hahn
of poems from Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses
, all sung by Mary Garden
. All of the recordings date from 1910 to 1938.
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...
tic 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...
. She was born in 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...
, daughter of the American operatic soprano Emma Nevada
Emma Nevada
Emma Nevada was an American operatic soprano particularly known for her performances in operas by Bellini and Donizetti and the French composers Ambroise Thomas, Charles Gounod, and Léo Delibes...
and her English husband Raymond Palmer. She was named after the title character of the 1866 opera Mignon
Mignon
Mignon 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,...
, written by her godfather, French composer Ambroise Thomas
Ambroise Thomas
Charles 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...
. Her voice was light and agile, and her mother trained her to be a 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...
, although Sir Thomas Beecham thought this was a mistake, that she should have been a mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
instead.
Career
Her debut was in February 1908 at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome as Rosina in Rossini's Il barbiere di siviglia. The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reported that her mother's friends, Adelina Patti
Adelina Patti
Adelina Patti was a highly acclaimed 19th-century opera singer, earning huge fees at the height of her career in the music capitals of Europe and America. She first sang in public as a child in 1851 and gave her last performance before an audience in 1914...
and 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...
travelled all the way to Rome just to attend Mignon's debut. Her performances were so well received that she was engaged to sing eight more times beyond her original four performances. Her success led her mother to request an audience for Mignon with Pope Pius X
Pope Pius X
Pope Saint Pius X , born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the 257th Pope of the Catholic Church, serving from 1903 to 1914. He was the first pope since Pope Pius V to be canonized. Pius X rejected modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, promoting traditional devotional practices and orthodox...
. (Her mother had had an audience with Leo XIII ten years prior.)
Mignon made other early appearances in Italy and Portugal and then made her way to England where she appeared as Ophelia in Thomas' Hamlet
Hamlet (opera)
Hamlet is an opéra in five acts by the French composer Ambroise Thomas, with a libretto by Michel Carré and Jules Barbier based on a French adaptation by Alexandre Dumas, père and Paul Meurice of Shakespeare's play Hamlet.- Ophelia mania in Paris:...
under 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...
at the opening of the 1910 winter season at Covent Garden. In 1917 she appeared as Desdemona in Verdi's Otello
Otello
Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play Othello. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on February 5, 1887....
with Frank Mullings
Frank Mullings
Frank Mullings was a leading English tenor with Sir Thomas Beecham's Beecham Opera Company and its successor, the British National Opera Company, during the 1910s and 1920s...
in the title role and Frederic Austin
Frederic Austin
Frederic Austin was an English baritone singer, a musical teacher and composer in the period 1905–30. He is best remembered for his restoration and production of The Beggar's Opera by John Gay and Johann Christoph Pepusch, and its sequel, Polly, in 1920–23...
as Iago. Beecham described her portrayal of Desdemona as "the best I have seen on any stage." Her other roles in London included Olympia in Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann, Zerlina in Mozart's 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...
, and Marguerite in Gounod's Faust
Faust (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...
. Her last appearance there was in 1922.
Other venues included the Opéra Comique
Opera Comique
The Opera Comique was a 19th-century theatre constructed in Westminster, London, between Wych Street and Holywell Street with entrances on the East Strand. It opened in 1870 and was demolished in 1902, to make way for the construction of the Aldwych and Kingsway...
in Paris in 1920 (in the title role of Lakmé
Lakmé
Lakmé is an opera in three acts by Léo Delibes to a French libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille. Delibes wrote the score during 1881–82 with its first performance on 14 April 1883 at the Opéra Comique in Paris. Set in British India in the mid 19th century, Lakmé is based on the 1880 novel...
by Delibes and as Mimì in Puccini's 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...
), La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
in Milan in 1923, and the Opéra in Paris in 1932. She also appeared at the Royal Opera in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, at the Aldwych Theatre
Aldwych Theatre
The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Aldwych in the City of Westminster. The theatre was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200.-Origins:...
in London, and with the Royal Philharmonic Society
Royal Philharmonic Society
The Royal Philharmonic Society is a British music society, formed in 1813. It was originally formed in London to promote performances of instrumental music there. Many distinguished composers and performers have taken part in its concerts...
.
Later in her career she became a vocal teacher. One of her students was Kyra Vayne
Kyra Vayne
Kyra Knopmuss was a Russian-born British opera singer.-Biography:...
. She died in Long Melford
Long Melford
Long Melford is a large village and civil parish in the county of Suffolk, England. It is on Suffolk's border with Essex, which is marked by the River Stour, approximately from Colchester and from Bury St. Edmunds...
.
Recordings
In 1938 Mignon Nevada made a recording of "Le Soir", a song by Ambroise Thomas which had been given its premiere by her mother. This is the only recording which she is known to have made. It was first issued on a 12-inch 78 rpm record (International Record Collector's Club 118) with a spoken introduction by her mother and reissued on LPLP record
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
ca. 1965 on the same label as part of a compilation (cat. no. IRCC L-7025). Raymond Ericson
Raymond Ericson
Raymond Ericson was an American music critic who wrote articles for The New York Times for 30 years.-Life and career:...
of The New York Times described her performance of it as quite charming. The LP also included Schumann's Frauenliebe und Leben
Frauenliebe und -leben
Frauenliebe und -leben is a cycle of poems by Adelbert von Chamisso, written in 1830. They describe the course of a woman's love for her man, from her point of view, from first meeting through marriage to his death, and after. Selections were set to music as a song-cycle by masters of German Lied,...
, sung by Julia Culp
Julia Culp
Julia Bertha Culp , the "Dutch nightingale", was an internationally celebrated mezzo-soprano in the years 1901–1919....
(1910); "Casta diva" from Bellini's Norma
Norma (opera)
Norma is a tragedia lirica or opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with libretto by Felice Romani after Norma, ossia L'infanticidio by Alexandre Soumet. First produced at La Scala on December 26, 1831, it is generally regarded as an example of the supreme height of the bel canto tradition...
and "Non mi dir" from Mozart's 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 sung by Frieda Hempel
Frieda Hempel
Frieda Hempel was a German soprano singer in operatic and concert work who had an international career in Europe and the United States.-Biography:...
; "Printemps qui commence" from Saint-Saens' Samson et Dalila, sung by Kathleen Howard
Kathleen Howard
Kathleen Howard was a Canadian-born opera singer , magazine editor and US film character actress from the mid-1930s through the 1940s. She spent her childhood in Buffalo, NY and is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery there.She created the role of Zita in Giacomo Puccini's Gianni Schicchi at the...
; "Regal in His Low Estate" from Goldmark's The Queen of Sheba
Die Königin von Saba
Die Königin von Saba is an opera in four acts by Karl Goldmark. The German libretto by Hermann Salomon Mosenthal, sets a love triangle into the context of the Queen of Sheba's visit to the court of King Solomon, recorded in First Kings...
, sung by Marie Rappold
Marie Rappold
Marie Rappold, née Winterroth was an English-born American operatic soprano.-Early life:Rappold was born in London to German parents...
; and an aria from Massenet's Thaîs
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...
, a song by Bemberg, and two settings 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....
of poems from Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses
A Child's Garden of Verses
A Child's Garden of Verses is a collection of poetry for children by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. The collection first appeared in 1885 under the title Penny Whistles, but has been reprinted many times, often in illustrated versions...
, all sung by 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...
. All of the recordings date from 1910 to 1938.
Sources
- Sadie, Stanley, ed. (1992). The New Grove Dictionary of Opera (4 volumes). London: Macmillan. ISBN 9781561592289.