Identifier: grandoperasinger02lahe (find matches)
Title: The grand opera singers of to-day : an account of the leading operatic stars who have sung during recent years, together with a sketch of the chief operatic enterprises
Year: 1912 (1910s)
Authors: Lahee, Henry Charles, 1856-1953
Subjects: Singers Opera
Publisher: Boston : L. C. Page
Contributing Library: Harold B. Lee Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Brigham Young University

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ss Howe, and went abroad with MissLeveroni. She also was engaged for minorparts at the opening of the Boston Opera-House. Viola Davenport, a singer of Medford, Mass.,was a member of the company. She made herdebut as LaJcme on one of the debutante nights,and gave great promise of success. She showedmuch dramatic ability, and disclosed a voice ofclear, unforced and bell-like quality, and indi-viduality of timbre. She abandoned her oper-atic career at the end of the first season andbecame Mrs. Alva T. Fuller. When the San Carlo Opera Company firstvisited Boston, in 1906, the leading soprano wasAlice Neilson and the leading tenor FlorencioConstantineau. There was, in fact, so muchmore of them than of any one else that peoplespoke less of hearing the San Carlo Company,than of hearing Neilsen and Constantineau.It was largely due to the excellent work of theseartists, supported by a good company, that theidea of permanent opera in Boston assumeddefinite shape, and when the project was formed
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Copyright by Mishkin Studio, New York FLORENCIO CONSTANTINEAU The Boston Opera-House 373 the principals filled their time in other placesand were ready as soon as the opera-honseopened. Constantinean filled the interveningspace as a member of the Manhattan Company.He remained three years with the Boston Com-pany. The first year he bore the brunt of thework, and appeared many times. The secondyear he was also very conspicuous, but the thirdyear he was kept more in the background, andat the end of the season of 1911-1912 he left thecompany and announced that he was to have anopera-house of his own in Bragado, which is notfar from Buenos Ayres. He reached his heightin Boitos Mefistofele as Faust. He is notremarkable as an actor, but as a singer he con-stantly challenged comparison with Caruso.His voice was of a more lyric quality and hissinging smooth and graceful. Constantineau is a Spaniard, a native of Bar-celona. He ran away from home to escapeschool, and it was not until he was twen

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