Edyth Walker (March , â€" February , ) was an American opera singer
who had an active international career from the s through the s. She
began her career performing roles from the mezzo-soprano repertory,
but later successfully added several soprano parts to her repertoire
as well. While she did perform in Italian and French language operas,
she had a clear affinity for works in the German language. She
particularly excelled in the operas of Richard Wagner. After retiring
from the stage, she was active as a voice teacher in both France and
the United States. Her voice is preserved on several gramophone
recordings, made mainly for His Master's Voice, between -.Born in
Hopewell, New York, Walker had her initial musical training at her
church in her native town where she sang in the choir and began
performing solos at the age of . Her family moved to Rome, New York,
where she graduated from Rome Free Academy in and continued to be
active as a soloist at her church. After teaching for several years,
she entered and won a singing competition which provided her with a
scholarship enabling her to study singing in Europe. She arrived in
Dresden, Germany, in where she became a pupil of Aglaia Orgeni. She
later studied singing with Marianne Brandt in Vienna. Walker made her
professional debut as a concert singer at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig in
. She made her professional opera debut on November at the Berlin
State Opera as Fidès in Giacomo Meyerbeer's Le prophète. The
following year she became a member of the Vienna State Opera where she
was a leading mezzo-soprano with the company for eight seasons. She
notably sang the role of Magdalena in the Vienna premiere of Wilhelm
Kienzl's Der Evangelimann in . She was also much admired in Vienna for
her interpretation of the role of Amneris in Giuseppe Verdi's Aida.
who had an active international career from the s through the s. She
began her career performing roles from the mezzo-soprano repertory,
but later successfully added several soprano parts to her repertoire
as well. While she did perform in Italian and French language operas,
she had a clear affinity for works in the German language. She
particularly excelled in the operas of Richard Wagner. After retiring
from the stage, she was active as a voice teacher in both France and
the United States. Her voice is preserved on several gramophone
recordings, made mainly for His Master's Voice, between -.Born in
Hopewell, New York, Walker had her initial musical training at her
church in her native town where she sang in the choir and began
performing solos at the age of . Her family moved to Rome, New York,
where she graduated from Rome Free Academy in and continued to be
active as a soloist at her church. After teaching for several years,
she entered and won a singing competition which provided her with a
scholarship enabling her to study singing in Europe. She arrived in
Dresden, Germany, in where she became a pupil of Aglaia Orgeni. She
later studied singing with Marianne Brandt in Vienna. Walker made her
professional debut as a concert singer at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig in
. She made her professional opera debut on November at the Berlin
State Opera as Fidès in Giacomo Meyerbeer's Le prophète. The
following year she became a member of the Vienna State Opera where she
was a leading mezzo-soprano with the company for eight seasons. She
notably sang the role of Magdalena in the Vienna premiere of Wilhelm
Kienzl's Der Evangelimann in . She was also much admired in Vienna for
her interpretation of the role of Amneris in Giuseppe Verdi's Aida.
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