Description

JOSEPHINE JACOBY (NEW YORK, 1875, 2/10 – NEW YORK, 1948, 13/11)

 

 

 

 

She studied in New York and made her first public appearance at the Emanu-El Synagogue in that city. She then pursued a career as a concert alto, performing with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Wilhelm Gericke, the New York Philharmonic under Anton Seidl, and at the Cincinnati Festival in 1899.

In 1903, she was engaged by the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where her debut role was Rossweisse in Die Walküre. Just three days later, she sang her first major part, Maddalena in Rigoletto. She remained with the company until 1908, achieving notable success. Among her roles at the Metropolitan were La Cieca in Ponchielli’s La Gioconda, Frédéric in Thomas’s Mignon, Siebel in Gounod’s Faust, and Erda in Siegfried. In 1907, she created the role of the Principessa di Bouillon in the Met premiere of Cilea’s Fedora, appearing alongside Enrico Caruso, Lina Cavalieri, and Antonio Scotti. Her final appearance there was again as Rossweisse, the role of her debut.

In 1908, she retired from the operatic stage, thereafter appearing only occasionally in concert and in operetta performances in New York. She later lived there as a voice teacher. She left rare Victor recordings, including a duet from Madama Butterfly with Geraldine Farrar, the famous quartet from Rigoletto with Luisa Tetrazzini, Enrico Caruso, and Pasquale Amato, the sextet from Lucia di Lammermoor, and the quartet from Flotow’s Martha.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

Faust (Gounod) Faites-lui mes aveux B47 Edison 2-min cylinders, USA 1906-03-08

Huguenots (Meyerbeer) Nobles seigneurs, salut! B28 Edison 2-min cylinders, USA 1906-03-08

Madama Butterfly (Puccini) Tutti i fior (w. Farrar) 89026 C8268-2 Victor, 1909-10-02

Martha (Flotow) Che vuoi dir ciò (w. Alda, Caruso & Journet) 95208 C11438-1 Victor, 1912-01-07

Martha (Flotow) Presto, presto (w. Alda, Caruso & Journet) 95209 C11439-1 Victor, 1912-01-07

Martha (Flotow) Siam giunti (w. Alda, Caruso & Journet) 95207 C11437-2 Victor, 1912-01-07

Martha (Flotow) T’ho raggiunta sciagurata… Dormi pur (w. Alda, Caruso & Journet) 95210 C11440-1 Victor, 1912-01-07

Rigoletto (Verdi) Bella figlia dell’amore (w. McCormack, Jacoby & Werrenrath) 89080 C14657 Victor, Camden NJ 1914-04-08

Rigoletto (Verdi) Bella figlia dell’amore (w. Tetrazzini, Caruso & Amato) 79003 C11447 HMV 1912-02-13

Roméo et Juliette (Gounod) Que fais-tu, blanche tourterelle B39 Edison 2-min cylinders, USA 1906-03-08