Description

LUCETTE KORSOFF (GENOA, 1 FEBRUARY, 1876 – BRUSSELS, 14 FEBRUARY, 1955)

 

 

 

 

Lucette Korsoff, born in 1876 in Genoa, was the daughter of the legendary Russian baritone Bogomir Korsoff. She studied singing with Frédéric Boyer and Rosina Lambord in Paris and made her debut in Pergolesi’s La serva padrona in St. Petersburg in 1892.

In 1897 she appeared at the Opera Theatre of Liège. She then achieved significant success in Cairo and Alexandria in 1901 with Thoma’s Amleto. That same year, she made her debut at the Opera Theatre of Toulouse. From 1903 to 1906, she was a prominent figure at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, and later, from 1906 to 1908, at the Théâtre La Monnaie in Brussels.

In 1908, she returned to the Opéra-Comique in Paris, where she gained widespread acclaim for her performance as the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte in 1909. Her career continued with appearances in Brussels during the 1910-1911 season, followed by a successful tour of the USA. She performed at the Opera Theatre of New Orleans in the 1911-1912 season and at the Opera Theatre of Boston from 1912 to 1913. Additionally, she gave several concerts in New York and appeared at the Court Opera of St. Petersburg.

Korsoff continued her studies with Teresa Arkel in Milan in 1913, and in 1914, she performed in London and several Italian theaters. She gave a guest performance at the Opera Theatre of Monte Carlo in 1918 and returned there in 1922 to perform in Massenet’s Amadis.

After retiring from the stage in 1922, Korsoff worked as a pedagogue in Paris, where one of her notable pupils was Gina Cigna. By 1936, she lived in Brussels, where she was largely forgotten. Korsoff was known for her warm, heartfelt timbre, wide range, and virtuosic coloratura technique, which combined to create performances that avoided routine and monotony.

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

Faust (Gounod) Eh quoi! Toujours seul (w. Becucci, Jaume & Leisner) Edison Test 3183 June 1914 London, England

Faust (Gounod) Laisse-moi contempler… O nuit d’amour (w. Rocca) 34201, 34202, 6014h, 6015½h Gramophone, Paris 1908-06

Faust (Gounod) Seigneur Dieu, qui vois-je! (w. Becucci, Jaume & Leisner) Edison Test 3182 June 1914 London, England

Fille du Régiment (Donizetti) La voilà (w. Belhomme) 0205 Pathé, Paris 19071908

Fille du Régiment (Donizetti) Le chant du Régiment 33645 7391o G&T, Paris 1907

Fille du Régiment (Donizetti) Oh! transport (w. Belhomme) 4758 Pathé, Paris 19071908

Huguenots (Meyerbeer) Nobles Seigneurs 033166, 02723v Gramophone, Paris 1913-06-18

Huguenots (Meyerbeer) O beau pays de la Touraine L. 3048 Parlophon, Paris 1911

Il bacio (Arditi) 33696 5848h Gramophone, Paris 1908

La vague, Valse chantée (Métra) 033085 01229v Gramophone, Paris 1909-11-09

La valse des roses (Métra) 33698 5732½h Gramophone, Paris 1908

Lakmé (Delibes) Dans la forêt profonde X-83103, Zonophone Paris 1905

Le bonheur est chose légère (Saint-Saëns) X-83145 Zonophone, Paris 1906

Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti) Pallor funesto orrendo (w. Parvis) 3187 Test June 1914 London, England