Description

SIGRID ONÉGIN (STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, JUNE 1, 1889 – MAGLIASO, SWITZERLAND, JUNE 16, 1943)

This renowned contralto first sang professionally under her maiden name, Lilly Hoffmann. After her marriage to Russian pianist and composer Eugene Onégin (1870–1919), she sang briefly as Lilly Hoffmann-Onégin before settling on Sigrid Onegin, the name by which she became famous.  She studied in Frankfurt, Munich, and Milan, and also took lessons from famous singers of an earlier generation in Lilli Lehmann and Margarethe Siems. Her operatic debut occurred at Stuttgart in October 1912, where she appeared as Carmen. She joined the Stuttgart Opera in 1912 and the Munich Opera in 1919. In the 1920s, she spent two seasons at the Metropolitan Opera and one at Covent Garden, singing Amneris (Aida) as well as a variety of Wagnerian roles. In the 1930s, she sang at Salzburg and Bayreuth Festival, but she was most widely sought after for her concert performances. Onegin is said to have possessed the finest contralto voice heard since Ernestine Schumann-Heink, who had been a star of opera’s so-called “Golden Age” (the period between the 1880s and World War I). Onegin’s singing was celebrated for the richness of its tone, its flexibility, its size, and its expert coloratura technique. She also possessed a remarkably wide vocal range. Her last concert appearance came in the United States in 1938. She died at Magliaso, in neutral Switzerland in 1943, while the Second World War was raging at its height.

TRACKLIST

1. Ave Maria (Onegin) 043344, 72719 Grammophon, Berlin 1919?
2. Die Lorelei (Liszt) DB1291 (2-043128) HMV, 1929-01-11
3. Exsultate Jubilate (Mozart) Alleluia DA1046 (7-53136) HMV, 1929-01-11
4. Frühlingsnacht (Schumann) 70638 (B4003) Grammophon, Berlin 1921
5. Huguenots (Meyerbeer) Nobles, Seigneurs DB1290 (2-033143) HMV, 1929-01-11
6. Jeunes Fillettes (Weckerlin) 2-43542, 70626 Grammophon, Berlin 1919/1920
7. Ins Freie (Schumann) 70638 (B4027) Grammophon, Berlin 1921
8. Lucrezia Borgia (Donizetti) Il segreto DA1046 (7-53135) HMV, 1928-02-07
9. Nicht mehr zu dir zu gehen (Brahms) 2-43528, 70615 Grammophon, Berlin 1919?
10. Prophète (Meyerbeer) O prêtres de Baal DB1290 (2-033144) HMV, 1929-03-21
11. Samson et Dalila (Saint-Saëns) Der Frühling erwachte DB1420 (32-1139) HMV, Berlin 1929-11-19
12. Samson et Dalila (Saint-Saëns) Mein Herz erschliesset sich DB1420 (32-1141) HMV, Berlin 1929-11-19
13. Trovatore (Verdi) Ai nostri monti (w. Chamlee) 70716 12632 Brunswick, New York 1924-03-05
14. Trovatore (Verdi) Mal reggendo (w. Chamlee) 70716 12634 Brunswick, New York 1924-03-05
15. Pastorale (Bizet) 043356, 72724 Grammophon, Berlin 1919/1920
16. O ma tendre Musette (Weckerlin) 043364, 72731 Grammophon, Berlin 1919/1920
17. Wo du hingehst (Hildach) 72738 (B24004) Grammophon, Berlin 1921
18. Ich liebe dich (Beethoven) 043315, 72689 Grammophon, Berlin 1919?
19. Die Liebende schreibt (Mendelssohn) 76495 (B24127) Grammophon, Berlin 1922
20. Die Mainacht (Brahms) 043316, 72690 Grammophon, Berlin 1919?
21. Prophète (Meyerbeer): Ah, mon fils 6803, DB1190 HMV, 1928-02-06
22. Orfeo ed Eurydice (Gluck): Che farò DB1190 (2-053317) HMV, 1928-02-06
23. Favorita (Donizetti): O mio Fernando DB1292 (2-053359) HMV, 1929-03-04
24. Don Carlo (Verdi): O don fatale DB1292 (2-053360) HMV, 1929-03-04
25. Samson et Dalila (Saint-Saëns): Mon coeur s’ouvre 50077 A73056 Brunswick, New York 1926-03-11