Description

MARIA GAY (BARCELONA, 12 JUNE, 1879 – NEW YORK, 29 JULY, 1943)

 

 

 

 

Her real name was Maria Pichot. She originally aspired to become a sculptor, but at the same time, she autodidactically studied singing. Supposedly, her voice was discovered at the age of 16 in a prison, where she had been arrested for singing revolutionary or nationalist songs. She became a pupil of Juan Gay in Barcelona, whom she married, but they soon divorced.

In 1902, she appeared for the first time in Brussels in a concert alongside pianist Raoul Pugno and violinist Eugène Ysa e. That same year, she made her stage debut at the Théâtre de la Monnaie, Brussels, as Carmen. She furthered her studies under Ada Adini in Paris and achieved significant success on stages in France and Italy. From 1906 onward, she frequently appeared at London’s Covent Garden, where she debuted as Carmen.

In 1907, she performed at La Scala, also debuting as Carmen, and was very successful in roles like Orpheus in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice and Amneris in Aida under Arturo Toscanini. During the 1908-09 season, she was active at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, once again debuting as Carmen opposite Enrico Caruso. At the Met, she also appeared in Cavalleria Rusticana, Il Trovatore, Aida, and Falstaff, again under Toscanini’s direction.

From 1910-12 and 1915-16, she sang at the Boston Opera. In 1913, she married the renowned tenor Giovanni Zenatello (1876-1949). At the first festival of the Arena di Verona, which was made possible through the couple’s efforts, she performed as Amneris in Aida in 1913 and as Carmen, her signature role, in 1914. She also returned to La Scala in 1913 as Amneris, and she performed at both of Paris’s major opera houses, the Grand Opéra and the Opéra-Comique.

On April 22, 1915, she sang as Amneris during the opening season of the Teatro Nacional in Havana, and she reprised her role as Carmen there in 1924. Throughout her career, she guested in major theaters across Spain, Italy, and South America, and she was a regular member of the Chicago Opera with interruptions from 1913-27. In 1927, she gave her final performance in Rome, again as Carmen. After retiring from the stage, she worked as a pedagogue in New York.

 

 

TRACKLIST 

 

 

Aida (Verdi) Già i sacerdoti adunansi with Giovanni Zenatello 30920 A5406 Columbia, New York 1911-11-29

Aida (Verdi) Misero appien mi festi with Giovanni Zenatello 30896, A5406 Columbia, New York 1911-11-20

Alceste (Gluck) Divinités du Styx G&T 33557 4863o 05

Canción de Nadal (-) 12000 Pathé cylinders & discs, Barcelona 1903

Cançó de Nadal 1-46009E 1393f Favorite, Paris

Carmen (Bizet) Air de Cartes 2-063002 3806f HMV, London 1909-11-08

Carmen (Bizet) Air de Cartes A5279 30667 Columbia

Carmen (Bizet) En vain pour éviter 1-6027E 1388f Favorite, Paris

Carmen (Bizet) Gipsy song 2-063000 3816f HMV, London 1909-11-08

Carmen (Bizet) Habanera A5279 30665 Columbia

Carmen (Bizet) L’amour est enfant de Bohème 0428 Pathé cylinders, Paris 1903

Carmen (Bizet) L’amour est un oiseau rebelle 033039 2151f Gramophone, London 1907-12

Carmen (Bizet) Les tringles des sistres Raoul Pugnon (piano) G&T 33385 2516F 03

Carmen (Bizet) Sei tu… No, mai Carmen non cedera! with Giovanni Zenatello Gramophone VB43, VB43, 42-1029, 42-1030

Carmen (Bizet) Sequidilla 53516 7293e Gramophone, London 1907-12

Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni) Tu qui, Santuzza with Giovanni Zenatello 30921 A5426 Columbia, New York 1911-11-20

Gretchen am Spinnrade (Schubert) G&T 33011 2514 03