Frances Alda (1879-1952)
Mi chiamano Mimi
La Bohème
by Giacomo Puccini
Fanny Jane Davis, born into a noted Australasian family in New Zealand, began her career in light opera in Australia at age 18. In 1902 she went to Europe and studied in Paris with Marchesi, who changed her name to Frances Alda and arranged her European début as Manon at the Opéra Comique in 1904. After three highly acclaimed seasons (1904-1907) at the Monnaie in Brussels and appearances at Covent Garden (1906) and La Scala (1907), she was engaged by the Metropolitan, where she made her début as Gilda opposite Caruso on December 7, 1908. She remained a leading member of the company until her retirement in 1929.
Alda possessed a secure technique and a pure, lyrical voice, and excelled in the roles of Desdemona, Manon Lescaut and Mimi. She created the leading soprano roles in several American operas (by Damrosch, Herbert and Hadley), was a pioneer of radio broadcasts of opera, and toured widely as a recitalist. In 1910 she married Metropolitan General Manager Giulio Gatti-Casazza, but divorced him in 1928. Her 1937 autobiography, Men, Women and Tenors, reflects her flamboyant personality and her commonsense approach to the craft of singing.
