Soprano Blanche Marchesi ~ Sicilian Cart Driver's Song (1936)

Soprano Blanche Marchesi (1863-1940) / Sicilian Cart Driver's Song / (Sadera) / Record: 1936 -- The following is from "A Concise Biographical Dictionary of Singers" by K.J. Kutsch & Leo Riemens (Chilton Book Company, 1969) BLANCHE MARCHESI (1863-1940) was the daughter of a famous singing couple, her mother, Mathilde Marchesi, nee Graumann (1821-1913) was considered the finest voice teacher of her time. Her father, Salvatore Marchesi (1822-1908) settled in Paris with his wife to teach after a successful career in the concert hall. Blanche Marchesi was trained according to the celebrated method of her mother, making her debut as a concert singer in Paris (1895). In 1896 she gave concerts in London and Berlin, choosing London for her residence where she was soon active as a much-sought-after teacher. She also undertook long concert tours which brought her great success, particularly in the United States. She did not make her stage debut until 1900, when she appeared at the German Theatre in Prague as Brunnhilde in Die Walkure. She also appeared with the Moody Manners Opera Company in London, but her greatest successes came as a concert singer. She sang before Queen Victoria of England and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany at court concerts. She was married to Baron Andre Anzon Caccamisi. The beauty of her voice remained for an uncommonly long time. She gave a concert in London on her seventy-fifth birthday. Her memoirs appeared under the title "A Singer's Pilgrimage" (London, 1923) and she also published an instruction book on the art of singing, "The Singer's Catechism" (London, 1932). Her voice, which was trained entirely according to the classical method of her mother, was outstanding for her total mastery of technique, her clear tone production, and a complete artistic control of phrasing. ******************************