Marchesi de Castrone, Mathilde (née Graumann)

Marchesi de Castrone, Mathilde (née Graumann), famous German mezzo-soprano and pedagogue, mother of Blanche Marchesi (de Castrone); b. Frankfurt am Main, March 24, 1821; d. London, Nov. 17,1913. She was a student of Ronconi in Frankfurt am Main and of Nicolai in Vienna. After making her debut in a concert in Frankfurt am Main (Aug. 31, 1844), she continued her studies with García in Paris (1844–46; 1848) and in London (1849). She subsequently appeared in concerts in London, Germany, and Holland. Her only operatic appearance was as Rossini’s Rosina in Bremen in 1853. In 1852 she married Salvatore Marchesi de Castrone. After serving as prof. of voice at the Vienna Cons. (1854–61), she went to Paris as a private teacher and as a concert singer. She subsequently was prof. of voice at the Cologne Cons. (1865–68) and again at the Vienna Cons. (1868–78). Thereafter she taught privately in Vienna until 1881, when she returned to Paris. Following her husband’s death, she settled in London. She had many celebrated students, among them Calve, Eames, Garden, Gerster, Klafsky, Melba, Murska, Nevada, and Sanderson. She publ, the autobiography Erinnerungen aus meinem Leben (Vienna, 1877; 4^th ed., rev. and aug., 1889 as Aus meinem Leben-, Eng. tr., 1897, as Marchesi and Music: Passages from the Life of a Famous Singing Teacher).She also publ, the manual 10 Singing Lessons (N.Y., 1910; new ed., 1970, by P. Miller as Theoretical and Practical Vocal Method).Her niece was Dorothea von Ertmann.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire