Telva (real name, Toucke), Marian

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Telva (real name, Toucke), Marian

Telva (real name, Toucke), Marian, American contralto; b. St. Louis, Dec. 26, 1897; d. Norwalk, Conn., Oct. 23, 1962. She changed her name to Telva for the sake of euphony. She sang in church in her hometown, then went to N.Y. for further study, and soon was engaged at the Metropolitan Opera, where she sang minor roles between 1920 and 1933 (1931-32 season excepted). In the meantime she married a wealthy banker and afterward made only sporadic appearances as a concert singer.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire