Born on February 20, 1874, in Aberdeen, Scotland, Mary Garden came to the United States with her parents when she was seven and lived in Chicopee, Massachusetts, and Hartford, Connecticut, before settling in Chicago. She early began studying violin and piano and receiving voice lessons, and in 1897 she traveled to Paris to continue her voice training. A soprano, she made her public debut in April 1900 in Gustave Charpentier╒s Louise at the OpÄra-Comique when, as understudy, she filled in for the stricken regular soprano. She was an immediate success and subsequently sang in La Traviata and other operas. In 1902 she was chosen by Claude Debussy to sing the female lead in the premiere of his PellÄas et MÄlisande at the OpÄra-Comique in April, and her interpretation of that role remained her most famous.
Others among Garden╒s major roles were those in Le Jongleur de Notre-Dame, after Jules Massenet had rewritten the tenor part for her; in Massenet╒s Thaòs, in which she made her American debut at the Manhattan Opera House in November 1907; in Richard Strauss╒s SalomÄ, in which she created a sensation; in FÄvrier╒s Monna Vanna; and in Montemezzi╒s L╒Amore dei Tre Re. Acclaimed not only for her brilliant and highly individual singing but also for her remarkable dramatic ability in appearances throughout Europe and in London and New York City, she joined the Chicago Civic Opera in 1910 and starred with it until 1931, serving also as general director of the Chicago Opera Association in 1921╨1922. She retired from the operatic stage in 1931 but remained active for 20 years more in musical circles, making numerous national lecture and recital tours and serving as an audition judge for the National Arts Foundation. Her autobiography, Mary Garden╒s Story, written with Louis Biancolli, appeared in 1951. Garden died in Aberdeen, Scotland, on January 3, 1967.
εstyl ` ! ¬
5¬ 5¬ % !I ╒ !I █ !I m !I x !I π !I ≈ !I W 5¬ X !I ê !I í !I ∞ !I ± !I \ !I b !I ô !I ₧ !I ┤ !I ╞ !I !I !I link `
