- Famous Czech operatic soprano of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
- She was born in an old Prague family as the oldest of five children. She was a child prodigy whose early interest in music was encouraged by her parents, both enthusiastic supporters of arts.
- She sang with Enrico Caruso and other superb opera singers in the most prestigeous opera houses, such as Bayreuth, Berlin's Hofoper, London's Covent Garden and New York's Metropolitan. Destinn's passion for music led to many remarkable achievements in her career and was a great inspiration to her colleagues.
- From 1892 to 1897 she studied voice with mezzosoprano Marie von Dreger-Loewe who was known under her artistic pseudonym Destinn which Emmy later adopted as a tribute to her beloved teacher.
- For twelve spring seasons between 1904 and 1919 Destinn performed in London, making 225 appearances in 18 operas on Covent Garden's stage. One of her most acclaimed performances at Covent Garden was the London premiere of Madama Butterfly on 18.7.1905, with Enrico Caruso as her partner. Caruso and Destinn performed together at 47 occasions in London, in a succession of operas including Cavalleria Rusticana, Aida, Les Huguenots, Don Giovanni, Madama Butterfly, Andrea Chenier, Tosca, and Un Ballo in Maschera.
- Emmy Destinn's entrance onto the operatic stage was far from smooth, however. She was rejected by three opera houses (Prague's National Theatre, Dresden's Semper Opera and Berlin's Theater des Westens) before she finally debuted in Berlin's Hofoper in 1898. Her very first performance of Santuzza on 19.7.1898 was an immediate success.
- She holds a prominent place in the history of opera.
- As the war drew to its end, Destinn was allowed to sing at least at Prague's National Theatre. She made 82 appearances on its stage, most frequently as Milada (13 times), Marenka (12) and Libuse (9). She also performed in theatres in Pilsen, Brno, and several other venues. The audiences everywhere greeted her with enthusiastic manifestations of support for her patriotism which was central to Destinn's character.
- She had popularised arias and scenes from Libuse, The Devil's Wall, The Secret, The Kiss, Rusalka, The Jacobin, and Jenufa. She also presented an exclusively Czech repertoire during her first post-war tour with the Czech Quartet, violinist Jaroslav Kocian and a choral ensemble, touring London, Paris, Geneva, Berne and Zürich.
- When Destinn returned to Czechoslovakia, where she married Joseph Halsbach, a Czech air-force officer, in 1923.
- Emmy's image is on the Czech 2,000 Koruna bill.
- Emmy Destinn died unexpectedly of a stroke, while visiting her doctor in Ceske Budejovice.
- During her entire career Emmy Destinn promoted Czech Opera. She was instrumental in staging The Bartered Bride in New York on February 19, 1909, where it was performed under the baton of Gustav Mahler.
- Destinn enjoyed success after success in Berlin. She sang in 43 roles, most often as Santuzza, Carmen a Mignon, and made 706 stage appearances at the Hofoper. The triumph of Destinn's Berlin's engagement was her stunning performance of Richard Strauss's Salome, first performed on 5.12.1906, with the composer conducting the orchestra.
- The main-belt asteroid 6583 Destinn is named after her.
- At Bayreuth, where she was invited by Wagner's widow Cosima, Destinn was given an enthusiastic reception as Baureth's very first Senta. Her artistic achievements during the two guest seasons at Bayreuth opened doors to major European opera houses, including London's Covent Garden.
- Emmy Destinn was one of the greatest dramatic sopranos of the twentieth century and one of the most sought-after singers before WWI thanks to a voice of exceptional richness, power, and control.
- Twenty-five years after her début, in the 1922/1923 season, she bid farewell to regular artistic activity with her concert tour to Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo and guest appearances on home stages in Pilsen, Bratislava, Ostrava, Brno, and at Sarka and Vysehrad in Prague, where she sang to thousands in Madama Butterfly and in Coronation of Libuse, composed by Rudolf Zamrzla to her own libretto.
- Destinn debuted at the Metropolitan Opera on 16.11.1908 in Aida. Enrico Carusso was her partner and Arturo Toscannini conducted the Metropolitan's orchestra. Destinn performed eight full seasons at the Met where she made 249 stage appearances in 21 roles. Her most acclaimed role at the Metropolitan was Minnie, with Carusso and Toscanini, in the world premiere of Puccini's La Fanciulla del West.
- Emmy first studied violin with Ferdinand Lachner and acting with Otylie Sklenarova-Mala.
- Her return from the midst of the New York season of 1915-1916 to war-torn Europe had a fateful consequences for Destinn's career. Her links with the patriotic resistance movement at home resulted in her confinement by the authorities to her summer residence at Straz nad Nezarkou in South Bohemia. Her unvoluntary two-year absence from the Met had meanwhile opened doors for a new generation of singers.
- She spoke five languages fluently and wrote her literary work in Czech and German.
- Her 1915 novel Dr. Casanova was based on her own experiences during the early years of her operatic career. The most significant of her works, however, is the 1924 novel In the Shadow of the Blue Rose, along with her play Rahel and a collection of poems, Storm and Silence. Her sharp wit, sense of humour and ability to write vividly about any situation is evident in her vast correspondence.
- She returned from New York to her homeland after the start of the war in 1914, but her links with the patriotic Czech resistance caused her passport to be revoked. She was interned at her chateau for the remainder of the conflict.
- The strain of the war years and the unhappy marriage may have contributed to the high blood pressure that shortened her career.
- She retired from the stage in 1926 and died a month before her 52nd birthday.
- A quintessential femme fatale, she was a flamboyant but tragic figure. Her love affairs were legendary. Among her many admirers was the great Enrico Caruso, whom she partnered on stage on 47 occasions, Arturo Toscanini, Artur Rubinstein and the French baritone Dinh Gilly, who learnt Czech to be able to sing with her in Prague.
- After a brief and unfulfilling marriage to a young air force pilot, Josef Halsbach, her final years were spent in isolation at her Straz castle in Southern Bohemia. She spent her days writing and fishing, only occasionally returning for brief spells on stage, mostly in Bohemia and Moravia.
- Her talents were many and varied - and not only musical. Destinn also wrote plays, novels, short stories, librettos, and poetry; painted on canvas and porcelain; and translated and composed songs. She wrote her first play at the age of 16, and by 18 had followed that with three more.
- In the 1900s she was the highest paid female singer at the Metropolitan Opera.
- Her last public concert took place at the Queen's Hall in London in 1928, to mark the tenth anniversary of Czechoslovakia's independence.
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