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Johanna GadskiGerman soprano singer
Date of Birth: 15.06.1872
Country:  Germany |
Biography of Johanna Gadski
Early Life and Career in Germany
Johanna Gadski was born on June 15, 1872, in the small town of Anklam, Prussia. She received her musical education in Stettin and made her opera debut in Berlin in 1889, performing the role of Undine. Gadski gained recognition in Germany, particularly for her appearances in Wagnerian operas at the Bayreuth Festival in 1899 and the Munich Festival in 1905-1906.
International Success
However, it was in English-speaking countries that Gadski truly became a prima donna and achieved international fame. She had a highly successful American debut in New York in 1895 and became extremely popular in England, performing at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London in 1899, 1900, 1901, and 1906.
Concert Tours and Metropolitan Opera
Gadski was in high demand as a concert performer, and she embarked on a tour of the United States in 1899-1900. She also joined the roster of performers at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, appearing on its stage from 1898 to 1904 and again from 1907 to 1917. In 1902, she met Mabel Riegelman, a young soprano, and invited her and her mentor and accompanist, Ruby Riegelman, to Berlin as her guests. Gadski arranged for the sisters to continue their musical education in Stettin.
Later Years and Tragic Death
With the outbreak of World War I, Gadski had to leave the Metropolitan Opera due to her German heritage. She spent the war years peacefully in New York and Lake Spofford, New Hampshire, and returned to Germany in 1922. She resumed her concert career in the United States in 1921 but did not return to the opera stage until 1928 when she performed in Die Walküre with the Washington National Opera.
Gadski toured as the star of the German Grand Opera Company from 1929 to 1931 but her voice was no longer as powerful due to her age and the strain of intense performances. She became a U.S. citizen in 1925 but tragically died in a car accident in Berlin on February 22, 1932. Several recordings of her performances, made in the United States before World War I, have been reissued on modern mediums.
