Opera Singer. A soprano, she is remembered for her long career as the Prima Diva of Antwerp's Royal Flemish Opera. Though little is recorded of her early years, it is known that she made her 1942 professional debut with the Royal Opera, Ghent as one of the Flower Maidens in Wagner's "Parsifal". She joined the Royal Flemish Opera in 1951 and was to remain there for the rest of her career, her undoubted signature piece, which she sang 178 times, being the title doomed Geisha of Puccini's "Madame Butterfly"; thru the years she was to assume over 100 roles, many of them in obscure pieces, though some are standards, among them Susanna in Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro", both Mimi and Musetta of Puccini's "La Boheme", Sieglinde from Wagner's "Die Walkure", the faithless Giorgetta in Puccini's "Il Tabarro", the doll Antonia from Jacques Offenbach's "The Tales of Hoffman", the title lead of Leos Janacek's "Jenufa", and both Siebel and Marguerite from Gounod's "Faust". Miss Van Hyfte made her Netherlands debut in a 1954 Royal Dutch Philharmonic concert, sang but one season at Brussels' La Monnaie, bowing in 1959 as Marzelline in Beethoven's "Fidelio", and in 1960 had her only cinematic appearance in "De Madonna mit de rozen". She was to stay with the Royal Flemish Opera until her 1975 retirement, taking her final bows in Mascagni's "Cavalleria Rusticana", lived out her days in Antwerp, and died of the effects of advanced age. Her art is preserved on a number of recordings.
Opera Singer. A soprano, she is remembered for her long career as the Prima Diva of Antwerp's Royal Flemish Opera. Though little is recorded of her early years, it is known that she made her 1942 professional debut with the Royal Opera, Ghent as one of the Flower Maidens in Wagner's "Parsifal". She joined the Royal Flemish Opera in 1951 and was to remain there for the rest of her career, her undoubted signature piece, which she sang 178 times, being the title doomed Geisha of Puccini's "Madame Butterfly"; thru the years she was to assume over 100 roles, many of them in obscure pieces, though some are standards, among them Susanna in Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro", both Mimi and Musetta of Puccini's "La Boheme", Sieglinde from Wagner's "Die Walkure", the faithless Giorgetta in Puccini's "Il Tabarro", the doll Antonia from Jacques Offenbach's "The Tales of Hoffman", the title lead of Leos Janacek's "Jenufa", and both Siebel and Marguerite from Gounod's "Faust". Miss Van Hyfte made her Netherlands debut in a 1954 Royal Dutch Philharmonic concert, sang but one season at Brussels' La Monnaie, bowing in 1959 as Marzelline in Beethoven's "Fidelio", and in 1960 had her only cinematic appearance in "De Madonna mit de rozen". She was to stay with the Royal Flemish Opera until her 1975 retirement, taking her final bows in Mascagni's "Cavalleria Rusticana", lived out her days in Antwerp, and died of the effects of advanced age. Her art is preserved on a number of recordings.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
Advertisement
