Opera Singer. A noted lyrico spinto soprano of the early 20th Century, she is remembered both for her wide repertoire and for her creation of a dozen roles. Born Emilie Pavlina Venceslava Kittlova to a musical family of wealth and position, she originally intended a career as a violinist but changed paths in her teens as the quality of her voice became evident. Taking the name of her teacher Marie Loewe-Destinn for the stage, she sang briefly at Dresden then made her Berlin debut on July 19, 1898 as Santuza in Pietro Mascagni's "Cavalleria Rusticana". Emmy became a fixture of the Berlin Court Opera and on December 5, 1906 was accorded the honor of singing the title role in that city's first performance of Richard Strauss' "Salome". While based at Berlin she traveled widely, singing Senta in Wagner's "The Flying Dutchman" at Bayreuth in 1901 and making her Covent Garden London debut on May 2, 1904 as Donna Anna in Mozart's "Don Giovanni". Emmy took her bow at New York's Metropolitan Opera in 1908 as the title heroine of Verdi's "Aida", joined Enrico Caruso in the London premiere of Puccini's "Madame Butterfly", and again partnered with the great tenor for the December 10, 1910 Metropolitan world premiere of the same composer's "La Fanciulla del West", singing Minnie to Caruso's Dick Johnson. She found success in numerous other Verdi roles including Leonore in "Il Trovatore", Alice Ford from "Falstaff", and Amalia of "Un Ballo in Maschera", as well as in the title leads of Bedrich Smetana's patriotic "Libuse" and Georges Bizet's "Carmen", but her career was essentially ruined by World War I as she returned home to find her passport revoked due to her political associations. Able to go back to both Covent Garden and the Metropolitan in 1919, she saw the best roles taken over by others, though she did sing occasionally at the New York house thru 1920. Following her 1926 retirement from the stage, she kept busy as a poet and novelist until her death from a stroke. Emmy's image is on the Czech 2,000 Koruna bill; a portion of her legacy of about 200 records remains in print on CD.
Opera Singer. A noted lyrico spinto soprano of the early 20th Century, she is remembered both for her wide repertoire and for her creation of a dozen roles. Born Emilie Pavlina Venceslava Kittlova to a musical family of wealth and position, she originally intended a career as a violinist but changed paths in her teens as the quality of her voice became evident. Taking the name of her teacher Marie Loewe-Destinn for the stage, she sang briefly at Dresden then made her Berlin debut on July 19, 1898 as Santuza in Pietro Mascagni's "Cavalleria Rusticana". Emmy became a fixture of the Berlin Court Opera and on December 5, 1906 was accorded the honor of singing the title role in that city's first performance of Richard Strauss' "Salome". While based at Berlin she traveled widely, singing Senta in Wagner's "The Flying Dutchman" at Bayreuth in 1901 and making her Covent Garden London debut on May 2, 1904 as Donna Anna in Mozart's "Don Giovanni". Emmy took her bow at New York's Metropolitan Opera in 1908 as the title heroine of Verdi's "Aida", joined Enrico Caruso in the London premiere of Puccini's "Madame Butterfly", and again partnered with the great tenor for the December 10, 1910 Metropolitan world premiere of the same composer's "La Fanciulla del West", singing Minnie to Caruso's Dick Johnson. She found success in numerous other Verdi roles including Leonore in "Il Trovatore", Alice Ford from "Falstaff", and Amalia of "Un Ballo in Maschera", as well as in the title leads of Bedrich Smetana's patriotic "Libuse" and Georges Bizet's "Carmen", but her career was essentially ruined by World War I as she returned home to find her passport revoked due to her political associations. Able to go back to both Covent Garden and the Metropolitan in 1919, she saw the best roles taken over by others, though she did sing occasionally at the New York house thru 1920. Following her 1926 retirement from the stage, she kept busy as a poet and novelist until her death from a stroke. Emmy's image is on the Czech 2,000 Koruna bill; a portion of her legacy of about 200 records remains in print on CD.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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