page_title: Fanny Simonsen
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Fanny Simonsen / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Head and shoulders portrait of Martin Simonsen, violinist, conductor and impresario. Husband of Fanny Simonsen
context_page_description: Fanny Simonsen, also written Fannie Simonsen, was a French soprano singer who had a substantial career on the Australian stage, later a concert manager with her violinist husband Martin Simonsen. Several daughters and one grand-daughter, Frances Alda, were first-rate singers.
context_section_description: Born Françoise De Haes or Dehaes, Fanny Simonsen was a French lyric soprano, who claimed aristocratic parentage and had studied under Manuel Garcia II. She had on occasion shared the Paris stage with Madame Carvalho, and played prima donna roles in Brussels and the great French provincial cities. She married the eminent Danish violinist Martin Simonsen, and for nine years restricted her appearances to the concert stage in Europe and California. 
  The Simonsens arrived in Melbourne from Germany in August 1865 by the mail steamer Northam after a successful tour of China and India, and held a series of seven concerts at St George's Hall, Bourke Street, Melbourne, from Saturday 19 August 1865, with a different program every night.
  In June 1866 Mme Simonsen joined Lyster's Grand Opera Company as prima donna, commencing with Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor.
  This was followed by Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots (as Marguerite de Valois), the Australian première of L'Africaine (alternately with Lucy Escott, playing Selika), perhaps her most celebrated role) and Roberto il diavolo, perhaps their most popular production (as Isabel/Isabelle).
  In 1867 she played the name part in Maritana (Wallace), Amina in La Sonnambula (Bellini) and Auber's comic operas The Crown Diamonds as Catarina and Masaniello as Elvira.
  Despite Lyster's alternation of loss-making grand opera productions with crowd-pleasing comic offerings, his attention to detail and the quality of his orchestra and ensemble and stars Simonsen and Lucy Escott,  Henry Squires  and Armes Beaumont, he was failing in a business sense due to the public demand for novelty. Accordingly, he announced his intention to withdraw from Melbourne, which compounded the problem.
  After the troupe's tour of country Victoria — Ballarat Geelong and Bendigo — and before they crossed over to Adelaide, the Simonsens made their own farewell tour and returned to San Francisco; Geraldine Warden was Lyster's new soprano.
  They returned to Melbourne by the Marpesia in July 1869 and held a short series of concerts at the Academy of Music (Princess's Theatre on Spring Street), and the goldfield towns, supported by Rebecca Nordt (soprano), Arthur R. Moule (tenor) and Harcourt Lee (bass and pianist).
  In January 1868 Lyster brought to Melbourne (fresh from South America): Vitali, Devoti, Bertolini, and the magnificent basso profundo D'Antoni/De Antoni. prima donna is Signora Ida Vitali and her husband, baritone Guiseppe Bertolini; second prima donna, Marinette Colombo ; tenor, Signor Ugo De Voti; basso, Signor Pietro d'Antoni.
  Lyster took a company to San Francisco in the Alexander Duthie in August 1868; it was a failure from the start: Antoni died on the voyage there; Kitts' voice failed, the weather was foul and fear of earthquake kept many away. Escott and Squires left Lyster's company while in America, as did Beaumont, and the rest returned via New Zealand.)
  Far from quitting the Melbourne musical scene, in 1869 Lyster formed a partnership with John Washington Smith, previously of Lenton & Smith, to establish, in January 1870, an Italian Opera Company with Lucia Baratti, Lucy Chambers, Mariano Neri (tenor), Enrico Dondi (basso). Simonsen and Beaumont were among their first recruits.
  Another prominent member of the company was Signor Leandro Coy, whose family contributed much to Melbourne's music scene.
  In later years Lyster suffered from a chronic illness, and despite a trip to Europe for treatment died on 27 November 1880.
  Simonsen's first appearance for this season was as Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor on 10 February 1870, followed by Un Ballo in Maschera, Maritana, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Martha (as Lady Harriet) and others. 
  In May 1871 the Simonsens had a farewell tour of the major towns of Victoria and South Australia, having announced their leaving the country.
  On 19 August 1871 the Simonsen troupe, consisting of Rebecca Nordt, her husband Arthur Moule (tenor), Edward Farley (baritone), Barry O'Neil (comic singer), Henry King (pianist) held a concert at the Lyceum Theatre prior to leaving for Europe. 
  The 
caption: Martin Simonsen c. 1889
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