St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-07-10
ACTRESSES OF THE OLDEN TIME,


This lady, although German by birth, be
longs by the power of her genius alike to-
England, France and America, and in spite
upon Lind and other artists, may be looked
upon as the greatest singer of the century.
She was born at Coblenz in 1905, the daugh-
ter of parents both upon the stage. She was
singer from her birth, and long before age
had ripened her voice into its mellow prime,
she was called by the Italians the 'Nigntin-
gale of the North.'' There was, at the tim e
of her debut an almost universal prejudice
against German singers, but she OVERRIDE
this, and, on her appearance in Paris, the
critics at once placed her by the side of Pasta
and Malibran. She never became great
actress, defamation not being her forte, but
her personal attractions, her exquisite voice
and the perfection of her methods placed her
first in favor with the best judges.
Her parents intended her to bean actress,
and in her sixth year she played small parts
and sang minor characters at the theater
At nine she lost her father, and her mother
removed with her to Prague, where she was
admitted to the conservatory and spent four
years studying vocalization, the piano and
luB pTIuClpltS VI hcT ucDuI WIS
the result Of an accident, the prima who was
to sing the part of the Princess in Jean de
Paris, being taken sick, the youthful vocalist
not yet sixteen, and so small that she had to
wear high heeled boots to look the part at all,
essayed the part and made decided hit.
After this she sang the leading role in Sar-
gino, with such success that she was invited
to take position in the Viennese opera. 1t
was here that she met the brilliant Madame
Fodor, who said to her: Had / your voice,
would hold the whole world at my feet.''
Being young, beautiful and talented, she
had many admirers. among them the Eng
lish ambassador, Earl Clan William, who fol-
lowed her about everywhere. Sontag In Ger
man means Sunday, and the wags nick
named the earl Montag, because Montag al
ways follows Sontag.
The real business of her life began in
1924, at Leipsic, where she sang in Fres-
chutz and Euryanthe, and by so doing estab-
lished the reputation which was soon to be-
come world wide.
Henrietta Sontag's voice ranged from A to
d in alt and was pure soprano, ringing out
like the tones of silver bell. The ease with
which she sang was fascinating, and to use
the language of critic of the day: "All
passages are alike to her, but she has appro-
priated some that were hitherto believed to
belong only to instruments. Arpeggios
and chromatic scales, passages ascending,
and descending, she executed in the same
manner that the ablest performers on the
piano or violin execute them.''
She was of middle height, beautifully
formed with light brown hair, large blue
eyes, finely nodded mouth and the most per-
feet teeth, while her elegant figure was
matched by hands and feet of such exquisite
proportions that sculptors sought the privi-
lege of molding them, and amatory poets
rsved volumes in their praise.
Sontng never aspred to the higher walks
of lyric tragedy, but confined herself to light
and elegant comedy, and in the Rosinas aud
Susannas she has never been equaled either
as an actress or singer.
The turning point in her life was when In
Berlin she made the acquaintance of Count
Rossi, to whom she became affianced, but
not thought Of quitting the lyric stage en-
tered her mind. Her success at home made
her long for other worlds to conquer, and
going TO Paris she made her first appearance
June 10, 1926. Her very first song settled
the Parisians, and she became the idol of the
public and pet of the Partisan aristocracy.
Catalini, who saw her, said, sElle est la pre-
AAACic NC SOh SchiCf mans Sun ScHIC II St pas
lie premier while celebrated flute player
was accosted with ''Ecco il tue rivale.'
All sorts of stories both in London and
Paris were circulated about her, presents of
fabulous value, offers of marriage from
princes and dukes, but nothing was Injurious
to her good name, aud she remained faithful
to the promise made to Count Rossi
1t was in 1928, In April. that she made her
first appearance in London, in II Barbiere
and her triumph was as great as in Paris.
Her success was of the most decided charac-
ter, and the receipts of her first benefit ex-l
ceeded $4,000.
She then made contract with Laurent,
the manager of the Theatre Italien. Paris,
for 80, 600 francs year, with three months
leave of absence, and she now began to
study tragic characters, in which, by hard
labor, she ultimately succeeded.
1t was now that cslumny began its dirty
work. Her union with Rossi had been kept
secret, his relatives being averse to the
match, although she had been ennobled By
the king of Prussia, under the name of Won
Lsuenstein- She determined to make fare
well tour and retire from the stage. This
she did, and formally at great banquet Civ
en- to her in Hamburg, she announced that she
was the Countess Rossi. For twenty wears she
lived happy life, courted and carressed by
the highest in rank and most brilliant in lit
ersture and art, when in 1913 the London
public were amazed to find it announced that
she was about to resume her profession.
The fact was the political storm Of 1913 had
swept away her fortune, and she had again
to seek opulence by her talents. She made
an arrangement with the director of Her
Ma!estyss theater for Eli, 900 for the season,