Edyth Walker

Born in Hopewell, New York, Walker had her initial musical training at her church in her native town where she sang in the choir and began performing solos at the age of 14. Her family moved to Rome, New York, where she graduated from Rome Free Academy in 1884 and continued to be active as a soloist at her church. After teaching for several years, she entered and won a singing competition which provided her with a scholarship enabling her to study singing in Europe. She arrived in Dresden, Germany, in 1891 where she became a pupil of Aglaia Orgeni. She later studied singing with Marianne Brandt in Vienna. Walker made her professional debut as a concert singer at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig in 1892. She made her professional opera debut on 11 November 1894 at the Berlin State Opera as Fidès in Giacomo Meyerbeer's Le prophète. The following year she became a member of the Vienna State Opera where she was a leading mezzo-soprano with the company for eight seasons. She notably sang the role of Magdalena in the Vienna premiere of Wilhelm Kienzl's Der Evangelimann in 1896. She was also much admired in Vienna for her interpretation of the role of Amneris in Giuseppe Verdi's Aida. While under contract in Vienna, Walker made guest appearances with other European theatres. She made her first appearance in the UK at the Royal Opera House in London, singing the role of Amneris on 16 May 1900. She sang several more roles at Covent Garden in 1900–1901, all of them from the Wagnerian repertoire, including Erda in Siegfried, Fricka in both Die Walküre and Das Rheingold, Ortrud in Lohengrin, and Waltraute in Götterdämmerung. In 1901 she portrayed the role of Elvira in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Salzburg Festival. ==Metropolitan Opera years and later career==

At the close of the 1902–1903 season, Walker left her position in Vienna abruptly after a dispute with Gustav Mahler. Having broken her contract with the influential Vienna opera house, she found it impossible to gain a permanent position with another German or Austrian theatre under such circumstances. While on contract with the Met, Walker began adding soprano roles to her repertoire, beginning with Brünnhilde in Die Walküre which she first performed at the Metropolitan Opera House in December 1905. That was the only soprano role she sang on the Met Stage and to sing the part of Thirza in Ethel Smyth's The Wreckers. From 1912 until 1917 she sang annually at the Munich Festivals with the Bavarian State Opera. She made appearances as a guest artist at the Cologne Opera, La Monnaie and the Prague State Opera, among others. Her final performances were singing various roles in Wagner's The Ring Cycle at Elberfeld in 1918. ==Post singing career==

After her retirement from the stage, Walker resided in Scheveningen, Holland until 1919 when she moved to Paris. She worked there as a voice teacher where she taught out of a private studio. In 1933 she joined the faculty at the American Conservatory in Fontainebleau where she taught through 1936. She then moved back to New York City where she continued to teach until her death 14 years later. Among her notable pupils were Irene Dalis and Blanche Thebom. She died at her home in New York City in 1950 at the age of 82 after a brief illness. ==References==