American Mezzo-Soprano Julia Heinrich ~ Pleurez mez yeux (1916)

American mezzo-soprano Julia Heinrich (1880-1919) / Pleurez mez yeux / Le Cid (Massenet) / Recorded: 1916--


From Alabama, daughter of the well-known German baritone Max Heinrich (1851-1916), she studied first with her father, then worked as a music teacher in a college. She sang with her father in Montreal in 1899 and then went to Europe and sang in Eberfeld house as a guest in Amsterdam, as Sieglinde in Die Walkure (1913). She was a member of the Hamburg Opera (1913-1915) and then was called to the Metropolitan Opera, where she made her debut as Gutrune in Gotterdammerung; however, she was given no other important roles there. She undertook concert tours in 1916 and appeared as an oratorio singer. In 1919, in the small Louisiana town of Hammond, she made the so-called "direct comparison tests," better known as "Tone Tests", in which she sang and her Edison discs were played at the same time. It was in Hammond where she was killed instantly after being struck by a heavy baggage cart that had rolled off the railway station platform, colliding with an arriving engine. The pianist Lucille Colette, standing next to her, was uninjured. Julia Heinrich made only 10 recordings, all for Edison. Due to anti-German sentiment during WWI, Heinrich apparently altered her surname to Henry. Interestingly, her father was mentor to James Gibbons Huneker (1857-1921), the renowned American music critic and author who to this day is quoted by scholars and researchers. ( Sources: The Kutsch & Riemens Concise Biographical Dictionary of Singers - Chilton Book Company - 1969 / The Record of Singing by Michael Scott - Holmes & Meier Publishers, Inc. - 1979 / James Gibbons Huneker: Critic of the Seven Arts by Arnold T. Schwab - 1963 / The New Orleans Times-Picayune / The New York Times / Vertical-Cut Cylinders and Discs by Victor Girard & Harold M. Barnes - British institute of Recorded Sound - 1971)

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Category:

Music

Tags:

• American
• Mezzo-Soprano
• Julia
• Heinrich
• Opera
• Massanet
• Le
• Cid
• Acoustic
• 80
• rpm
• CurzonRoad

[AulicExclusiva]

Heinrich had one selection on an LP entitled The Fabulous Edison Phonograph, which featured Blue Amberol cylinders. I assume Edison made many of his recordings available on both formats, hill-and-dale "diamond" disks and cylinders, though I am not sure.

She's no Melba, but her performance is quite well sustained. Interesting. Thanks.

[CurzonRoad]

Actually, yes, Edison recordings were issued in both formats, though after the factory fire in 1914 many (most?) of the cylinders were dubbed from Diamond Discs. Heinrich appears on both disc and cylinder. Thanks!

[MrGer2295]

IMPRESSIONANTE!!! Thank you for sharing this Wonderful and Rare Performance of American Mezzo-Soprano JULIA HEINRICH (1880-1919).

[merrihew]

Did I read that the noisiness of the earlier Diamond Disc pressings is due to some chemical deterioration over time rather than any initial flaws?

[meltzerboy]

I can do no better than Doug's own liner notes. They explain it all.

[pax41]

Thanks Doug for yet another great introduction.

[pax41]

Elaborate on her tragic fate please?

[meltzerboy]

Despite the surface noise, Heinrich's voice shines through loud and clear. Expressive and sensitive singing. Her own tragic fate is mirrored by Chimene's lament. Thanks, Doug, for sharing this.

[65attila]

Doug

Thanks for posting a very clear voice and excellent interpretation.

Thanks-John

[Bivolari]

Well done, if not in the top echelon. A little monochromatic. She sings like a soprano!