Maggie Teyte

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dame Maggie Teyte (born Margaret Tate April 17, 1888 in Wolverhampton, England - died May 26, 1976 in London ) was one of the United Kingdom's foremost operatic sopranos of the twentieth century. She is the sister of composer James W. Tate.

After studying in the UK she went to Paris in 1904, becoming a pupil of the celebrated tenor Jean de Reszke. She made her first public appearance in Paris in 1906 when she sang Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro and Zerlina in Don Giovanni, both conducted by Reynaldo Hahn. Her professional debut took place at the Opera House in Monte Carlo on 1 February 1907 where she performed with Paderewski. The following week, again at the Opera House in Monte Carlo, she sang Zerlina.

Finding that her surname was generally mispronounced in France, she changed it from Tate to Teyte before joining the Opéra-Comique in Paris. After a few small parts she was cast as Mélisande in Pelléas et Mélisande by Debussy, replacing the originator of the role, Mary Garden. To prepare for Pelléas et Mélisande, she studied with Debussy himself.

In 1910, Sir Thomas Beecham cast her as Cherubino and Mélisande and also as Blonde in Die Entführung aus dem Serail for his London season. She was a member of the Chicago Opera Company from 1911-1914, and the Boston Opera Company from 1914-1917.

Despite these early successes, Teyte did not easily establish herself in the main opera houses. She married in 1921 and went into semi-retirement. In the 1930s, she attempted to resume her career after an absence of nearly a decade. Her set of recordings of Debussy songs accompanied by Alfred Cortot attracted attention, and recordings remained an important factor in her renewed fame, particularly in the French repertoire.

She continued performing in opera until 1951 making her final appearance in the part of Belinda (to Kirsten Flagstad’s Dido) in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas at the Mermaid Theatre in London. Her final concert appearance was at the Royal Festival Hall on 22 April 1956. From then until her death she taught.

In 1958 she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

The Musicians Benevolent Fund sponsors a prize in her honour. The Maggie Teyte Prize of £2,000 which is coupled with the Miriam Licette Scholarship of £3,000 is open to women singers under the age of 30. The winner is offered a recital in association with the Friends of Covent Garden for the Royal Opera House.