A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Marchesi, Mathilde

MARCHESI, Mathilde De Castrone, née Graumann, born March 26, 1826, at Frankfort-on-the-Main. The daughter of a wealthy merchant, she was very highly educated, but in 1843, her father having lost his fortune, she adopted the musical profession. She studied singing at Vienna with Nicolai; but in 1845 went to Paris to learn from Garcia. Here she took lessons in declamation from Samson, Rachel's master, and had the advantage of hearing all the first singers of the age—Persiani, Grisi, Alboni, Duprez, Tainburini, Lablache. Her own aptitude for teaching was already so remarkable that Garcia, whilst prevented by the effects of an accident from giving his lessons, handed over his whole clientèle for the time to his young pupil. In 1849 Mdlle. Graumann removed to London, where she obtained a high standing as a concert singer. Her voice was a mezzo soprano, and her excellent style never failed to please. She has sung successfully in Germany, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, France, and the United Kingdom. She married Signor Marchesi, also a vocalist, in 1852, and in 1854 accepted the post of professor of singing at the Vienna Conservatoire, the vocal department of which was then in its infancy. But she soon won high distinction for it and herself. Among her pupils at this period were Mdlles. Ilma de Murska, Fried, Kraus, and others who have since become famous. She resigned her appointment in 1861, and removed with her husband to Paris, where pupils came to her from far and wide. At this time appeared her 'Ecole de Chant.' Rossini, in acknowledging the dedication of a volume of 'Vocalizzi,' extols her method as an exposition of the true art of the Italian school of singing, inclusive of the dramatic element; and specially valuable when, he complains, the tendency is to treat the vocal art as though it were a question of the capture of barricades! In 1865 she accepted a professorship at the Cologne Conservatoire, but resigned it in 1868 to return to Vienna to resume her post as teacher of singing at the Conservatoire, which she held for ten years. Among her famous recent scholars were Mdlles. d'Angeri and Smeroschi, Mme. Schuch-Proska, and, greatest of all, Etelka Gerster. She resigned her appointment at the Conservatoire in 1878, but continues to reside and teach in Vienna, where her services to art have met with full recognition. A pupil of hers having created a furore at a concert, the public, after applauding the singer, raised a call for Mme. Marchesi, who had to appear and share the honours. From the Emperor of Austria she has received the Cross of Merit of the 1st class, a distinction rarely accorded to ladies; and she holds decorations and medals from the King of Saxony, the Grand Duke of Saxe Weimar, the Emperor of Germany, and the King of Italy. She is a member of the St. Cecilia Society in Rome, and of the Academy of Florence. She has published a grand practical Method of singing, and 24 books of vocal exercises.

[ B. T. ]