Kathleen Fraser
'Ask the average Canadian who our first international opera star was and you will probably get the reply: Maureen Forrester.' This is part of the concluding chapter to Cheryl MacDonald's book about Emma Albani, the world-renowned nineteenth-century Canadian diva. Forrester, MacDonald points out, by making her debut at a Sarah Fischer concert (the concerts were instituted in 1946 to Albani's memory), is a musical descendant of Albani.
Born Marie-Louise-Emma-Cecile Lajeunesse in Chambly, Quebec, Albani was educated in Quebec, New York State, and Europe. She certainly deserves scholarly treatment for 'the brilliant reputation ... won in the English and continental capitals . ....' (Globe, 14 February 1883) as well as for her wonderful tours of Canada and the United States. MacDonald's nostalgic style provides Albani with a human touch. The latter was clearly not as sensational as many of her contemporaries; one longed for Emma to do something dreadful à la Bernhardt or Patti. Albani's moral life certainly appealed to one of her most ardent admirers Queen Victoria! The style of the study is reminiscent of Albani's autobiography and we already have access to this. Although some new information is provided, one longs for more from a serious study.
Some of the problems with the book are editorial ones and they are not minor quibbles. First, there are twenty chapters in 160 pages; this gives the book an unnecessary disjointed quality and little sense of an organizational principle. Second, the list of roles performed and the family tree should be appended with the Chronology at the end. Another editorial flaw is the selection of illustrations: seven of twenty-six photographs are reprinted from Albani's autobiography, Forty Years of Song; twelve are of stars she performed with or opera houses she performed in; four are of Albani memorabilia; ten are of Albani. There are many original photographs available of Albani from the museum in Chambly, Quebec, and from the Public Archives.1
A study which seeks to give Albani her proper historical due should include both a sense of where she stood in relation to other divas and what her art was like. This is attempted through anecdotes about rivalry and patronage; however, these we can find in the autobiography. A more valid approach might consist of comparing the recordings of Albani and Patti - the re-release of eight Albani recordings in 1967 is given brief mention in the book; no mention is made of the label. The 1907 Albani recordings, though poor in quality, give a glimmer of what her voice was like in its prime thirty years before! There is no discussion of the recordings in MacDonald's book. Another approach might consist of comparing costumes through the large number of photographs which exist. One is left wondering if there are extant Albani scores; as she worked and lived in London for so long, would it not have been logical to try the British Museum for research material? A curious omission is no mention of the 1977 reprint of Forty Years of Song (Arno Press; Opera Biographies Series) which includes an interesting discography by W.R. Moran.
Another difficulty with the study is the sense that Emma Albani became a star in the 'operatic void' of Quebec. Theatricals, operas, and concerts both by amateur and professional performers thrived in this period. It is true Emma did her most advanced training in Europe, but this would not have been possible without the encouragement, examples, and opportunities provided by her early life in Quebec.
Note
CHERYL MACDONALD, Emma Albani: Victorian Diva. Toronto: Dundurn Press Ltd., 1984. Illus., index, 240 pp. $9.95.
Kathleen Fraser
1 Joan Parkhill Baillie, Archivist of the Canadian Opera
Company, provided a list of approximately 100 photographic items in the
1980 international touring Albani exhibit prepared by Gilles Potvin. There
is no mention of this tour in MacDonald's book.
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