Amalie Materna

While possessing a famously powerful voice, Materna also maintained a youthful, bright vocal timbre throughout her career which spanned three decades.

Materna made her professional opera début at the Thalia Theatre in Graz in 1865.

She joined the Metropolitan Opera roster the following year making her début on 5 January 1885 as Elisabeth in Tannhäuser.

Her other roles at the Met included Valentine in Les Huguenots, Rachel in La juive and Brünnhilde in Die Walküre.

Writing in The New York Times, W. J. Henderson described her Brünnhilde as "a portrayal of world-wide celebrity and her impressive scenes with Siegmund and Wotan last night – scenes in which her deep feeling, expressive tones, and majestic appearance...told quite as strongly as the beauty and volume of her voice, were awaited with a confidence that was fully justified by the event.