Marion Telva

Marion Telva (December 26, 1897 – October 23, 1962) was an American opera singer who was a leading mezzo-soprano at New York's Metropolitan Opera for a decade.[1][2][3]

Marion Telva
Born	Marion Taucke December 26, 1897 St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Died	October 23, 1962 (aged 64) Norwalk, Connecticut, USA
Nationality	American
Other names	Marion Telva Jones
Occupation	singer (mezzo-soprano)
Employer	Metropolitan Opera
Known for	role of Adalgisa in Norma
Spouse(s)	Elmer Ray Jones

Biography

Telva was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on December 26, 1897.[2][4] Her parents were German immigrants, Herman and Elsa Taucke; she would later take Telva as her stage name.[5] She studied under Lilli Lehmann.[6]

Early in her career, Telva sang with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.[4][5] She moved to New York in 1918 and sang in local churches and synagogues before being hired by the Metropolitan Opera.[4] She debuted with the company in 1920 as the Singer in Puccini's Manon Lescaut.[4] She went on to sing many other roles as one of the company's leading mezzo-sopranos until 1931.[2] Among her regular roles were Brangane in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde and Mary in his The Flying Dutchman, and Lola in Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana.[4] She also appeared a few times as Princess Eboli in Verdi's Don Carlos (1920–21) and Azucena in his Il trovatore (1923–24).[7]

Telva is probably best known for her role as Adalgisa in the company's 1927–28 revival of Vincenzo Bellini's Norma.[2][4] Telva spent part of the summer before the opening of Norma studying the opera with soprano Rosa Ponselle, who would sing the title role, and Tullio Serafin, then one of the company's conductors.[7] Another well-known role is her appearance as Mrs. Deane in the premiere of Deems Taylor’s Peter Ibbetson in 1931.[4]

In 1930, she married Elmer Ray Jones, president of Wells Fargo, who died in 1961.[2][5] Jones built a hotel in Taxco, Mexico, and named it Rancho Telva in her honor.[5]

Although Telva effectively retired at the end of the 1930–31 season, she made one further appearance at the Metropolitan Opera during the 1932-33 season, in a special concert.[4] In the 1930s, she undertook a few more special engagements, such as singing Beethoven's Missa Solemnis with the New York Philharmonic (1935).[4]

On October 23, 1962, she died in Norwalk, Connecticut.[1][2] She had lived for three decades in the nearby community of Silvermine.[4]

References

1. "Marion Telva, Mezzo, Dies at 64. Starred at Met Opera in 1920's". New York Times. October 24, 1962. Retrieved 2016-08-06.
2. "Marion Telva, Soprano, Dies". Schenectady Gazette, Oct. 24, 1962, p. 3.
3. "Marion Telva (1897-1962) - Find A Grave Memorial". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
4. Ellenberger, Allan R. "Marion Telva". Hollywoodland (blog). Retrieved Jan. 8, 2016.
5. Blesi, Sue. "Elmer Jones Was President of Wells Fargo for 31 Years". emissorian.com, November 5, 2014. Retrieved Jan. 8, 2016.
6. Mesa, Franklin. Opera: An Encyclopedia of World Premieres and Significant Performances, Singers, Composers, Librettists, Arias and Conductors, 1597-2000. McFarland, 2007, p. 379.
7. Phillips-Matz, Mary Jane. Rosa Ponselle: American Diva. Upne, 1997, pp. 145–46; 224–25.

External links

• Marion Telva recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings.