Zaré Thalberg

Zaré Thalberg, born Ethel Western, (16 April 1858 – 17 March 1915) was a British operatic singer and actress who was thought at one time to have been born in Greece.

Zaré Thalberg
Born16 April 1858
Derbyshire, England
Died17 March 1915 (1915-03-18) (aged 56)
Occupation(s)Opera soprano, actress

Life

Thalberg was born in Derbyshire in 1858.[1] Her name was Ethel Western and she took the name of Thalberg after taking singing lessons from the pianist Sigismond Thalberg. She debuted at the Royal Opera House in London as Zerlina in Mozart's Don Giovanni[2] after training in Paris and Milan.

In 1879 her voice gave way and she was obliged to give up her career at Covent Garden. However, she joined Edwin Booth as an actress in the United States and did not return to England until the 1890s. She acted under the name of Ethel Western.[3]

Her photo was found in the pocket of Henry Irving after she died. For many years the picture was misidentified as Nelly Moore, who had died in 1869. Much later the picture was identified as Thalberg. The Irving Society offer no rationale as to why he should have been carrying her photo as there is no evidence that they did (or did not) know each other.[4]

There are photos of her in the National Portrait Gallery, London, appearing in Lucretia Borgia in the 1890s.[5]

References
  1. "Thalberg, Zaré". oxfordindex.oup.com. Oxford Music Online. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.27767. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  2. See the note in the Allgemeine Zeitung Augsburg 1875, p. 1788.
  3. Early edition of Grove's Musical Dictionary via Alex Bisset source
  4. "The Thalbery Mystery by Alex Bisset". The Irving Society. 1 June 2002. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  5. "Zare Thalberg". www.npg.org.uk. National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
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