Marcella Sembrich
Marcella Sembrich was a Polish pianist, opera singer, music teacher, and violinist, known for her coloratura soprano. Born Marcelina Praxeda Kochanska in Vyshnivchyk, she later performed under the stage name Marcella Sembrich, taken from her mother’s maiden name, and after marriage was known as Stengel. The article gives her birth date as February 18, 1858, in its prose and February 15 in the infobox.
Her father gave her her first lessons. She studied violin and piano at the conservatories in Lviv and Vienna, including with Joseph Hellmesberger Sr. and Julius Epstein. In 1876 she turned her attention to vocal training and went to Milan to study with Giovanni Battista Lamperti; she later also studied with his father, Francesco Lamperti. She made her stage debut in 1877 and joined the Dresden Opera in 1879.
From 1880, Sembrich performed in St. Petersburg and Moscow for three seasons, then sang in London, the United States, and Paris. She went to the United States in 1883 and made her debut there as Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor on October 24. Her international career was centered chiefly on the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in London. Her repertoire included 27 Italian, French, and German operas. Her voice was noted for its two-and-a-half-octave range, expressive quality, and clear, light, brilliant tone.
After leaving the stage, she taught from 1924 at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and the Juilliard School in New York. Her students included Alma Gluck, Mario Quina, Edna de Lima, Dusolina Giannini, Josephine Antoine, and Jane Pickens. Sembrich died in New York on January 11, 1935.