Emma Juch
Encyclopedia
Emma Juch was a popular soprano
opera singer of the 1880s and 1890s from Vienna, Austria. Her married name was Emma Antonia Joanna Juch Wellman. Her name was more properly Von Juch.
before returning to Austria
for the settlement of the estate of Juch's grandfather, General Von Juch. Juch was also of Italian descent. Her parents returned to the United States
when Juch was two years of age. She was raised in New York City
. Her singing ability was inherited from her maternal grandmother. and her mother, who were both gifted singers. Martin Juch at first disapproved of a musical career for his daughter. Juch took lessons and practiced secretly. When she appeared in a concert she noticed her father in the front row. He heard his daughter sing and experienced a change of heart soon after. He encouraged her and gave her personal supervision.
during a grand opera
and concert career spanning thirteen years. Writing in his book, The American Singer, Oscar Thompson praised Juch by saying "her voice was one of unusually lovely quality and extraordinary purity." She could sing in four different languages, but her singing in English
was especially praised for its clarity. Juch also sang proficiently in German
, Italian
, and French
.
Juch debuted as Philine in an Italian-language version of Mignon
by Ambroise Thomas
when she was 18. Colonel Henry Mapleson
engaged her for a season that began at Her Majesty's Theatre
in London, England. She made her United States debut in October 1881 at the Academy of Music
in New York City
. Eight months later, on June 10, 1882, she received favorable notice when she returned to that house as a participant in a memorial concert for operatic bass George Conly and virtuoso
pianist
Herman Rietzel
, both recently drowned in a boating accident, a benefit that raised at least $4,000 for Conly's widow and children.
Juch was the first singer contracted by the American Opera Company
in 1886. When the company dissolved she formed the Emma Juch Company, which toured the United States and Mexico
.
In January 1890 Juch lived in a house on West Forty-Seventh Street in New York City. Before an engagement in Los Angeles, California
, Juch acquired dresses for Carmen
, Mignon, The Bohemian Girl
, and Marguerite in Faust
and Der Freischütz
. Most of the clothing she designed herself, and she supervised its making as well. The dresses came from Paris
, New York, and Philadelphia. About twenty of them were made at Wanamaker's
in Philadelphia.
The Emma Juch Opera Company opened in Faust at the Grand Opera House in Los Angeles on the night of January 6, 1890. Juch sang in four of the seven operas performed by the company, which had been on tour for ten weeks. The New York World
complimented her on making great strides in singing the part of Marguerite since her tenure with the American Opera Company. A critic said "her impersonation of Marguerite is most delicate and charming," and particularly "the garden scene, most poetic."
following a funeral at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, New York
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
opera singer of the 1880s and 1890s from Vienna, Austria. Her married name was Emma Antonia Joanna Juch Wellman. Her name was more properly Von Juch.
Austrian family
Juch's father, Martin Juch, was a musician, artist, and inventor. Her mother's maiden name was Augusta Hahn. and she was French Hanoverian. Her parents were naturalized citizens who resided in Detroit, MichiganDetroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
before returning to Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
for the settlement of the estate of Juch's grandfather, General Von Juch. Juch was also of Italian descent. Her parents returned to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
when Juch was two years of age. She was raised in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Her singing ability was inherited from her maternal grandmother. and her mother, who were both gifted singers. Martin Juch at first disapproved of a musical career for his daughter. Juch took lessons and practiced secretly. When she appeared in a concert she noticed her father in the front row. He heard his daughter sing and experienced a change of heart soon after. He encouraged her and gave her personal supervision.
Prima donna
She was admired in the United States and EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
during a grand opera
Grand Opera
Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterised by large-scale casts and orchestras, and lavish and spectacular design and stage effects, normally with plots based on or around dramatic historic events...
and concert career spanning thirteen years. Writing in his book, The American Singer, Oscar Thompson praised Juch by saying "her voice was one of unusually lovely quality and extraordinary purity." She could sing in four different languages, but her singing in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
was especially praised for its clarity. Juch also sang proficiently in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
.
Juch debuted as Philine in an Italian-language version of Mignon
Mignon
Mignon is an opéra comique in three acts by Ambroise Thomas. The original French libretto was by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on Goethe's novel Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre. The Italian version was translated by Giuseppe Zaffira. The opera is mentioned in James Joyce's The Dead,...
by Ambroise Thomas
Ambroise Thomas
Charles Louis Ambroise Thomas was a French composer, best known for his operas Mignon and Hamlet and as Director of the Conservatoire de Paris from 1871 till his death.-Biography:"There is good music, there is bad music, and then there is Ambroise Thomas."- Emmanuel Chabrier-Early life...
when she was 18. Colonel Henry Mapleson
James Henry Mapleson
James Henry Mapleson was an English opera impresario, probably the leading figure instrumental in the development of opera production, and of the careers of singers, in London and New York City in the second half of the 19th century.-Life and career:Mapleson was born in London, England...
engaged her for a season that began at Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
in London, England. She made her United States debut in October 1881 at the Academy of Music
Academy of Music (Manhattan)
The Academy of Music was a New York City opera house, located at East 14th Street and Irving Place in Manhattan. The 4,000-seat hall opened on October 2, 1854. The New York Times review declared it to be an acoustical "triumph", but "In every other aspect .....
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Eight months later, on June 10, 1882, she received favorable notice when she returned to that house as a participant in a memorial concert for operatic bass George Conly and virtuoso
Virtuoso
A virtuoso is an individual who possesses outstanding technical ability in the fine arts, at singing or playing a musical instrument. The plural form is either virtuosi or the Anglicisation, virtuosos, and the feminine form sometimes used is virtuosa...
pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
Herman Rietzel
Herman Rietzel
Herman Rietzel was an American pianist, born in New York City, who died by drowning at age 19 on May 26, 1882. His father, Charles Rietzel, was Vice-President and first flute of the New York Philharmonic Society...
, both recently drowned in a boating accident, a benefit that raised at least $4,000 for Conly's widow and children.
Juch was the first singer contracted by the American Opera Company
American Opera Company
The American Opera Company was the name of four different opera companies active in the United States. The first company was a short-lived opera company founded in New York City in February, 1886 that lasted only one season...
in 1886. When the company dissolved she formed the Emma Juch Company, which toured the United States and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
In January 1890 Juch lived in a house on West Forty-Seventh Street in New York City. Before an engagement in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, Juch acquired dresses for Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
, Mignon, The Bohemian Girl
The Bohemian Girl
The Bohemian Girl is an opera composed by Michael William Balfe with a libretto by Alfred Bunn. The plot is loosely based on a Cervantes tale, La Gitanilla.The opera was first produced in London at the Drury Lane Theatre on November 27, 1843...
, and Marguerite in Faust
Faust (opera)
Faust is a drame lyrique in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part 1...
and Der Freischütz
Der Freischütz
Der Freischütz is an opera in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind. It premiered on 18 June 1821 at the Schauspielhaus Berlin...
. Most of the clothing she designed herself, and she supervised its making as well. The dresses came from Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, New York, and Philadelphia. About twenty of them were made at Wanamaker's
Wanamaker's
Wanamaker's department store was the first department store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the first department stores in the United States. At its zenith in the early 20th century, there were two major Wanamaker department stores, one in Philadelphia and one in New York City at Broadway...
in Philadelphia.
The Emma Juch Opera Company opened in Faust at the Grand Opera House in Los Angeles on the night of January 6, 1890. Juch sang in four of the seven operas performed by the company, which had been on tour for ten weeks. The New York World
New York World
The New York World was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers...
complimented her on making great strides in singing the part of Marguerite since her tenure with the American Opera Company. A critic said "her impersonation of Marguerite is most delicate and charming," and particularly "the garden scene, most poetic."
Death
Juch died at her home, 151 East 80th Street, in New York City, in 1939. She was 78 and suffered a cerebral hemorrhage while at a movie theater. Juch had not performed in public for nearly forty-four years before her death. She gave up her career after she married Francis L. Wellman, a New York lawyer, in 1894. Juch and Wellman divorced in 1911. She was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, BronxWoodlawn Cemetery, Bronx
Woodlawn Cemetery is one of the largest cemeteries in New York City and is a designated National Historic Landmark.A rural cemetery located in the Bronx, it opened in 1863, in what was then southern Westchester County, in an area that was annexed to New York City in 1874.The cemetery covers more...
following a funeral at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, New York
External links
- Emma Juch New York Public LibraryNew York Public LibraryThe New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
Digital Gallery photo - Emma Juch cabinet card photograph circa 1885
- Emma Juch biographical paper and photos