Marchesi, Blanche (1863-1940)

Marchesi, Blanche

OPERA SINGER (FRANCE)

BORN 4 Apr 1863, Paris - DIED 15 Dec 1940, London: Lancaster Gate
BIRTH NAME Marchesi, Blanche Elisabeth
GRAVE LOCATION Paris: Cimetière de Montmartre, 20 Avenue Rachel (division 24, ligne 12, numéro 26)

Blanche Marchesi was the daughter of opera singer Mathilde Marchesi de Castrone (born Mathilde Graumann) and her husband Salvatore Marchesi de Castrori who was an opera singer as well. She was educated at boarding schools in Frankfurt am Main and in Paris. She studied the violin, but switched to singing in 1881. She started singing in private concerts and charity concerts in Paris. In 1895 she appeared in Brussels and Berlin. On 19 Jun 1896 she first performed in London and she settled in England. She was best known for her Wagner interpretations and also worked as a voice teacher. Muriel Brunskill and Astra Desmond her among her pupils.

She married Baron Alexander Popper von Podhragy and they had three sons together, Leopold (1886-1986), Fritz (1888-1953) and Ernst (1891-1978). In 1894 Baron André Anzon Caccamisi became her second husband. Their son Jerome Anzon-Caccamisi was killed by the nazis in February 1945 after he had joined the resistance.

In 1906 she made several records for HMV in Berlin, but the singer Nellie Melba demanded that the matrices were destroyed. In 1937 she made another three records for HMV that were preserved. She published a memoir in 1923, "A Singer's Pilgrimage". She was also the author of "The Singer’s Catechism" (1932). In 1938 she gave a farewell concert and she died in 1940 in London. On 19/08/1957 she was reburied in the grave of her husband and her parents at the Montmartre cemetery in Paris.

Family
• Mother: Marchesi, Mathilde

Related persons
• was drawn by Sargent, John Singer
• performed work of Wagner, Richard

Images
The grave of Mathilde Marchesi and Blanche Marchesi at the Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris. Picture by Androom (31 Oct 2022)	The grave of Mathilde Marchesi and Blanche Marchesi at the Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris. Picture by Androom (31 Oct 2022)