Born: 26 February 1878, Czechia
Died: 28 January 1930
Country most active: Germany
Also known as: Destinnova, Emilie Pavlína Věnceslava Kittlová, Ema Kittl
The following is republished from the Library of Congress. This piece falls under under public domain, as copyright does not apply to “any work of the U.S. Government” where “a work prepared by an officer or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person’s official duties” (See, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 105).
After her 1898 debut as Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana in Berlin and subsequent appearances in Bayreuth and London, Czech dramatic soprano, Emmy Destinn, was engaged by the Metropolitan Opera to sing Aïda in 1908. The warmth and bright richness of her voice made her an immediate favorite. During the First World War, her patriotic stance against Germany and Austria resulted in her imprisonment by the Austrian government. She returned to the Met in 1919 for two seasons, but by that time she had lost much of her vocal prowess. Destinn, the original Minnie in La Fanciulla del West, was also a painter, sculptor, translator, librettist, writer, and poet.