Elena Nikolaidi

Elena Nikolaidi(Greek:Έλενα Νικολαΐδη;June 15, 1909 – November 14, 2002) was a Greek-American opera singer and teacher. She sang leadingcontraltoandmezzosopranoroles with major opera companies worldwide and made numerous recordings.

Elena Nikolaidi (1953)

Her birth year is given as 1906 in some sources.

Early life and musical study

Elena Nikolaidi was born in Smyrna,Ottoman Empire,(which is nowİzmir, Turkey). In 1922, after the invasion of Turkey in Smyrna, she moved with her family toGreece.She studied voice on scholarship at theAthens Conservatoireunder Thanos Mellos. She made her debut with orchestra in Athens in a performance conducted byDimitris Mitropoulos.Her first stage appearance was in thepremiereofThe Ghost BridgebyTheophrastos Sakellaridis.

Nikolaidi married Mellos, her voice instructor, in 1936. However, she would retain "Elena Nikolaidi" as her professional name.

Career

In 1936, Nikolaidi traveled toViennato compete in the Belvedere vocal competition. She placed fourth but earned a second hearing with the great conductorBruno Walter,which resulted in her being cast as Princess Eboli, a leading role, inVerdi's operaDon Carloswith theVienna State Operaon December 16, 1936.

In 1948, Nikolaidi went to the United States with her husband and their son, Michael. She made herTown Halldebut recital inNew York Cityin January 1949. The following morning, Jerome D. Bohm of theNew York Herald Tribunewrote: "In 20 years of music reviewing and in twice that number spent in listening to most of the world's best singers, I have encountered no greater voice or vocalist"; theNew York Timescritic wrote of her "rare brilliance".

She made her American operatic debut as Amneris in Verdi'sAïdawith theSan Francisco Operaand reprised the role for herMetropolitan Operadebut in 1951 alongside the debut ofGeorge London.In the early 1960s she retired from opera but continued concertizing extensively for a number of years.

Teaching career

In 1960, Nikolaidi accepted a position on the voice faculty ofFlorida State UniversityinTallahassee.In 1977, she went toHouston, Texas,as the primary voice instructor for the newly established Houston Opera Studio, a young-artist training program that was at that time a joint venture ofHouston Grand Operaand theUniversity of Houston;she also instructed a select few university students who were not in the HOS program.

Nikolaidi's pupils includedLinda Zoghby,Bruce Fowler,Erie Mills, Glay Posch, and Jan Grissom.

Death

Madame Nikolaidi retired from teaching in 1994 and moved toSanta Fe, New Mexico,where she died, aged 92, in 2002.

Recordings

Elena Nikolaidi made numerous recordings. A small selection is listed below:

• Legendary Voices(CD,Preiser Records;also issued asLebendige Vergangenheitby Albany Music Distribution). Nikolaidi with theColumbia Symphony Orchestra,Vienna Symphony Orchestra,New York Philharmonic,and pianist Jan Behr performing music ofRossini,Verdi,Bizet,Weber,Richard Strauss,Mozart,Haydn,Schubert,Schumann,andBrahms.(Recorded 1943, 1949, 1950; released 2003)
• Elena Nikolaidi: In Recital(DVD, Video Artists International). Nikolaidi with Guy Bourassa, piano, performing music ofGluck,Wolf,Canteloube,and traditional Greek songs. (Recorded 1961; released 2005)
• Mahler:Das Lied von der Erde,recorded live in 1953 withBruno Walterand theNew York Philharmonicand released on an Archipel CD in 1997 and 2003.
• Richard Strauss:Elektrawith theNew York Philharmonicconducted byDimitri Mitropoulos;Nikolaidi sang the role of Klytemnestra. (Recorded 1949)

Sources

• Ward, Charles (May 8, 1994). "Ciao, Niki".Houston Chronicle.
• "Elena Nikolaidi (1909–2002)".Beautyinmusic.com
• Mattison, Ben (November 19, 2002)."Mezzo-Soprano Elena Nikolaidi Is Dead at 96".Houston Chronicle.
• Social Security Death Index
• "Tenna Kraft - Elena Nikolaidi"ArchivedOctober 30, 2006, at theWayback Machine.Classical CD Review.
• "Music: Velvet".Time,January 31, 1949