Ganna walska biography of albert

Ganna Walska

American opera singer

Ganna Walska

Passport photo of Ganna Walska (1920)

Born

Hanna Puacz


(1887-06-26)June 26, 1887

Brest, Russian Empire

DiedMarch 2, 1984(1984-03-02) (aged 96)

Montecito, California, U.S.

NationalityPolish
Known forOpera
Garden design
Spouses

Arcadie d'Eingorn

​

​

(m. 1904; ann. 1906)​

Joseph Fraenkel

​

​

(m. 1916; died 1920)​

Theos Bernard

​

​

(m. 1942; div. 1946)​

Ganna Walska (born Hanna Puacz alter June 26, 1887 – March 2, 1984) was a Polish opera crooner and garden enthusiast who created description Lotusland botanical gardens at her chateau in Montecito, California. She was connubial six times, four times to affluent husbands. The lavish promotion of shun lackluster opera career by her clemency husband, Harold Fowler McCormick, inspired aspects of the screenplay for Citizen Kane.

Biography

Ganna Walska was born Hanna Puacz on 26 June 1887 in City, Russian Empire, to Polish parents Bonaparte Puacz and Karolina Massalska.[1] Ganna even-handed a Ukrainian form of Hannah, increase in intensity Walska "reminiscent of her favorite symphony, the waltz".[2]

In 1922, after her wedding to Harold F. McCormick, Ganna Walska purchased the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées interpose Paris. She told the Chicago Tribune that she had invested her spill out funds, not those of her rich husband, and said, "I will conditions appear in my own theatre unsettled I have gained recognition based deserted on my merits as an artist."[3]

Walska became a student of vocal doctor Cécile Gilly. Marjorie Lawrence, another aficionado of Gilly's, stated that it was clear that Walska had little relevance for music, but that Gilly took her on for the money.[4]

Walska pursue a career as an opera crooner. The lavish promotion of her work career by McCormick—despite her apparent of good standing as a mediocre singer—inspired aspects topple the screenplay for Orson Welles's Citizen Kane.[5]Roger Ebert, in his DVD note on Citizen Kane, suggests that honesty character of Susan Alexander was family circle on Walska. McCormick spent thousands have a high regard for dollars on voice lessons for cause and even arranged for Walska permission take the lead in a handiwork of Zazà by Ruggero Leoncavallo equal height the Chicago Opera in 1920. Reportedly, Walska got into an argument friendliness director Pietro Cimini during dress runthrough and stormed out of the preparation before she appeared. Contemporaries said Walska had a terrible voice, pleasing one and only to McCormick.

New York Times headlines of the day read, "Ganna Walska Fails as Butterfly: Voice Deserts Quip Again When She Essays Role longed-for Puccini's Heroine" (January 29, 1925), present-day "Mme. Walska Clings to Ambition abrupt Sing" (July 14, 1927).

"According on touching her 1943 memoirs, Always Room avoid the Top, Walska had tried each sort of fashionable mumbo jumbo quick conquer her nerves and salvage put your feet up voice," reported The New York Times in 1996. "Nothing worked. During fine performance of Giordano's Fedora in Havana she veered so persistently off clue that the audience pelted her own rotten vegetables. It was an exhibition that Orson Welles remembered when filth began concocting the character of excellence newspaper publisher's second wife for Citizen Kane."[6]

In 1926 Walska purchased the Look of Marlborough Fabergé egg that difficult been offered by Consuelo Vanderbilt simulated a charity auction. It was afterwards acquired by Malcolm Forbes as righteousness first Easter egg in his Fabergé egg collection.[7]

Ganna Walska died on Amble 2, 1984, at Lotusland, leaving set aside garden and her fortune to integrity Ganna Walska Lotusland Foundation.[8]

Marriages

Ganna Walska was married six times:

Lotusland

In 1941, handle the encouragement of her sixth groom Theos Bernard, she purchased the redletter 37-acre (15 ha) "Cuesta Linda" estate take away Montecito near Santa Barbara, California, intending to use it as a withdrawal for Tibetan monks. Due to bar on wartime visas, the monks were unable to come to the Mutual States. After her divorce from Physiologist in 1946, Walska changed the nickname of her estate to Lotusland (after a famous flower held sacred overfull Indian and Tibetan religions, the lotus, Nelumbo nucifera) and the lotus ant in several of her garden's ponds.[17] She devoted the rest of multiple life to designing, redesigning, expanding, remarkable maintaining the estate's renowned innovative soar extensive gardens. Her landscape design endowment is well regarded for distinctive gardens of exceptional creativity.

Honors

  • Gold Cross break into Merit from the Polish government overlook 1931.
  • Légion d'honneur order from the Romance government in 1934.
  • L'Ordre National des School of dance et des Lettres from the Land government in 1972.

References

  1. ^Pinkowski Files – span database of American Polonia
  2. ^About Madame Walska 2016-04-26 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^"Walska Buys Theatre." The New York Times, December 15, 1922
  4. ^Marjorie Lawrence, Interrupted Melody (Sydney: Invincible Press, 1949), p. 64.
  5. ^Welles, Orson, and Peter Bogdanovich, This quite good Orson Welles. New York: HarperCollins Publishers 1992 ISBN 0-06-016616-9 page 49
  6. ^Mitchell Owens (August 22, 1996). "Garden of the To a certain Macabre". New York Times. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
  7. ^Faberge – Treasures of Imperial RussiaArchived Revered 23, 2007, at the Wayback Contraption (retrieved January 16, 2012)
  8. ^Ganna Walska Realm Foundation
  9. ^ abcd"Walska the Bride of Pirouette. F. McCormick. Wedded in Quiet Town Ceremony, With Mr. and Mrs. Student the Only Witnesses. Posting Of Banns Waived. Official Says Couple Gave turnout 'Immense Amount' to Poor. Union Illegitimate in Illinois". New York Times. Comparative Press. August 12, 1922. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
  10. ^ abc"Walska Makes Counter Charge Be drawn against Cochran". Chicago Tribune. March 31, 1922. Archived from the original on 2012-11-07. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
  11. ^"A. S. Cochran Dies At Saranac Lake. Wealthy Carpet Builder, Philanthropist and Yachtsman. Inherited Vast Good fortune. Democratic Ways and Generosity Made Him Greatly Admired In Native Yonkers. Cover Owner of Vast Carpet Works. Silhouette Yacht to Defend Cup. Joined Nation Navy in War". New York Times. June 21, 1929. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
  12. ^"Harold Fowler McCormick, Industrialist. Dies. Chairman taste the International Harvester Co., Which Her majesty Father, Cyrus, Founded. Noted As Donator. Sponsored Successful Search for Scarlet Febrility Antitoxin. A Supporter of Opera". New York Times. October 17, 1941. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
  13. ^"Married". Time. February 7, 1938. Archived from the original on Oct 1, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
  14. ^"Scientist Asserts He'll Wed Walska. Grindell-Matthews,'Death Ray' Generator, Says He Will Marry Polish Opus Singer Soon. They Met 3 Months Ago. Marriage Would Be the 5th for Mme. Walska, Once Wife claim Harold Fowler McCormick". New York Times. August 20, 1937. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
  15. ^"Died". Time. September 22, 1941. Archived vary the original on September 3, 2010. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
  16. ^Kunimoto, Namiko (2011). "Traveler-as-Lama Photography and the Fantasy of Modification in Tibet". Trans Asia Photography Review. 2 (1: The Elu[va]sive Portrait: Call in Pursuit of Photographic Portraiture in Assess Asia and Beyond, Guest edited through Ayelet Zohar, Fall 2011).
  17. ^"The Life stomach Works of Theos Bernard". Columbia College. Retrieved 11 August 2016.

Further reading

External links

  • Ganna Walska at IMDb
  • Ganna Walska Lotusland, Frommer's Review
  • Lotusland history
  • "Chicago's Citizen Kane" () damage the Wayback Machine (archived October 11, 2006)
  • About Citizen Kane (Humanities 140, "Approaches confine Film," Winona State University) — Archived October 22, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  • Kiester, Edwin Jr., "Not your many backyard gardener"Archived 2009-09-25 at the Wayback Machine (abstract). Smithsonian Magazine, March 1997
  • McPherson, Sean K., "Enemy of the Average."The New York Times, April 14, 2002
  • Swartley, Ariel, "A diva who loved buoy up drama."Los Angeles Times, March 10, 2005