Frances Alda's original name was Davies. She was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1883 and studied in Paris with the great teacher Mathilde Marchesi. In 1904 she made her début at the Paris Opéra-Comique, after which she received offers to sing throughout Europe.
Having sung in Brussels, at the Theatre Royale de la Monnaie, at Covent Garden, London, and La Scala, Milan, she made her U.S. début at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, in 1908.
She continued to sing at the Met until 1929, creating several r├┤les in contemporary operas and delighting audiences with her fluid, technically remarkable soprano voice.
She was less of a delight to managements and fellow-artists, whom she constantly fought with and frequently sued. One colleague with whom she never appears to have fallen out was the Italian conductor, Toscanini, whom she met at La Scala in 1907 and who remained a lifelong friend.
She married the Italian impresario Giulio Gatti-Casazza, whom she first met with Toscanini at La Scala and who subsequently became director of the Met. She died in Venice in 1952.
