Maggie Teyte was born in Wolverhampton, England in 1888. She studied in London and then in Paris with Jean de Reszke. In 1906 she appeared in a Mozart festival organized by Reynaldo Hahn and Lilli Lehmann (notably as Zerlina in MozartΓÇÖs opera Don Giovanni).
She was selected and coached by the composer Claude Debussy to succeed Mary Garden as Mélisande in his opera Pélleas et Mélisande. She sang in Boston and also in Chicago where she took the name part in Massenet's Cendrillon to the Prince Charming of Mary Garden. She was heard with the Beecham and British National Opera companies and, at Covent Garden in 1923, created the part of the Princess in Gustav Holst's The Perfect Fool.
A popular star with British music audiences, she gave a great number of recitals and made several famous recordings of French song with the pianist Gerald Moore. She had an exquisite purity of tone and perfect placing of the voice. She was appointed a Chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur in 1957 and created a Dame of the British Empire in 1958. She died in London in 1976.
