Emma Johanna Antonia Juch | |
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Emma Juch in 1901
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Born | 4 July 1863 Vienna, Austria-Hungary |
Died | 1939 New York City |
Cause of death | cerebral hemorrhage |
Burial place | Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx |
Nationality | Austria-Hungary |
Other names | Emma Antonia Joanna Juch Wellman |
Occupation | Opera singer |
Spouse(s) | Francis Lewis Wellman |
Emma Johanna Antonia Juch (July 4, 1861 – March 6, 1939) was a popular soprano opera singer of the 1880s and 1890s from Vienna, Austria. She sang with several companies and later formed her own company.
Emma Johanna Antonia Juch was born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, in 1863 during a visit by her parents, who were naturalized U.S. citizens. Her father, Justin Juch (more properly, Von Juch), was a Vienna-born musician, music professor, artist, and inventor. Her mother, Augusta (Hahn) Juch, was of French Hanoverian origin. Juch's parents resided in Detroit, Michigan, and Juch was born when they returned to Austria for the settlement of the estate of Juch's grandfather, General Von Juch. Juch was also of Italian descent.
Juch's parents returned to the United States when Juch was still an infant. She was raised in New York City, where she attended public school course and graduated from the Normal School in 1879.
Her singing ability was inherited from her maternal grandmotherand her mother, who were both gifted singers. Martin Juch at first disapproved of a professional musical career for his daughter, so Juch took lessons and practiced secretly. She studied for three years with Adelina Murio-Celli d‘Elpeux, and made her debut in a concert in Chickering Hall. When her father heard his daughter sing at this concert, he experienced a change of heart and thereafter encouraged her and supervised her training.
Juch was admired in the United States and England during a grand opera and concert career spanning thirteen years. Biographer Oscar Thompson wrote of Juch that "her voice was one of unusually lovely quality and extraordinary purity." She could sing in four different languages, but her singing in English was especially praised for its clarity. Juch also sang proficiently in German, Italian, and French.