BEETH, LOLA:
Austrian operatic singer; born Nov. 23, 1862, at Cracow, Galicia. The daughter of a well-to-do merchant, she spent her youth in tranquil prosperity; but her father's subsequent failure in business impelled her to earn her own livelihood. She had received a good musical education at home, but at first her work was confined to the piano. Her patroness, Princess Sapieha, discovered her talent for singing and acting; and her training in these branches was continued at the school for singing conducted by Marie Luise Düstmann at Vienna. One year's instruction under Mme. Viardot Garcia at Paris brought her art to such a state of perfection that she was able to appear as Elsa in "Lohengrin" at the Berlin Royal Opera on March 25, 1882. Her great success secured her position at the German capital, where she remained for six years, appearing in not less than thirty-six rôles. On May 1, 1888, she connected herself with the Imperial Opera at Vienna, then directed by Jahn, and has since lived in that city.
Beeth's favorite parts are the difficult rôles of the Wagnerian heroines—Elizabeth and Venus in "Tannhäuser," Elsa in "Lohengrin," Sieglinde in the "Walküre." Though she herself testified to the keen appreciation of her Vienna audiences, she has not confined her performances to that city, but has appeared at Berlin, Leipsic, Paris, and New York; and everywhere her great gifts have made a brilliant impression.
