Marie Mattfeld

A German mezzo-soprano who spent two decades at the Metropolitan Opera, mostly in small parts. Born Marie Schmid in Munich, she trained at the conservatory there and took her husband's name on marrying in 1890. Walter Damrosch brought her to his new American company in 1896, and after four years at Bremen she joined the Met in 1906, where she gave 900 performances and was most admired as Hänsel. There she created Wowkle in La fanciulla del West, the stable girl in Königskinder, the Duenna in Damrosch's Cyrano and Suor Dolcina in Suor Angelica. She died on holiday at Nauheim.