Background
Albani was born Marie-Louise-Emma-Cécile Lajeunesse in Chambly, Quebec, in 1832 to the professional musician Joseph Lajeunesse and his wife, Mélina Mignault.
Albani was born Marie-Louise-Emma-Cécile Lajeunesse in Chambly, Quebec, in 1832 to the professional musician Joseph Lajeunesse and his wife, Mélina Mignault.
She began her musical studies with her mother, and at age five her father took over her musical lessons. Pupil of Duprez at Paris for 8 mos., and of Lamperti at Milan for a longer period (the latter’s treatise on the Trill is dedicated to her).
She found a position in Messina, and her operatic debut was on 30 March 1870, in Messina, playing Amina in La sonnambula. Her debut performance was very well received. She returned to Milan after her contract in Messina had expired, to resume her instruction by Lamperti. Additional work offers began to pour in. She soon accepted the role of Gilda in Rigoletto, performing it in Cento. Further roles followed in Florence and Malta, with parts in La sonnambula, Lucia di Lammermoor, Robert le diable, The Barber of Seville and L'Africaine. After spending the winter of 1870–1871 performing in Malta, she auditioned for Frederick Gye, the manager of Covent Garden in London.
Albani arrived in London in the spring, and made her professional debut on 2 April 1872 as Amina in La sonnambula. Critics and audience members alike were impressed with her strong performance in the role, and her admirers presented her with flowers and jewellery. At Covent Garden she developed an interest in oratorio after being introduced to it by Sir Julius Benedict and Josiah Pittman, who encouraged her to explore it.Her first opportunity to present a piece came in October 1872, when she performed "Angels, ever bright and fair" from Handel's Theodora at the Norwich Festival.
For the 1872–1873 winter season she performed with the Italian Opera at the Salle Ventadour in Paris, where she made her debut as Amina with Victor Capoul as Elvino.
Her second season in London included performances in the roles of Ophelia in Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet and the Countess in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. During the off time after the second season she travelled to Moscow to perform in La sonnambula, Rigoletto, Hamlet, and Lucia di Lammermoor. She then went to St. Petersburg where the Tsar Alexander II viewed her performances.
In her third season in London, she performed in mostly the same roles she had in her first two seasons: La sonnambula, Lucia di Lammermoor, Linda di Chamounix and Martha.The competition in the opera world of London was very stiff, and it was common for performers to be possessive of their roles.After her third season, Queen Victoria requested a private performance from Albani, who travelled to Windsor Castle in July 1874 to perform the aria "Caro nome" from Rigoletto, the folk ballad "Robin Adair", the Bach/Gounod "Ave Maria", and the popular song "Home! Sweet Home!". The Queen was suitably impressed by her performance and would call Albani back to perform other pieces, by composers such as Brahms, Grieg, Handel and Mendelssohn, as well as traditional French and Scottish tunes.
In the fall of 1874, she undertook a tour of the United States, visiting New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Albany.The tour was under the management of Maurice Strakosch. She was accompanied by Frederick Gye's son, Ernest Gye, who was acting on his father's behalf. She learned the role of Elsa in Wagner's Lohengrin in two weeks, performing it at the Academy of Music in New York.The opera was performed in Italian, which was also the custom at Covent Garden.
She returned to London for her fourth season at Covent Garden in 1875. After the season, she performed at the Norwich Festival, where she sang in Mendelssohn's "Hymn of Praise" Symphony-Cantata and Julius Benedict's oratorio The Legend of St. Cecilia. In her fifth season in London (1876) she performed the role of Elisabeth in the London premiere of Wagner's Tannhäuser.
Afterward she went to Paris and sang at the Théâtre des Italiens, where she was well received, and gave a special performance at the Élysée Palace for Maréchal MacMahon.
Albani married Ernest Gye on 6 August 1878. She became pregnant, but continued to tour and perform until shortly before the birth of her son, Frederick Ernest Gye on 4 June 1879. He was to be the couple's only child.
