Stella Fontaine, (real name Saartje Canes, Amsterdam, 1889 -1966), was a Dutch cabaret artist, impersonator, and singer.
Besides being a reciter and soubrette, she excelled in imitating famous colleagues: a talent that was discovered by chance in her dressing room. The audience in the theater could call out which cabaret artist she should imitate, whereupon she assumed the correct posture and gave a beautiful imitation of, among others, Margie Morris, Cecarine Speenhoff, Louis Davids and Josma Selim; but the soubrette Louise Fleuron was known not to be very happy with these imitations.
Her soprano voice was - according to a reviewer - not very powerful, but pleasant to the ear and she had an 'excellent and refined diction'.
Around 1929 Stella Fontaine combined her imitations into a sketch, with the title "Mijn Jubilleum", ("My Jubilee") which she also recorded in Berlin, and shortly afterwards a second time in a slightly changed version with the title "Artisten Meeningen" ("Artists Opinions").
The Danish movie star Asta Nielsen, with whom she was friends, tried to introduce her abroad, but it never came to a tour in Germany.
The two 12 inch records she made for the German "Polydor" label are exceptionally rare to find, but they give a very good impression of her special talent.
Mijn Jubileum (My Jubilee)
Part 1 & 2
(J.C. van Elburg)
Stella Fontaine, Voordrachtskunstenares.
(Performance artist)
with orchestral accompaniment.
Polydor 12 Inch H 64013 - 166BV-111 & H 64013 167 BV-111.
Berlijn, 1929.
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Artistenmeeningen. (Artists Opinions)
Part 1.
(Louis Contran)
Stella Fontaine, (Voordrachtskunstenares)
(Performance artist)
with piano accompaniment by Edith Hysson.
Polydor 12 Inch H 64015-962 BI V1.
Berlijn, 1930.
.
18 сен 2024
