Selma Kronold

Selma Kronold (August 18, 1861 – October 9, 1920) was an American operatic soprano and pianist whose repertoire encompassed more than forty-five operas performed in three languages. Born in Kraków to a Jewish family, she was the daughter of Adolph Kronold and Louise (Hirschberg) Kronold, the sister of cellist Hans Kronold (1872–1922), and a cousin of Polish pianist and composer Moritz Moszkowski.

Kronold received her earliest education, including her first piano instruction, at a convent. She later pursued formal vocal training in Germany under Arthur Nikisch at the Royal Conservatory in Leipzig, then continued her studies with Désirée Artôt at the Conservatoire de Paris, where she first came into contact with conductor Anton Seidl. Between 1882 and 1883 she performed with impresario Angelo Neumann's Wagner Opera Company, and around 1885 she relocated to the United States and joined the Metropolitan Opera Company. She subsequently returned to Berlin for two additional years of study, during which she expanded her operatic repertoire by approximately thirty works.

Over the course of her career Kronold performed with numerous opera companies, among them the New American Opera Company, the Damrosch German Opera, the Gustav Hinrichs Company, the Italian Opera Company, the Royal Opera House, and the Castle Square Opera Company. In 1890 she married Dutch-born violinist Jan Koert; the couple divorced ten years later, citing the demands of their respective professional careers. Kronold also appeared on Broadway, taking part in productions of The Magic Melody, or Fortunio's Song and At the Lower Harbor, with her Broadway work recorded as of 1900.

Kronold retired from the stage in 1904 and subsequently devoted herself to charitable endeavors, including helping to found and establish the Catholic Oratorio Society of New York, an organization created to promote oratorios in their religious context. She died of pneumonia on October 9, 1920, and was buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Hawthorne, Westchester County, New York.