Sara Cahier

Sara Charles-Cahier or Madame Charles Cahier (born Sara Layton Walker; 8 January 187015 April 1951) The American-born Cahier later acquired Swedish citizenship. She was associated with Gustav Mahler, and was one of the soloists in the posthumous premiere of his Das Lied von der Erde in 1911. She sang at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and was a teacher at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Her students included Marian Anderson.

Career

She was born as Sara Layton Walker in Nashville, Tennessee. She studied in Indianapolis and in Paris under Jean de Reszke, and in 1904 she made her debut as the character Orpheus in Orpheus and Eurydice in Nice. Other teachers included Gustav Walter, Victor Capoul and Amalie Joachim.

Her second husband was Swedish impresario Charles Cahier,

She was active in Vienna, joining the Hofoper in 1907, and Munich, often singing under Gustav Mahler's directorship in roles such as Amneris, Carmen, Delilah, Fidès, Ortrud, and Santuzza.

Cahier and fellow American William Miller, a tenor, were chosen by Bruno Walter to premiere Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde in Munich posthumously in November 1911.

She enjoyed great success in Stockholm from 1915 to 1917, during which time she acquired Swedish citizenship. After retirement, she became a teacher and vocal coach, at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Excerpts from Carmen