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The Jewish singer Louis Goldsteen was born in 1876. He made his debut in 1909 with the 'Opera-Vereeniging' (Opera-Company) in the role of 'Walter van der Vogelweide' in Wagner's Tannhäuser. In 1910 he appeared with the same company in the role of Don José in Carmen. Carmen herself was sung by Irma Lozin. Between 1909 and 1925 he gave numerous performances in the Netherlands, of which between 1914 and 1918 regular with the 'Franse (French) Opera in The Hague ( Théatre Royal de La Haye) , in roles as Arnold (Guillaume Tell), Faust, Radames (Aida), Tanhäuser, the duke (Rigoletto), Manrico (Trovatore), Eleazar (La Juive) and many others. He appeared a.o. with opponents as: Maartje Offers (Amneris, Aida and Dalila from Samson and Dalila), Joy Mac-Arden (Marguerite, Faust), Liesbeth Poolmann-Meisner (Elisabeth, Tannhäuser), Greta Santhagens-Manders (Elisabeth, Tannhäuser) and Lea Fuldauer (Nedda, Paljas). He sang also regular abroad, in Belgium a.o. in Liège, in 1913 in Aachen, afterwards in Berlin. From 1920 he sang in the United States, where he later settled down. Abroad he used the name of Louis Dornay.

He deceased in 1940.

Cover of a longplay record, 'Betsy Dornay-Culp plays Chopin'

Julia Culp's niece, Julia Bertha, named herself Betsy, to avoid confusion with her famous niece, the mezzo-soprano and Lied-singer Julia Culp. Her first piano lessons she received from her father, later also from composer/ conductor Cor Kuiler. At an age of 11, she appeared for the first time. She married in 1923 at Chicago with Louis Goldsteen/ Dornay. She founded together in 1926 the Dornay-Culp studios. In 1953 the widow Betsy Dornay-Culp returned to The Netherlands and started there a second career. She appeared - 80-years old - even on television.

source: Julia Culp, Wereldberoemde Groninger zangeres. Benno Hofman, Uitgeverij/ publisher Noordboek

Irma Lozin, the Carmen in 1910

Bizet, Carmen, La fleur que tu m'avais jetée , rec. 1917

discography:

• Het puik van zoete kelen, see Compilation cd's
  On this already many times praised cd-set is Louis Goldsteen is represented with four numbers.
• Recently released a cd-rom with the title: Stars of David
  This new CD-ROM is again produced by Harold Byrnes and Mike Richter. He contains a huge treasure of Jewish artists of all categories, inclusive many rarities. All recordings are in the mp3-format.
  http://www.houseofopera.com/
  
  * Dornay, Ludwig of Louis Goldsteen
  Leoncavallo: Pagliacci "Vesti la giubba " in Dutch
  Verdi: Rigoletto "La donna e mobile " in Dutch
  Verdi: Il Trovatore "Trio " with Barbara Kemp & Emma Vilmar 1915

(p) 2007 Dutch Divas