Ganna Walska
Ganna Walska | |
|---|---|
Passport photo of Ganna Walska (1920) | |
| Born | Hanna Puacz June 26, 1887 |
| Died | March 2, 1984 (aged 96) Montecito, California, U.S. |
| Known for | Opera Garden design |
| Spouses | Arcadie d'Eingorn
(m. 1904; ann. 1906)Joseph Fraenkel
(m. 1916; died 1920) |
Ganna Walska (born Hanna Puacz on June 26, 1887 – March 2, 1984) was a Polish opera singer and garden enthusiast who created the Lotusland botanical gardens at her mansion in Montecito, California. Ganna Walska was a coloratura soprano with a vocal range of approximately 2.5 octaves. Her voice was known for its flute-like timbre and a certain frailty, which she combined with the expressiveness of a violinist. She was married six times, four times to wealthy husbands. The lavish promotion of her lackluster opera career by her fourth husband, Harold Fowler McCormick, inspired aspects of the screenplay for Citizen Kane.