Gadsky, Gadski, Johanna Emilia Agnes, née Tauscher, *15 June 1872 Anklam, †22 February 1932 Berlin, German soprano singer. After vocal studies in Szczecin, she made her debut in 1889 at the Kroll Opera in Berlin as Undine in A. Lortzing’s Undine. In 1895–97 she performed with the Damrosch Opera Company in the USA, creating, among other roles, Elsa in Wagner’s Lohengrin. In 1898–1904 she achieved great success at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, especially as Brünnhilde in Der Ring des Nibelungen and Isolde in Wagner’s Tristan. After appearances at Covent Garden (1898–1901) and a concert tour in the USA (1904–06), she was again engaged by the Metropolitan Opera House (1906–17), and later worked in Berlin. In 1929–31 she toured the USA with the German Opera Company. She performed with great success at international music festivals in Salzburg and Bayreuth. She became renowned as an outstanding interpreter of Wagnerian roles; her repertoire also included parts in operas by Verdi, Mozart, Gluck, Weber, Richard Strauss, and others. She made numerous recordings, mainly for the American company RCA Victor.
