Montecito is a place that appeals to a storied collection of people from indigenous Chumash to ranchers, artists, the well-heeled and celebrities such as Charlie Chaplin, Julia Child, Oprah Winfrey and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (Harry and Meghan). Nestled between the picturesque Santa Ynez Mountains and Pacific Ocean Montecito’s inspiring landscape is peppered with a melange of trendy restaurants, boutiques and multi-million dollar real estate that gives it an air of Brigadoonian charm - in a city that had to wrestle with the Thomas Fire and mudslide of 2017/2018.
But Montecito also has a strong connection to the music scene as well which attracted operatic super stars like Lotte Lehmann who founded Music Academy of the West in 1947. And then there is Lotusland, a thirty-seven acre themed garden estate that was the former residence of Polish soprano Ganna Walska (1887-1984) and her niece Hania Tallmadge who lived on the property.
Ganna Walska: Portraits of an Era is a scrumptious book written and compiled by Tallmadge in 2019, a respected Montecito resident and patron of the arts who passed away in January of this year. The hardcover provides a peak into the private and professional life of Ganna Walska, nee Puacz and offers commentary about the high-end lifestyle of the era in which she lived – particularly the 1920’s and 1930’s.Thick, glossy pages feature a visual feast of stunning photographs, paintings and illustrations that highlight her classic beauty, jewelry and operatic, stage and party clothes that were designed for her by Cartier, Erte and Rzewuski, among others – many in an Art Deco style that never seems to go out of style.
Tallmadge shares snippets about her aunt’s career and private experiences with the ease of a real life fairytale in revisiting the journey from Poland and St. Petersburg to the concert halls and high-society events of Paris and New York. Insights include Walska’s fluency in four languages – Polish, Russian, French, English – silent film stints, an autobiographical book, Always Room at the Top (1943) and a fascination for stylish cars made by Cadillac, Rolls Royce, Chrysler although chauffeurs did the driving (some photographs included). And for a while a namesake perfume and eau de cologne was even sold at Saks Fifth Avenue. If one couldn’t look like her at least one could identify with something of her essence.
Tidbits about Walska’s six marriages are also mentioned and the assortment of guys include a baron, CEO of International Harvester company, a brilliantly eccentric inventor and a mystic yoga master and explorer – that alone would make this story fit for a Hulu, Netflix or BBC mini-series.
Well-connected and endowed husbands certainly helped Walska provide a means to enjoy the good life with a townhouse in Paris, chateau near Versailles, ownership of Theatre des Champs Elysees in Paris, luxury liner trips to New York and non-stop socializing where the beautiful people, rich and famous, aristocracy, high-profile visual artists, musicians and the Hollywood crowd gravitated to her like honey bees to a sweet hive. Tallmadge recalls that during Walska’s European days, she outclassed everyone at high society events by dressing up in Haute couture designer outfits and personalized Cartier jewelry that included a bracelet adorned with 686 diamonds. A love of fashion continued throughout her life as did a zest for all things aesthetic and mind probing.
According to Tallmadge, Walska never lost touch with her artistic side and consistently devoted time to voice lessons and career planning that blossomed into American concert tours from 1923, a sold-out Carnegie Hall debut, appearance at the White House when Calvin Coolidge was president, recitals and leading roles at European opera houses that included Madama Butterfly, Tosca, La Boheme, The Marriage of Figaro. In 1926 the Bayreuth Tagesblatt wrote, “In all conscience, we can say that Mme. Ganna Walska is the best Butterfly of nowadays.”
A shift occurred in 1941 when Walska purchased the Cuesta Linda estate in Montecito that she and last husband Theos Bernard, the Pasadena-born explorer whom she apparently met at one of his spiritual philosophy lectures in New York, used as a residence until their divorce. Tallmadge observes that Walska abandoned her plans to use the property as a retreat for Tibetan monks and since that time embarked on a project to develop the estate into a landscaped botanical garden called Lotusland. In 1971 she even sold much of her jewelry collection at auction to keep the estate in tip-top shape, of which photographs of Walska in her gardens at the Horticultural Clock, Water Garden and lemon arbor are included.
Today, the Ganna Walska Lotusland Foundation property contains over 3,400 varieties of plants, buildings designed by prominent architects she enlisted and hosts visitors worldwide for reservation only tours. On June 21, the Lotusland website will offer a virtual lecture, Madame Ganna Walska in Paris. Tickets can be purchased online.
Ganna Walska: Portraits of an Era offers tribute to an intriguing life and a bygone era of opulence, creativity and discovery. Tallmadge says, “As a young girl in Poland or at the height of her popularity in Paris and New York, Ganna Walska could never have dreamt that her greatest legacy would be the enchanted and exotic garden she named Lotusland.”
The book can be ordered through the website www.lotusland.org. I got my copy at Tecolote Book Shop – another Montecito classic.