Alice Esty (12 April 1864 – February 1935) was an American-born

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

tic soprano who spent most of her career based in England.

Biography

Alice May Esty was born in

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...

. Her first important musical engagement was a tour through the United States with the violinist Camilla Urso. Following an attack of typhoid fever, she went to England for a change of scene and in 1891 decided to settle there. In that same year, she performed with the singer

Adelina Patti Adelina Patti (19 February 184327 September 1919) was an Italian 19th-century opera singer, earning huge fees at the height of her career in the music capitals of Europe and America. She first sang in public as a child in 1851, and gave her la ...

at the Royal Albert Hall and then joined the

Carl Rosa Opera Company The Carl Rosa Opera Company was founded in 1873 by Carl Rosa, a German-born musical impresario, and his wife, British operatic soprano Euphrosyne Parepa-Rosa to present opera in English in London and the British provinces. The company premiered ...

, learning the lead roles for 10 operas in just seven months. Notable roles include Mimi in the first British staging of

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini ( Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long ...

's opera ''

La Bohème ''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '' quadri'', '' tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giusep ...

'' (1897), Eva in the British premiere of Richard Wagner's opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and Effie Deans in the premiere of

Hamish MacCunn Hamish MacCunn, ''né'' James MacCunn (22 March 18682 August 1916) was a Scottish composer, conductor and teacher. He was one of the first students of the newly-founded Royal College of Music in London, and quickly made a mark. As a composer he ...

's opera '' Jeanie Deans''. She also sang in

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

's ''

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...

'', Georges Bizet's '' Carmen'', Wagner's ''

Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in German Arthurian literature. The son of Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which first appears in Wolf ...

'' and ''

Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; gmh, Tanhûser), often stylized, "The Tannhäuser," was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and ...

'', and several other operas. Besides touring with the Carl Rosa company through the 1890s, she had numerous concert engagements around the United Kingdom, singing with the Royal Choral Society, the Philharmonic Society, and other groups. She continued singing into the 1910s, working with the

Moody-Manners Opera Company Charles Manners (27 December 18573 May 1935) was a British bass singer and opera company manager. His earliest performances were with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, first as a chorus member and then as a principal, creating the role of Private ...

as well as the Carl Rosa company. Around 1920 she began teaching in the Carl Rosa Opera Company's newly formed opera school. She married the English baritone Alec Marsh in 1892. Esty died in

Farnham, Surrey Farnham ( /ˈfɑːnəm/) is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tribu ...

, at the age of 70.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Esty, Alice (opera) 1864 births 1935 deaths American emigrants to the United Kingdom 19th-century American women opera singers American stage actresses American operatic sopranos Musicians from Lowell, Massachusetts Classical musicians from Massachusetts Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century