Alice Eversman (September 4, 1885 — February 1, 1974) was an American opera singer and voice teacher, and later a music critic for over twenty years.

Early life

Alice Mary Eversman was born in Effingham, Illinois and raised in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, the daughter of John Eversman Sr. and Frances Caroline Gibbons Eversman. Encouraged by organist John W. Bischoff, she studied music at the Peabody Conservatory in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, and in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

, Germany.Alfred Victor Frankenstein, Sigmund Gottfried Spaeth, John Townsend Hinton Mize, ''The International Who is Who in Music'' (Who is Who in Music, Incorporated, Limited, 1951): 169.

Career

Eversman sang soprano with the

Chicago Grand Opera Company Two grand opera companies in Chicago, Illinois, have gone by the name Chicago Grand Opera Company during the first half of the 20th century. Like many opera ventures in Chicago, both succumbed to financial difficulties within a few years, and i ...

. With them, she appeared in a New Year's Day show at the county jail, and "brought tears to the eyes of many prisoners" with her songs. She was a member of the

Metropolitan Opera Company The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is opera ...

for the 1916-1917 season. She was a fortunate understudy on at least two occasions: once in 1912, when

Carmen Melis Carmen Melis (15 August 1885 – 19 December 1967) was an Italian operatic soprano who had a major international career during the first four decades of the 20th century. She was known, above all, as a verismo soprano, and was one of the most int ...

failed to appear for her starring role in ''Aida'', and again as Aida in 1915, when

Ester Adaberto Ester Adaberto (1872–1951), born Ester Nunez de Arce, was an Italian opera singer. Early life Ester Nunez de Arce was born in Naples, and raised in Milan. Her father was Spanish, possibly a music professional,

was called to Italy on a family emergency. She starred in ''Aida'' again in 1917, in a stadium performance to benefit the Civilian Relief Committee during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. She also gave recitals on the Chautauqua circuit, with violinist Elena de Sayn. Eversman wrote music criticism for '' The Washington Star'' newspaper from 1932 to 1953. She was also a music critic for the Paris edition of the ''

New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the ''New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. His ...

''. In her work as a critic, she reviewed the president's daughter, Margaret Truman, on her singing tour in 1949, and described a 1933 recital at a church auditorium by

Marian Anderson Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897April 8, 1993) was an American contralto. She performed a wide range of music, from opera to Spiritual (music), spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throu ...

, lamenting that "her extraordinary singing was enjoyed only by a small audience." She also reviewed the 1943 production of ''

La Traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...

'' by the

National Negro Opera Company The National Negro Opera Company (1941–1962) was the first African-American opera company in the United States. Organized in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, under the direction of Mary Cardwell Dawson, the company was launched with a performance at t ...

, with particular praise for Lillian Evanti. She was president of the American Newspaper Women's Club three times, and a member of the Women's National Press Club.

Personal life

Eversman died from a stroke in 1974, aged 88 years, in Fairfax, Virginia. In 2012 her cousin Mary Ellen Eversman published a biography, ''Alice Eversman: Dramatic Opera Soprano'', and gave lectures on the subject.Bill Grimes
"Local Woman Portrays Late Relative's History in Opera"
''Effingham Daily News'' (July 22, 2014).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eversman, Alice 1885 births 1974 deaths American opera singers American music critics American women music critics