Amy Eliza Castles (25 July 1880 – 19 November 1951), was an Australian soprano.
Family
The daughter of Joseph Castles (1849-1933), and Mary Ellen Castles (1855-1937), née Fallon, Amy Eliza Castles was born in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, Australia on 25 July 1880.
Her two sisters, Ethel Margaret "Dolly" Castles (1884–1971) and Eileen Anne Castles (1886–1970) were also highly regarded, talented sopranos.
Education
She was educated at
St Kilian
Kilian, also spelled Cillian or Killian (or alternatively ga, Cillín; la, Kilianus), was an Irish missionary bishop and the Apostle of Franconia (Franconia is nowadays the northern part of Bavaria), where he began his labours in the latter ha ...
's primary school and
St Mary's College.
Career
On 26 March 1910 she sang the title role in the Australian premiere 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 li ...
's ''
Madama Butterfly
''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.
It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...
'', at the
Theatre Royal in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
.
She made her
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
début at
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
in 1917.
Castles never married. She lived with her sister, Dolly Castles, in
Camberwell
Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross.
Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...
. She died at a hospital in
Fitzroy, Victoria
Fitzroy is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Yarra local government area. Fitzroy recorded a population of 10,431 at the 2021 census.
Pl ...
, on 19 November 1951. She was buried in
Box Hill Cemetery
Box Hill Cemetery is a cemetery located in Melbourne's eastern suburb of Box Hill, Victoria in Australia. It currently occupies 12.5 ha (31 acres). It is known as the resting place of notable figures from Melbourne and its heritage-registered Co ...
.
Further reading
*''A New Melba?: The Tragedy of Amy Castles'',
Crossing Press
Ten Speed Press is a publishing house founded in Berkeley, California in 1971 by Phil Wood. Ten Speed Press was bought by Random House in February 2009 and is now part of their Crown Publishing Group division.
History
Wood worked with Barnes & ...
(2006)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castles, Amy Eliza
1880 births
1951 deaths
Burials at Box Hill Cemetery
Australian operatic sopranos
Singers from Melbourne
20th-century Australian women opera singers