Frances Amy Lillian Sherwin (23 March 1855 – 20 September 1935), the 'Tasmanian Nightingale', was an Australian

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

singer.

Biography

She was born at Forest Home,

Huonville, Tasmania Huonville is a town on the Huon River, in the south-east of Tasmania, Australia. It is the seat of the Huon Valley Council area and lies 38 km south of Hobart on the Huon Highway. At the 2016 census, Huonville had a population of 2,714 an ...

on 23 March 1855. She was taught singing by her mother. On 1 May 1878, she appeared with an Italian opera company at Hobart, Tasmania as Norina in ''

Don Pasquale ''Don Pasquale'' () is an opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti with an Italian libretto completed largely by Giovanni Ruffini as well as the composer. It was based on a libretto by Angelo Anelli for Stefano Pavesi's ...

'' and was an immediate success. Proceeding to Melbourne with the company, she sang Lucia in ''

Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel ''The Bride of Lammermoor''. ...

'' on 3 June 1878 and was received with great enthusiasm. During the next few weeks. she appeared as the title role in Wallace's opera ''

Maritana ''Maritana'' is a three-act opera including both spoken dialogue and some recitatives, composed by William Vincent Wallace, with a libretto by Edward Fitzball (1792–1873). The opera is based on the 1844 French play ''Don César de Bazan'' by ...

'', Leonora in ''

Il Trovatore ''Il trovatore'' ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''El trovador'' (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez. It was García Gutiérrez's mos ...

'', and in other leading parts in

Fanny Simonsen Fanny Simonsen (née Françoise De Haes or Dehaes) (c. 1835 – 19 September 1896), also written Fannie Simonsen, was a French soprano singer who had a substantial career on the Australian stage, later a concert manager with her violinist husband M ...

's troupe. She moved to the United States in 1879, an in 1880, she created the part of Marguerite of Hector Berlioz's work ''

The Damnation of Faust ''La damnation de Faust'' (English: ''The Damnation of Faust''), Op. 24 is a work for four solo voices, full seven-part chorus, large children's chorus and orchestra by the French composer Hector Berlioz. He called it a "''légende dramatique' ...

''. She studied under several masters both in the U.S. and in Europe, and appeared at the promenade concerts in London in 1883. In 1885, she sang at

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

and afterward with 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 premiere ...

. From 1887 to 1889, she toured Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the U.S. and Germany with much success. In 1896, she had a tour in South Africa and was in Australia from 1897 to 1898 and in 1902 and 1903. In her later years, she taught singing at London where she died on 20 September 1935. She married musical agent Hugo Heinrich Ludwig Gorlitz in 1878 and was survived by two children - daughter Jeanette Sherwin (British actress) and Louis Sherwin, who was a U.S.-based critic. Sherwin had an excellent light soprano voice, and for a time, she had a successful career. She lacked business sense, and her last years were clouded by a struggle with sickness and poverty. In May 1934, about £200 was raised for her benefit at Hobart. She died on 20 September 1935 in Bromley in poverty at age 81. Her daughter Jeanette died in Bromley the following year of tuberculosis. Her son Louis died in 1978 in Albany, New York. In 2005 Sherwin was inducted to the

Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women The State Government of Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type ...

for service to the arts.

External links

* *Deirdre Morris,
Sherwin, Frances Amy Lillian (1855 - 1935)
,

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

, Volume 6,

Melbourne University Press Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) is the book publishing arm of the University of Melbourne. History MUP was founded in 1922 as Melbourne University Press to sell text books and stationery to students, and soon began publishing books itself. ...

, 1976, pp 120–121.
Amy Sherwin
at the Significant Tasmanian Women site.

at the

D'Oyly Carte Opera Company The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company is a professional British light opera company that, from the 1870s until 1982, staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere. Th ...

site.
Theatre in Melbourne 1888
an

provide details of Amy Sherwin's performances for 1888.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherwin, Amy 1855 births 1935 deaths Australian operatic sopranos