The Bispham Memorial Medal Award was an award for

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 librett ...

s written in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

which was named for baritone

David Bispham David Scull Bispham (January 5, 1857 – October 2, 1921) was an American operatic baritone. Biography Bispham was born on January 5, 1857 in Philadelphia, the only child of William Danforth Bispham and Jane Lippincott Scull.W. Bispham, 274 Bo ...

, who was a great proponent of performing opera in English in the United States. It was traditionally awarded to

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

composers, frequently for an opera on an American subject. It originated from the Opera in Our Language Foundation, Inc., founded by composer

Eleanor Everest Freer Eleanor Everest Freer (14 May 1864 – 13 Dec 1942) was an American composer and philanthropist. Life Eleanor Everest was born in Philadelphia, the daughter of Cornelius Everest and Ellen Amelia (Clark) Everest, and studied singing in Paris with ...

, and Edith Rockefeller McCormick, in 1921. After David Bispham's death in October 1921, Eleanor Everest Freer also founded the David Bispham Memorial Fund, Inc., in March 1922. Eleanor Everest Freer was chairman, and Edith Rockefeller McCormick was treasurer, of both organizations. On April 7, 1924, the two organizations merged to become th
American Opera Society of Chicago
The first medal was awarded by the American Opera Society of Chicago in 1924 to Ernest Trow Carter, for his opera ''The White Bird'', which saw its first full performance at the Studebaker Theater, in Chicago, on March 6, 1924.MSS 40 The Ernest Trow Carter Papers in the Irving S. Gilmore Music Library of Yale University (The Opera in Our Language Foundation, Inc. sponsored the performance.) The last Medal for an opera was awarded around 1953 to Vittorio Giannini for ''The Taming of the Shrew''. The award was funded in part by David Bispham's will, and also in part by Eleanor Everest Freer, who, in addition, was one of its recipients (for ''The Legend of the Piper''). Other recipients include (alphabetically by author):

References

*David Ewen, ''Encyclopedia of the Opera: New Enlarged Edition''. New York; Hill and Wang, 1963.
List of winners
cited on Opera-L American music awards Awards established in 1921 1921 establishments in Illinois 1932 disestablishments in Illinois {{music-award-stub