Claudia Therese Carlstedt Wheeler Kistler (March 9, 1878 – May 30, 1953) was an American actress and singer, known as "The Girl in the Red Tights". Her tumultuous personal life was a matter of public interest through the 1910s and 1920s.

Early life

Carlstedt was born in

Gloucester, Massachusetts Gloucester () is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It sits on Cape Ann and is a part of Massachusetts's North Shore. The population was 29,729 at the 2020 U.S. Census. An important center of the fishing industry and a ...

, and raised in Chicago, the daughter of Axel B. Carlstedt and Anna Bird Carlstedt. Her father was born in Sweden, and worked as a music educator; he was described in 1898 as the director of conservatories in Boston and Chicago, but this description was disputed at the time.

Career

Carlstedt, a contralto, performed mainly in

comic operas Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

. Her stage credits included roles in

Reginald de Koven Henry Louis Reginald De Koven (April 3, 1859January 16, 1920) was an American music critic and prolific composer, particularly of comic operas. Biography De Koven was born in Middletown, Connecticut, and moved to Europe in 1870, where he receive ...

's ''The Mandarin'',

Victor Herbert Victor August Herbert (February 1, 1859 – May 26, 1924) was an American composer, cellist and conductor of English and Irish ancestry and German training. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and conductor, he is be ...

's ''

The Wizard of the Nile ''The Wizard of the Nile'' was a burlesque operetta in three acts, composed by Victor Herbert to a libretto by Harry B. Smith. Herbert's second operetta after ''Prince Ananias ''Prince Ananias'' was the first operetta composed by Victor Herbe ...

'' (1895–1896), and ''The Idol's Eye'' (1897–1898)'','' ''Come Over Here'' (1913, in London) ''Experience'' (1919),

Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born Theatre director, theatre and film director, theater manager, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he i ...

's ''The Miracle'' (1924), and ''Big Hearted Herbert'' (1934). She was known as "the Girl in the Red Tights" after her first big role. 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 went to England and sang at events to recruit soldiers.

Personal life

Carlstedt married three times. Her first marriage ended in divorce in 1898. Her second husband was wealthy businessman Albert Gallatin Wheeler Jr.; they married in 1898, and separated in 1910. Their protracted divorce in the 1910s was covered by newspapers nationwide. "Being a wife to a man like Mr. Wheeler, Jr., is like acting one of the small parts that are nothing but 'feeders' to the star," she commented in 1914. "You say stupid, meaningless lines just to enable him to make brilliant replies." She had her ex-husband arrested in 1922, when he reappeared after several years in hiding. After the Wheelers' divorce, she was involved with an Egyptian prince, but would not convert to Islam to marry him. Her third husband was Frederick Lefevre Kistler; they married in the 1930s. She died at her home on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

in 1953.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carlstedt, Claudia 1878 births 1953 deaths American actresses People from Gloucester, Massachusetts American people of Swedish descent