Frances Robinson-Duff (1878-1951) was an American actress and voice teacher known as "the foremost dramatic coach in America" in the first half of the 20th century. Robinson-Duff was born in

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Modern Bangor ...

, to British mining engineer Colonel Charles Duff and his wife Sarah Robinson, a native of Bangor who, after the couple separated, moved to Chicago and later to Paris, becoming a noted opera singer and singing teacher under the name

Sarah Robinson-Duff Sarah Robinson-Duff (died May 11, 1934, New York City) was an American operatic soprano and celebrated voice teacher of many important opera singers, including Mary Garden and Alice Nielsen. She wrote the vocal pedagogy book '' Simple Truths Us ...

; her first pupil was future opera star

Mary Garden A Mary garden is a small sacred garden enclosing a statue or shrine of the Virgin Mary, who is known to many Christians as the Blessed Virgin, Our Lady, or the Mother of God. In the New Testament, Mary is the mother of Jesus of Nazareth. Mary ...

. From an early age, Robinson-Duff wanted to teach dramatic arts, but her mother insisted that she first gain experience in the craft of acting. After being instructed in the Delsarte system by a drama teacher in Chicago, Robinson-Duff was invited to join the touring company of famed Shakespearean actress Julia Marlowe. In 1898 she made her Broadway debut with Miss Marlowe at the Knickerbocker Theatre in New York, and subsequently appeared in numerous productions in New York and London. After eleven years of acting, she joined her mother in Paris, where they enjoyed the company of performers and composers such as

Enrico Caruso Enrico Caruso (, , ; 25 February 1873 – 2 August 1921) was an Italian operatic first lyrical tenor then dramatic tenor. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles (74) ...

Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 or 23 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including '' La Dame Aux Camel ...

and

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (; 9 October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano C ...

. One of her mother's pupils in Paris was

Florence Kimball Florence Page Kimball (April 26, 1888 – November 24, 1977) was an American soprano who became a celebrated voice teacher at the Juilliard School where she taught for 46 years. She taught hundreds of students, and many of her pupils had success ...

, who became a celebrated voice teacher at the Juilliard School for 45 years, and was in turn the teacher of Leontyne Price. Frances began her teaching career in Paris, and during World War I, she volunteered her services to teach wounded soldiers how to regain the use of damaged lungs. Shortly after the end of the war, mother and daughter moved to New York City, where Robinson-Duff established herself as a leading voice teacher, whose many famous pupils included

Vivian Nathan Vivian Nathan (born Vivian Firko, October 26, 1916 – April 3, 2015) was an American actress and founding member of the Actors Studio, which opened in 1947. She served on the Actors Studio's board of directors until 1999. She appeared in the or ...

Mary McCormic Mary McCormic (November 11, 1889DOB is from her grave marker; the DOD listed in thSocial Security Death Indexstates November 12, 1895; the grave marker is consistent with archival records, namely the 1910 US Census, which, places her DOB around ...

, Dorothy Gish,

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur ( Brown; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose career spanned 80 years. She eventually received the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and was the second person and first woman to have w ...

Kenneth MacKenna Kenneth MacKenna (born Leo Mielziner Jr.; August 19, 1899 – January 15, 1962) was an American actor and film director. Family MacKenna was born as Leo Mielziner Jr. in Canterbury, New Hampshire, to portrait artist Leo Mielziner (Decembe ...

Catherine Calvert Catherine Calvert (born Catherine Cassidy; April 20, 1890 – January 18, 1971) was an American actress. Biography The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Cassidy, Catherine Calvert was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland.Hines, Dixie; Hanafo ...

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, Miriam Hopkins, Ruth Chatterton, Mary Pickford, Clark Gable, Norma Shearer, and

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...

. The Robinson-Duff approach to voice training involved elaborate vocal and breathing exercises focused on the use of the diaphragm, a method humorously recounted by Hepburn (who never mastered it) in her autobiography, ''Me: Stories of My Life'' (1991).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson-Duff, Frances 1878 births 1951 deaths American stage actresses American drama teachers People from Bangor, Maine Vocal coaches