Louisa Bodda-Pyne (30 April 1828 – 20 March 1904) was an

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 ...

soprano and opera company manager.

Biography

Life and career

Born into a theatrical family as Louisa Fanny Pyne, she was the youngest daughter of the

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...

George Griggs Pyne (1790–1877)."Marriages", ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 20 October 1868, pg. 1 Her elder sister Susanna Pyne (1821–86) was also an accomplished singer and her uncle James Kendrick Pyne (1785–1857) was a tenor whose son and grandson, both named

James Kendrick Pyne James Kendrick Pyne (5 February 1852 – 3 September 1938) was an English organist and composer. Biography He was born in Bath into a musical family. His father, also James Kendrick Pyne (1810–1893) was organist at Bath Abbey for 53 years ...

, were distinguished organists. Her niece,

Blanche Whiffen Blanche Galton Whiffen, known on stage as Mrs. Thomas Whiffen, (1845–1936) was an American actress born in London. She was educated in France; made her stage début at the Royalty Theatre, London, in 1865; came to America in 1868; and toured t ...

, had a long career in America on stage and later in cinema. Louisa Pyne was the manager, with the

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

William Harrison, of the Pyne & Harrison Opera Company which toured the Americas in the 1850s. In 1857 she and Harrison founded the Pyne and Harrison English Opera Company at the

Lyceum Theatre, London The Lyceum Theatre ( ) is a West End theatre located in the City of Westminster, on Wellington Street, just off the Strand in central London. It has a seating capacity of 2,100. The origins of the theatre date to 1765. Managed by Samuel Arnold ...

. The company later moved to the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dr ...

and, in 1858, under the shortened name of the Royal English Opera, gained a lease at what is now the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

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 ...

from December 1858 until 1864. The following year, Pyne, along with William Harrison, W. H. Weiss and Madame Weiss, formed a new company under

Edward Tyrrel Smith Edward Tyrrel Smith (1804–1877) was a versatile British entrepreneur and showman, best known as an opera and theatrical manager. Life He was the illegitimate son of the Irish naval officer Edward Tyrrell Smith (died 1824). His mother is supposed ...

at Astley's Theatre Royal. On 12 October 1868, she married the singer Frank H. Bodda remaining so until his death aged 69 on 14 March 1892. Louisa Pyne died at her home Cambridge Gardens,

North Kensington North Kensington is an area of west London. It is north of Notting Hill and south of Kensal Green and in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The names North Kensington and Ladbroke Grove describe the same area. North Kensington is w ...

on 20 March 1904.''

'', 22 March 1904

References

External links

Louisa Pyne
English soprano, Luminous-Lint * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pyne, Louisa 1832 births 1904 deaths English sopranos Women of the Victorian era 19th-century English singers Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medallists 19th-century British women musicians 19th-century British businesswomen