May Esther Peterson Thompson (October 7, 1880 – October 8, 1952) was an opera singer for the

Metropolitan Opera Company The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is opera ...

Biography

She was born on October 7, 1880, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin as May Esther Peterson. She was one of nine children of a Methodist minister. She began singing in 1884 at church meetings and later joined with her sister, Clara Peterson, an organist, to give recitals and concerts. She studied at

The Music Conservatory of Chicago College of Performing Arts The Music Conservatory was founded in 1867 as the Chicago Musical College, a conservatory. In 1954, the Chicago Musical College became part of Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a private university with campuses in Chicago and Schau ...

and in 1917 joined the

. She debuted as Michaela in '' Carmen'' on November 29, 1917. She toured Europe with Frederick Delzell (piano) and sang with Opéra-Comique in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. She married Ernest Othmer Thompson on June 9, 1924, in Bronxville, New York. Afterward they traveled to

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...

to a reception held in the ballroom of the

Amarillo Hotel Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall Count ...

, which Thompson owned and had built. She retired from the

after her marriage, but she continued doing concert tours. In 1932, after her husband was appointed to the

Railroad Commission of Texas The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC; also sometimes called the Texas Railroad Commission, TRC) is the state agency that regulates the oil and gas industry, gas utilities, pipeline safety, safety in the liquefied petroleum gas industry, and surf ...

, they moved to

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

. On October 1, 1952, she had a cerebral hemorrhage at their summer house in

Estes Park, Colorado Estes Park is a statutory town in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 5,904 at the 2020 United States Census. Estes Park is a part of the Fort Collins, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Cor ...

, and she was in a coma. She was flown back to Austin, where she died at the Seton Infirmary on October 8, 1952, never regaining consciousness. She was buried in the

Texas State Cemetery The Texas State Cemetery (TSC) is a cemetery located on about just east of downtown Austin, the capital of the U.S. state of Texas. Originally the burial place of Edward Burleson, Texas Revolutionary general and vice-president of the Republic of ...

in Austin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, May Peterson 1880 births 1952 deaths American operatic sopranos People from Oshkosh, Wisconsin Singers from New York City Musicians from Amarillo, Texas Classical musicians from Texas Vocalion Records artists 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers Classical musicians from New York (state) Singers from Texas

Biography

See also

References