Wilhelmina Cleary Masury (1867 — June 27, 1929), known professionally as Mena Cleary, was a Canadian-born American actress and singer, a member of the original cast of

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 bes ...

's ''

Prince Ananias ''Prince Ananias'' was the first operetta composed by Victor Herbert. The libretto is by Francis Neilson. It was first produced by a troupe called "The Bostonians" at The Broadway Theatre on November 20, 1894, directed by Jerome Sykes. It rema ...

'' in 1894.

Early life

Mena Cleary was the daughter of Martin Cleary and Maria Coghlan Cleary. She attended a convent school in Ottawa, Canada, then moved to Boston, where she studied music. She also studied voice in Paris with

Giovanni Sbriglia Giovanni Sbriglia (June 23, 1832 – February 20, 1916), was an Italian tenor and prominent teacher of singing. A native of Naples, Sbriglia attended the city's music conservatory under Emanuele De Roxas before making his debut, aged 21, at the ...

."Mena Cleary"
''Gallery of Players'' 2(1894): 36.

Career

Mena Cleary was a soprano, her voice "by no means powerful but...very sweet," and "managed with rare skill". Cleary was a member of

The Bostonians ''The Bostonians'' is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in '' The Century Magazine'' in 1885–1886 and then as a book in 1886. This bittersweet tragicomedy centres on an odd triangle of characters: Basil Ransom, a political c ...

, a performing troupe. She appeared as "Mirabel" in the original cast of the comic opera ''Prince Ananias'' by

, when it debuted in 1894. She also appeared in ''Girofle-Girofla'' in 1884 ''Fra Diavolo'' and ''The Poachers'' in 1888,"The Theaters"
''Star Tribune'' (April 19, 1888): 4. via

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. In November 2018, ...

and in ''Robin Hood'', ''Fatinitza'' and ''The Maid of Plymouth'' in 1894, with the Bostonians. In 1886, while performing in ''Fra Diavolo'' in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

, her hair caught fire from a lighted candle on stage. Her co-star Tom Karl quickly extinguished the flames, but his hands were badly burned instead. Members of the audience fainted and shrieked, but Cleary resumed her part "with difficulty" after the fire was out. Her 1888 turn as "Ginetta" in ''The Poachers'' drew admiration from a critic in Minnesota, who assured readers that "she is a very clever actress, with such winning ways, and a smiling pretty face, and a voice, while it is not a very great volume, is sweet in tone and as clear as the sound of a bell."

Personal life

Mena Cleary married "millionaire physician, yachtsman, and globe trotter" John Miller Masury in 1897; they divorced in 1909. Mena Cleary Masury died in 1929, aged 62 years, in Brookline, Massachusetts."Mena Cleary Masury"
''Boston Globe'' (June 28, 1929): 8. Her sister Louise Cleary married a popular singer, Eugene Cowles, whom she met through Mena Cleary's work (Cowles was also in the original cast of ''Prince Ananias''). Their sister Eleanor Cleary married Gerrit Fort.Mellificia
"Society Bee Hive"
''Omaha Daily Bee'' (November 12, 1912): 8. via

Another sister, Phillinda A. Cleary, married Harley Ellsworth Cummings.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleary, Mena 1867 births 1929 deaths 19th-century Canadian women opera singers 20th-century Canadian women opera singers Canadian emigrants to the United States