Jeanne Jomelli (May 18, 1879 – August 29, 1932) was a Dutch

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

opera singer, concert singer, and music educator.

Early life

Jeanne Jomelli was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. She studied voice under

Mathilde Marchesi Mathilde Marchesi (; 24 March 1821 – 17 November 1913) was a German mezzo-soprano, a singing teacher, and a proponent of the bel canto vocal method. Biography Mathilde Graumann was born in Frankfurt. Her aunt was the pianist Dorothea von Er ...

in Paris.

Career

Jomelli made her American debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1906. In 1909 an aria, "The Call of Râdha" by Harriet Ware, with lyrics by

Sarojini Naidu Sarojini Naidu (Birth name, née Chattopadhyay) (; 13 February 1879 – 2 March 1949) was an Indian political activist and poet who served as the first Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Governor of United Provinces, after Independence Day (India), Indi ...

, was dedicated to Jomelli. Jomelli herself set a

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...

poem, "Oft I wept while dreaming", to music in 1912. "Mme. Jomelli had a pure soprano voice of singularly clear, steady, musical quality, and she was an accomplished vocalist," recalled

Herman Klein Herman Klein (born Hermann Klein; 23 July 1856 – 10 March 1934) was an English music critic, author and teacher of singing. Klein's famous brothers included Charles Klein, Charles and Manuel Klein. His second wife was the writer Kathleen Cla ...

, who worked with her on improving her English diction. She was in Belgium at the start of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and lost nineteen trunks of costumes and other possessions in the rush to leave ahead of German advances. Instead she toured western Canadian cities with composer Hallett Gilberté during the war, giving benefit concerts for wounded veterans. In 1917, she gave a concert in Los Angeles singing songs by

Charles Wakefield Cadman Charles Wakefield Cadman (December 24, 1881 – December 30, 1946) was an American composer. For 40 years, he worked closely with Nelle Richmond Eberhart, who wrote most of the texts to his songs, including ''Four American Indian Songs''. She als ...

, with Cadman himself accompanying her on piano. For the 1917/1918 academic year, Jomelli was engaged to teach at Cornish School of Music in Seattle, Washington. However, she needed surgery for

tonsillitis Tonsillitis is inflammation of the tonsils in the upper part of the throat. It can be acute or chronic. Acute tonsillitis typically has a rapid onset. Symptoms may include sore throat, fever, enlargement of the tonsils, trouble swallowing, and en ...

in September 1917, which brought long-term health complications, and she taught while seated thereafter. Jomelli moved to

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, in 1918, and taught voice at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California *George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer to ...

. She stayed in the San Francisco Bay area for most of her remaining years, though she also spent significant time teaching in Honolulu, Hawaii, at the

Punahou School Punahou School (known as Oahu College until 1934) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii. More than 3,700 students attend the school from kindergarten through 12th grade. The school was established by P ...

Personal life

Jeanne Jomelli was first married in 1901, to a French tapestry maker, Nicolas Hernance. They divorced amicably in 1913. Her second husband was her manager, W. Orrin Backus. She died in August 1932, aged 53 years, in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. Very soon after Jomelli's death, Orrin Backus remarried; when his new wife left him, in fear of his violent threats, he died in November 1932 by suicide."W. O. Backus Kills Himself as Bride Flees"
'' Woodland Daily Democrat'' (November 16, 1932): 4. via

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References

External links

*The

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

ha
a photograph of Jeanne Jomelli
from the 1910s, in the George Grantham Bain Collection. *The

Boston Public Library The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also Massachusetts' Library for the Commonwealth (formerly ''library of last recourse''), meaning all adult re ...

ha
a photograph of Jeanne Jomelli
taken by

Aimé Dupont Aimé Dupont (6 December 1839 – 16 February 1900) was a Belgian-born American sculptor and photographer who was best known for his pictures of opera singers when he was the official photographer for the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Ear ...

in 1911, in the Philip Hale Photograph Collection. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jomelli, Jeanne 1879 births 1932 deaths 20th-century Dutch opera singers Dutch sopranos Cornish College of the Arts faculty University of California faculty Musicians from Amsterdam Conservatorium van Amsterdam alumni