1. Abriea "Abbie" Mitchell Cook, billed as Abbey Mitchell, was an American soprano opera singer.
10 Facts About Abbie Mitchell
1. 2.
Abbie Mitchell was reared by a maternal aunt, Alice Payne, in Baltimore, Maryland, where she attended a Catholic convent school.
3.
Abbie Mitchell married Cook a year later, and appeared in the lead role in his Jes Lak White Folks.
4.
Abbie Mitchell received international acclaim for her performance, and at age 17 she was invited to appear with the company in a Royal Command Performance for King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra at Buckingham Palace.
5.
In 1919, Abbie Mitchell went to Europe with Cook's Southern Syncopated Orchestra.
6.
Lee de Forest made a short film, Songs of Yesteryear, of Abbie Mitchell singing, using his DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process.
7.
Abbie Mitchell was the first singer to record "Summertime" from the opera.
8.
Abbie Mitchell performed in New York City in other productions and taught at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.
9.
Abbie Mitchell was later appointed as United States Ambassador to Niger and Senegal.
10.
Abbie Mitchell died in New York on March 16,1960, and was given a Catholic funeral.