24 Facts About Louise Homer

1.

Louise Beatty Homer was an American operatic dramatic contralto who had an active international career in concert halls and opera houses from 1895 until her retirement in 1932.

2.

Louise Homer then became a member of the Metropolitan Opera from 1900 to 1919 and again from 1927 to 1929.

3.

Louise Homer was active as an opera singer in Boston, Chicago, and California.

4.

Louise Homer recorded extensively for Victor Records and Columbia Records in the early decades of the 20th century.

5.

Louise Homer was married to composer Sidney Homer for 52 years.

6.

Louise Homer enjoyed particular success in the operas of Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner.

7.

Louise Homer often stated in interviews that her favorite role to perform was Amneris in Verdi's Aida.

8.

Louise Homer's father, Reverend William Trimble Beatty, was a Presbyterian minister who founded Pennsylvania Female College.

9.

However, Louise Homer was eventually able to convince her father that she could employ her vocal gifts outside of the church without being in sin, at which point she was given permission to pursue a musical education.

10.

Louise Homer began her vocal training in Philadelphia, but ultimately ended up in Boston.

11.

In Boston Louise Homer met composer Sidney Louise Homer whom she married in 1895.

12.

Just months before her marriage, Louise Homer made her stage debut in January 1895 in a vaudeville production at Keith's Opera House in Providence, Rhode Island.

13.

In 1898 Louise Homer went to France to pursue studies in Paris with Fidele Konig and Paul Lherie.

14.

Louise Homer made her professional operatic debut as Leonore in Donizetti's La favorite at Vichy in 1898.

15.

Louise Homer made her American opera debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in 1900 singing Amneris in Verdi's Aida.

16.

Louise Homer sang at the Met for 19 consecutive seasons, often singing opposite such acclaimed singers as Enrico Caruso, Geraldine Farrar, and Ernestine Schumann-Heink.

17.

Louise Homer sang Suzuki in the Met premiere of Puccini's Madama Butterfly in the presence of the composer on February 11,1907.

18.

Louise Homer left the Met at the end of March 1919, but returned to the company in late 1927.

19.

Louise Homer sang a varied repertoire at the Met which encompassed parts from a variety of musical periods and languages.

20.

Louise Homer sang in numerous concerts at the Met, including as a soloist in performances of Handel's Messiah, Rossini's Stabat Mater, and Verdi's Requiem.

21.

Louise Homer notably performed La Cieca in the BOC's inaugural production of La Gioconda on November 8,1909 with Lillian Nordica in the title role; a production which marked the grand opening of the Boston Opera House.

22.

Louise Homer was later a member of the Chicago Civic Opera from 1922 to 1931.

23.

Louise Homer's daughter Kay had studied music in New York and was a fine pianist.

24.

Louise Homer died of a heart ailment on May 6,1947, at the age of 76 in Winter Park, Florida, after five weeks of ill health.