Ada Cherry Kearton (born Ada Forrest; 17 July 1877 – 19 January 1966) was a South African classical soprano who sang in concert and

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

. She made her London debut in 1907 and retired from the stage shortly before her marriage in 1922 to the English wildlife photographer Cherry Kearton. Her 1956 autobiography ''On Safari'' recounts their travels together in Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Life and career

Kearton was born in Congella, a settlement near

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

in the

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is loca ...

province of South Africa. She received her first instruction in singing at her convent school in Durban and made her first public appearance at the South African

Eisteddfod In Welsh culture, an ''eisteddfod'' is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music. The term ''eisteddfod'', which is formed from the Welsh morphemes: , meaning 'sit', and , meaning 'be', means, a ...

in Durban when she was 14. She went on to study at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke ...

in London and subsequently studied under

Charles Santley Sir Charles Santley (28 February 1834 – 22 September 1922) was an English opera and oratorio singer with a ''bravura''From the Italian verb ''bravare'', to show off. A florid, ostentatious style or a passage of music requiring technical skill ...

Pietro Neri-Baraldi Pietro Neri-Baraldi (1828 – 29 June 1902) was an Italian opera singer who sang leading tenor roles throughout Europe. He was born in Minerbio, a small town near Bologna and made his debut at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna in 1850. By 1853 he wa ...

, and

Henry Wood Sir Henry Joseph Wood (3 March 186919 August 1944) was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introducing hun ...

. A soprano, she made her London debut on 24 May 1907, at the

Empire Day Commonwealth Day (formerly Empire Day) is the annual celebration of the Commonwealth of Nations, since 1977 often held on the second Monday in March. It is marked by an Anglican service in Westminster Abbey, normally attended by the monarch a ...

Concert in

Queen's Hall The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect Thomas Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. Fro ...

. England was to become her home, although she returned to South Africa several times to perform, including a concert tour in 1909. She appeared numerous times in the

Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal ...

between 1909 and 1915. During the course of her career she appeared in many other concerts and recitals in England and Scotland, including a solo recital at London's

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadi ...

in November 1918, where she sang 17th-century songs by

William Lawes William Lawes (April 160224 September 1645) was an English composer and musician. Life and career Lawes was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire and was baptised on 1 May 1602. He was the son of Thomas Lawes, a vicar choral at Salisbury Cathedral, ...

and

Thomas Morley Thomas Morley (1557 – early October 1602) was an English composer, theorist, singer and organist of the Renaissance. He was one of the foremost members of the English Madrigal School. Referring to the strong Italian influence on the Engl ...

and modern settings of

Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

's poems. The Wigmore performance did not impress

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works includ ...

who wrote a scathing review for ''

The New Age ''The New Age'' was a British weekly magazine (1894–1938), inspired by Fabian socialism, and credited as a major influence on literature and the arts during its heyday from 1907 to 1922, when it was edited by Alfred Richard Orage. It publish ...

'': "As Morley and Lawes scarcely preserved a trace of their beauties in the path of her assault, I fled before she began singing modern settings of Tennyson." She made a last recital tour to South Africa in 1921 before retiring from the concert stage. She changed her name from Ada Forrest to Ada Cherry Kearton in 1922, upon marrying the wildlife photographer Cherry Kearton (his second marriage) and then "devoted her life to her husband and his work". The couple had a pet chimpanzee named Mary who lived with them for six years as "one of the Kearton family". The Keartons were said to have taught Mary to write her name and play three musical instruments. According to the Brisbane ''

Courier-Mail ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner norther ...

'', the chimpanzee would sit and sew with Ada for an hour at a time and accompanied the couple on many of their travels. Ada Kearton's autobiography ''On Safari'', an account of her travels through Africa, Australia and New Zealand with her husband, was published in 1956. On 8 October of that year she appeared as a "castaway" on the

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

programme ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (us ...

''. Cherry Kearton died in 1940. Ada died in London in 1966 at the age of 88.

Bibliography

* *

Recordings

According to the ''Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa'', Ada Kearton and Annie Visser were the first major South African singers whose recordings included works in

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans g ...

. Both of their recordings were made in London in 1908. Kearton's other recordings were: *

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest En ...

's "Nymphs and Shepherds" for

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice (HMV) was the name of a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a Jack Russ ...

Frances Allitsen Mary Frances Allitsen (30 December 1848 – 1 October 1912) was an English composer. One of her most popular songs is a setting of Psalm 27, " The Lord is My Light".Amelia Lehmann Amelia Lehmann (''née'' Chambers) (3 February 1838 – 1 April 1903) was a British and composer and arranger of art songs and popular ballads, many of which she published under the pseudonym "A. L.". She was also considered a gifted singer and w ...

's "When love is kind" (double-sided disc) for

Pathé Records Pathé Records was an international record company and label and producer of phonographs, based in France, and active from the 1890s through the 1930s. Early years The Pathé record business was founded by brothers Charles and Émile Path� ...

References

External links

Audio files of two songs in Afrikaans: "Bijna" and "Hondt het fort"
Performance credited to "Ada Forrest" (South African Music Archive Project) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kearton, Ada Cherry 1877 births 1966 deaths 20th-century South African women opera singers People from KwaZulu-Natal South African sopranos 20th-century travel writers Women travel writers Women autobiographers South African autobiographers South African emigrants to the United Kingdom

Life and career

Bibliography

Recordings

See also

References

External links