Blanche Cole (1851 – 31 August 1888) was an English

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 ...

. Showing promise as a child, Cole went on to have a successful

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

tic career, during which she sang 21 roles in English versions of operas in London and the British provinces. She died at the age of 37.

Early years

Cole was born in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, England, to a musical family. In 1858, at the age of seven, she took part in a concert in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, winning a favourable review from ''The

Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

.'' In 1860 she took part in a concert at London's St. James's Hall presented by the Vocal Association. According to ''

The Musical Times ''The Musical Times'' was an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom. It was originally created by Joseph Mainzer in 1842 as ''Mainzer's Musical Times and Singing Circular'', but in 1844 he sold it to Alfr ...

'', "the delightful silvery quality of her voice brought her prominently to the front... her name has been amongst the first of English operatic singers".Obituary (Banche Cole)
''The Musical Times'', vol. 29, p. 614, Novello, Ewer & Co. (1888), accessed 6 June 2009 In 1867, Cole sang Zerlina in '' Fra Diavolo'', Amina in ''

La sonnambula ''La sonnambula'' (; ''The Sleepwalker'') is an opera semiseria in two acts, with music in the ''bel canto'' tradition by Vincenzo Bellini set to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, based on a scenario for a ''ballet-pantomime'' written by Eu ...

'', and Marguerite in ''

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

'' with Rosenthal's English Opera Company. In 1868, she sang Oscar in '' Un ballo in maschera'' at the Theatre Royal in

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

and Leonora in '' Il trovatore'' in London, in a production conducted by

Meyer Lutz Wilhelm Meyer Lutz (19 May 1829 – 31 January 1903) was a German-born British composer and conductor who is best known for light music, musical theatre and Victorian burlesque, burlesques of well-known works. Emigrating to the UK at the age o ...

. The same year, she married Sidney Naylor, a noted organist and accompanist of the day. He acted as conductor to her company in 1875 in

William Vincent Wallace William Vincent Wallace (11 March 1812 – 12 October 1865) was an Irish composer and pianist. In his day, he was famous on three continents as a double virtuoso on violin and piano. Nowadays, he is mainly remembered as an opera composer of n ...

's ''Lurline''.

Later years

In 1869, Cole was praised by ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' for her singing in ''

Acis and Galatea Acis and Galatea (, ) are characters from Greek mythology later associated together in Ovid's ''Metamorphoses''. The episode tells of the love between the mortal Acis and the Nereid (sea-nymph) Galatea; when the jealous Cyclops Polyphemus kil ...

'' in London and made her debut at

the Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around ...

as Amina in Bellini's ''

'' with George Perren and Richard Temple, conducted by August Manns. In 1872, she sang the role of Maid Marian in a concert version of G. A. Macfarren's opera ''Robin Hood'' at the Crystal Palace. ''The Musical Standard'' wrote of her "sweet cultivated voice" and opined that "the artistic intelligence which she brings to her work renders her performance very enjoyable, and thoroughly enlists the sympathies of the audience". She appeared at the

Adelphi Theatre The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...

with the

Carl Rosa Opera Company The Carl Rosa Opera Company was founded in 1873 by Carl Rosa, a German-born musical impresario, and his wife, British operatic soprano Euphrosyne Parepa-Rosa to present opera in English in London and the British provinces. The company premiere ...

in 1878 as Senta in '' The Flying Dutchman'' and as the Countess in ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienn ...

''. From time to time she presented her own opera company. On other occasions she appeared under the management of Richard Temple with Rose Hersee's company in ''

Don Pasquale ''Don Pasquale'' () is a Gaetano Donizetti opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts, with an Italian libretto completed largely by Giovanni Ruffini as well as the composer. It was based on a libretto by Angelo Anelli for Stefano Pavesi's oper ...

'' and ''Il trovatore''. She also appeared with much success as Mary Wolf in Balfe's opera ''The Puritan's Daughter'', produced by the Carl Rosa Company In 1887 she sang Donna Anna in ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...

''. In 1888, ''The

Pall Mall Gazette ''The Pall Mall Gazette'' was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood. In 1921, '' The Globe'' merged into ''The Pall Mall Gazette'', which itself was absorbed i ...

'' commented that her fine voice seemed entirely to pervade the great space of the Albert Hall with its piercing and sympathetic quality. The ''Musical Times'' wrote: "She was everywhere known for her graceful acting, which, apart even from the careful manipulation of her pure and beautiful voice, had always made her a favourite with opera-goers." During her career, Cole sang 21 roles. Cole died of

dropsy Edema (American English), also spelled oedema (British English), and also known as fluid retention, swelling, dropsy and hydropsy, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may inclu ...

at age 37 at her London home.''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'', 2 September 1888, p. 6

Notes

Sources

Aldephi Theatre Calendar 1806 - 1900
*Baker, Theodore
''A Biographical Dictionary of Musicians''
Read Books, 2008, p. 416.
''The Musical World''
11 January 1868, p. 21. *Sherson, Erroll
''London's lost theatres of the nineteenth century''
Ayer Publishing, 1925, p. 230. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Blanche English operatic sopranos 1851 births 1888 deaths Musicians from Portsmouth Deaths from edema 19th-century British women opera singers