Florence Wickham
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Florence Pauline Wickham Lueder (1880October 20, 1962) was an American composer and
contralto A contralto () is a classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range is the lowest of their voice type, voice types. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare, similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to ...
who made an international career at major opera houses such as the
Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
in New York City. After retiring from the stage, she composed several ballets and operettas.


Life and career

Florence Pauline Wickham was born in 1880 in
Beaver, Pennsylvania Beaver is a borough in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is located near the confluence of the Beaver and Ohio rivers, approximately northwest of Pittsburgh. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,438. ...
. She was the daughter of a superior court judge. She studied music at
Beaver College Arcadia University is a private university in Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania, with a Glenside mailing address. The university enrolls approximately 3,200 undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students. The 94-acre (380,000 m2) Glenside cam ...
, graduating with a gold medal for excellence in music. An uncle financed her education after her father's death. She studied further with Alice Groff in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, and in Berlin with
Lilli Lehmann Lilli Lehmann (born Elisabeth Maria Lehmann, later Elisabeth Maria Lehmann-Kalisch; 24 November 1848 – 17 May 1929) was a German operatic dramatic coloratura soprano. She was also a voice teacher and animal welfare advocate. Biography The fu ...
,
Mathilde Mallinger Mathilde Mallinger (; 17 February 1847 – 19 April 1920) was a Croatian lyric soprano opera singer. Life and career Born as Mathilde Lichtenegger in Graz, the daughter of composer and teacher Vatroslav Lichtenegger, she studied singing with at ...
and Franz Emmerich. Later, in New York City, she studied with Bruno Huhn while working at the
Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
. Wickham made her stage debut as Fides in Meyerbeer's '' Le Prophete'' at the Royal Court Theater in Wiesbaden at age 20, followed by Amneris in Verdi's ''
Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 De ...
'' at the Royal Theater in Munich. Henry Wilson Savage engaged her as Kundry in an American tour of Wagner's ''
Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is freely based on the 13th-century Middle High German chivalric romance ''Parzival'' of th ...
''. She performed at the
Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...
in London for three seasons. From 1909, she performed at the
Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
in New York City in 22 roles in 169 performances, including several world premieres. In 1910, she was awarded a Medal for Arts and Sciences and the title of Court Singer at a concert in Berlin. Wickham married Eberhard L. Lueder in 1911, but first continued performing and later composed under her birth name Wickham. In 1913 she shared the male role of
Alan-a-Dale Alan-a-Dale (first recorded as Allen a Dale; variously spelled ''Allen-a-Dale'', ''Allan-a-Dale'', ''Allin-a-Dale'', ''Allan A'Dayle'' etc.) is a figure in the Robin Hood legend. According to the stories, he was a wandering minstrel who became ...
with actress Louise Le Baron in the comic opera ''
Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...
'' by
Reginald De Koven Henry Louis Reginald De Koven (April 3, 1859January 16, 1920) was an American music critic and prolific composer, particularly of comic operas. Biography De Koven was born in Middletown, Connecticut, and moved to Europe in 1870, where he receive ...
and Harry B. Smith. She then retired from performing and became a composer.  She wrote the music and lyrics for the opera ''Rosalind'', based on the story of Shakespeare's ''
As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...
'' which premiered at the open air Rockridge Theater in
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, in August 1938. The premiere was sponsored by her friend
Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...
. ''Rosalind'' was first performed in Europe at the Volkstheater in
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during the winter season. Wickham wrote a second opera, ''The Legend of Hex Mountain'', in 1957 based on the
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of Pennsylvania. It was premiered at the Memorial Hall in
Plymouth, Massachusetts Plymouth ( ; historically also spelled as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in and the county seat of Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklor ...
. Wickham also wrote several ballets. In 1954, three of her ballets were presented at the Chautauqua Institute in New York, ''Indian Summer'', an early American fantasy; ''Musicians of Murano'' about a carnival in an Italian town; and ''Gift of Laughter'', an Irish fairy tale. Wickham received the Women's Achievement Award of the
National Conference of Christians and Jews The National Conference for Community and Justice is an American social justice organization focused on fighting biases and promoting understanding between people of different races and cultures. The organization was founded in 1927 as the Natio ...
in 1950. She died on October 20, 1962, aged 82, in New York City. Her music scores and correspondence are archived at the Music Division of the
New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...
.


Works

Wickham's published works include choral pieces, songs and works for the stage:


Ballet

* ''Gift of Laughter'' * ''Indian Summer'' * ''Musicians of Murano''


Operetta

* ''Ancestor Maker'' * ''Legend of Hex Mountain'' * ''Look and Long'' (music by Florence Wickham and Marvin Schwartz; text by
Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh), and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris in 1903, and ...
) * ''Rosalind''


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wickham, Florence 1880 births 1962 deaths American ballet composers American operatic contraltos American operetta composers American women composers