Genevieve Rowe (August 28, 1908 - February 26, 1995) was a

coloratura soprano A coloratura soprano () is a type of operatic soprano voice that specializes in music that is distinguished by agile run (music), runs, leaps and Trill (music), trills. The term ''coloratura'' refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, whi ...

in the era of

old-time radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the earl ...

.DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 233.

Early years

Rowe was born in Fremont, Ohio. In her hometown of

Wooster, Ohio Wooster ( ) is a city in Wayne County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Ohio, the city lies approximately south-southwest of Cleveland, southwest of Akron and west of Canton. The population was 27,232 at the ...

, both of her parents were music educators; her father was dean of music at the Wooster College Conservatory, and her mother taught piano and music theory there. Although she began studying piano at age 4, she eventually came to prefer singing. She was a graduate of Wooster College with degrees in arts and music and studied on scholarship at the Juilliard Graduate School of Opera. A 1939 newspaper article about Rowe noted, "Miss Rowe had the happy habit of winning every musical competition she entered." Those contests included the 1929 Atwater Kent national auditions, the 1932 McDowell Club Award, the 1933

National Federation of Music Clubs The National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC) is an American non-profit philanthropic music organization that promotes American music, performers, and composers. NFMC endeavors to strengthen quality music education by supporting "high standards o ...

contest, and the 1938 Rising Musical Star competition on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

radio. Rowe gained early experience in radio when she sang over

WTAM WTAM (1100 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, that airs a news/talk and sports radio format, commonly known as "Newsradio WTAM 1100". Owned by iHeartMedia, WTAM serves Greater Cleveland and much of s ...

while she was a student at Wooster.

Career

In 1938, Rowe had the role of Beauty in Vittorio Giannini's ''Beauty and the Beast'' on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

, radio's first commissioned opera. She also was one of the featured vocalists on ''The First American Opera Festival,'' a

sustaining program A sustaining program is a radio or television program that, despite airing on a commercial broadcast station, does not have commercial sponsorship or advertising. This term, mostly used in the United States, was common in the early days of radio, b ...

that was broadcast on WOR in 1942. The one-hour program presented adaptations of seven operas and promoted sales of savings bonds and stamps for the U.S. Treasury Department. On radio, Rowe was the female vocalist on ''Gaslight Gayeties'' and ''Harvest of Stars'',. She performed regularly on ''Johnny Presents'', the ''Burl Ives Coffee Club'' and the '' Gay Nineties Revue''.Terrace, Vincent (1999). ''Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 128. Other shows on which she was heard included ''Melody Hall''. In 1945 she used the pseudonym Irene Hill on one radio show because she was singing regularly on two network programs. Rowe sang with the Montreal Opera, the Westchester Philharmonic Society, and other groups. In 1947, Rowe and Glen Burris, accompanied by Paul Baron's orchestra, recorded ''The Student Prince Album'' (Majestic MZ-4), containing six discs. In 1948, Rowe — along with

Lillian Cornell Lillian Cornell (born Lillian Michuda; June 2, 1916 - May 25, 2015) was an American singer on old-time radio and an actress in films in the early 1940s. Early years Cornell was born Lillian Michuda June 2, 1916, in Chicago. Her name was changed ...

and Lawrence Brooks, accompanied by

Sigmund Romberg Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 – November 9, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American composer. He is best known for his Musical theatre, musicals and operettas, particularly ''The Student Prince'' (1924), ''The Desert Song'' (1926) and ''The New Moo ...

's orchestra and chorus — recorded ''Gems From Sigmund Romberg Shows Vol. II'' (Victor MO 1256). The album contained four discs.

Personal life

Rowe was married to Albert Payson Hill, a teacher. He was a pianist who often accompanied her in concerts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowe, Genevieve 1908 births 1995 deaths 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers Musicians from Ohio