Mary McCormic
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Mary McCormic (November 11, 1889 – February 10, 1981) was an American operatic soprano and a professor of opera at the University of North Texas College of Music (1945–1960).


Career

For more than a decade (early 1920s to late 1930s), McCormic was among the famous sopranos in the world. She was most known for her leading roles with the Paris National Opera, the
Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique () is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular Théâtre de la foire, theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief riva ...
(14 years), the Monte Carlo Opera, the
Chicago Civic Opera The Civic Opera Company (1922–1931) was a Chicago company that produced seven seasons of grand opera in the Auditorium Theatre from 1922 to 1928, and three seasons at its own Civic Opera House from 1929 to 1931 before falling victim to financia ...
(10 years) and also headlined 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 ...
. Mary Brings New Prince, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Sep 08, 1933, p.2 She spent much of 1937 touring with the Kryl Symphony Orchestra. McCormic was born in Belleville, Arkansas. A onetime obscure Arkansas housewife, McCormic rose to stardom and enjoyed a colorful personal life — four marriages and four divorces (men of no resemblance to one another), almost a fifth, a high-dollar lawsuit defense for assaulting an unauthorized female biographer, boom and bust personal wealth, witty humor, and brush with royalty. McCormic captured world intrigue with the panache of the operas she starred, all with the backdrop of being born at the end of the
Gilded Age In History of the United States, United States history, the Gilded Age is the period from about the late 1870s to the late 1890s, which occurred between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was named by 1920s historians after Mar ...
; growing up as a teenager during World War I; flourishing as an opera superstar through the
Roaring Twenties The Roaring Twenties, sometimes stylized as Roaring '20s, refers to the 1920s decade in music and fashion, as it happened in Western world, Western society and Western culture. It was a period of economic prosperity with a distinctive cultura ...
,
Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
, the
Jazz Age The Jazz Age was a period from 1920 to the early 1930s in which jazz music and dance styles gained worldwide popularity. The Jazz Age's cultural repercussions were primarily felt in the United States, the birthplace of jazz. Originating in New O ...
, and the Great Crash; and failing in her last two high-profile marriages in the throes of the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
. She died, age 91, in Amarillo, Texas.


Selected singing roles

* 1921–1922 Season — Operatic debut as Micaela in ''
Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...
.'' McCormic was a protégé of
Mary Garden Mary Garden (20 February 1874 – 3 January 1967) was a Scottish-American operatic lyric soprano, then mezzo-soprano, with a substantial career in France and America in the first third of the 20th century. She spent the latter part of her chil ...
, who, rather than sing, debuted as general director for what became the final year of Chicago Opera Association. * February 1 and 8, 1922 — New York debut as Musetta in '' La Boheme'' at the Manhattan Opera House. * 1923 — Referred to as "the Cowgirl Soprano" by ''The New York Times,'' McCormic and Charles Marshall sang the leading roles in the premiere of '' The Snow Bird,'' an American one-act opera.Edward Colman Moore (1877-1935) (Moore was a music critic for the ''
Chicago Daily Journal The ''Chicago Daily Journal'' (''Chicago Evening Journal'' from 1861–1896) was a Chicago newspaper that published from 1844 to 1929.(11 June 1928)The Press: Chicago Journal ''Time'' Journalism Originally a Whig paper, by the late 1850s it firm ...
),'' ''Forty Years of Opera,'' pps. 260-261, Horace Liveright (1930), republished by Arno Press, (1977)
* July 24, 1926 — McCormic was signally honored by receiving the title role for a special presentation of ''
Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
'' with the Paris National Opera at the Paris Opera House in honor of Mulai Yusef, sultan of Morocco."McCormack () as Juliet in Paris," ''New York Times,'' July 22, 1926 * July 23, 1929 —
Opera Comique The Opera Comique was a 19th-century theatre constructed in Westminster, London, located between Wych Street, Holywell Street and the Strand. It opened in 1870 and was demolished in 1902, to make way for the construction of the Aldwych and K ...
debut, singing the title role in ''
Manon ''Manon'' () is an ''opéra comique'' in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel '' L'histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut'' by the Abbé Prévost. It was f ...
''."Mary McCormic Hailed," ''New York Times,'' July 24, 1929 She and William Martin, in July 1927, earned the distinction of being the only Americans singing in leading roles with
Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique () is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular Théâtre de la foire, theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief riva ...
."Music in Paris,"
''Time,'' August 1, 1927
McCormic was the first American woman in 60 years to sign a long-term contract with
Opera Comique The Opera Comique was a 19th-century theatre constructed in Westminster, London, located between Wych Street, Holywell Street and the Strand. It opened in 1870 and was demolished in 1902, to make way for the construction of the Aldwych and K ...
."After Singing Career, Mary McCormic Enjoys Home Life," ''Amarillo Globe-Times,'' February 10, 1966, pg. 33


Artistic management

In 1924, McCormic, early in her career, gained the artist management services of Charles L. Wagner (1869–1956), who also managed world figures that included
Mary Garden Mary Garden (20 February 1874 – 3 January 1967) was a Scottish-American operatic lyric soprano, then mezzo-soprano, with a substantial career in France and America in the first third of the 20th century. She spent the latter part of her chil ...
,
Amelita Galli-Curci Amelita Galli-Curci (18 November 1882 – 26 November 1963) was an Italian lyric coloratura soprano. She was one of the most famous operatic singers of the 20th century and a popular recording artist, with her records selling in large numbe ...
,
Walter Gieseking Walter Wilhelm Gieseking (5 November 1895 – 26 October 1956) was a French-born German pianist and composer. Gieseking was renowned for his subtle touch, pedaling, and dynamic control—particularly in the music of Debussy and Ravel; he made inte ...
, Jussi Björling,
Alexander Kipnis Alexander Kipnis ( – May 14, 1978) was a Russian and American bass singer. Having initially established his artistic reputation in Europe, Kipnis became an American citizen in 1931, following his marriage to an American. He appeared often at ...
, and
Jeanette MacDonald Jeanette Anna MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January 14, 1965) was an American soprano and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (''The Love Parade'', ''Love Me Tonight'', ''The Merry Widow (1934 film) ...
. In 1938, McCormic was managed by Mme. LaReine."Temperamental? Not Mary Mary McCormic – But She's Still Opera's Glamar Gal," ''Mansfield News Journal'' (Ohio), January 20, 1938, pps. 1 & 6


Early life

Born in Belleville, Arkansas, and raised in Dardanelle, Arkansas and Ola, Arkansas, McCormic, was known growing up as Mamie Harris. Mary McCormic was one of four children born to: * John H. Harris ( 1860 in Forsyth, Georgia – 9 November 1946)"Harris Services This Afternoon," ''Amarillo Daily News,'' November 11, 1946, pg. 8., col 2 and wife, * Mary Jimmie Harris (''née'' Williard; 1865 in Tennessee – 31 December 1929 in Amarillo, Texas)"Funeral for Mrs. Harris is Held Today," ''Amarillo Globe-Times,'' January 3, 1930, pg. 5., col 1 :# Odelle Crawford Harris (4 July 1886 in Belleville, Arkansas – 26 May 1950 in Amarillo, Texas) :# Thurman Harris (died young) :# Mamie Harris (11 November 1889 in Belleville, Arkansas – 10 February 1981 in Amarillo, Texas) :# Williard Harris (10 February 1892 in Yell County, Arkansas – 24 March 1949 in Amarillo, Texas)"Willard Harris Dies at Age 57," ''Amarillo Daily News,'' March 25, 1949, pgs 1 & 15 :# Norborn Harris ( 1898 – 10 February 1944 in San Francisco)"Norbort Harris Dies in Railway Accident," ''Amarillo Globe-Times'', February 14, 1944, pg. 3., col 2 ::# Johnnie Harris (a girl, died young) Mamie's interest in becoming an opera star began at age nine, and continued while attending Ola High School of Ola, Arkansas. She, with her family, moved to Portales, New Mexico in 1907, then to Amarillo, Texas in 1909. Emil Frey Myers (1886–1957) gave McCormic's her first voice lessons in Amarillo. He was the conductor the Amarillo Civic Chorus and was a major concert promoter in the Texas Panhandle. Myers, with his wife, Lila, founded the Amarillo School of Music, Inc. McCormic's father and two brothers, Odell and Williard, built a grocery store business — J H Harris & Sons and Harris Food Stores and Rolling Stone Stores (as many as 10 stores in Texas located in Borger, Pampa, Dalhart and Amarillo). The business was sold in 1946, shortly before the death of the father. The father, Odell, and Williard also operated a ranch in Union County, New Mexico. The father purchased the first portion of the ranch in 1915. During a 1914 Tri-State Fair Music Festival in Amarillo, McCormic became aware of the operatic possibilities of her voice.
Texas, a Guide to the Lone Star State
'', by Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of Texas, Federal Writers' Project (1940), pg. 160
By way of a Methodist Choir in Chicago and a singing contest sponsored by
Mary Garden Mary Garden (20 February 1874 – 3 January 1967) was a Scottish-American operatic lyric soprano, then mezzo-soprano, with a substantial career in France and America in the first third of the 20th century. She spent the latter part of her chil ...
, her operatic potential became known to others.
Arkansas: A Guide to the State
'' pg. 364, WPA (1941), pps. 123, 213, 364


College

McCormic studied music at Ouachita College, University of Arkansas and then, with the intention of becoming a lyric soprano, Northwestern University where she took vocal lessons."Mary McCormic to Sing at C.I.A. December 10," ''Denton Record-Chronicle,'' December 6, 1929 McCormic became a protégé of
Mary Garden Mary Garden (20 February 1874 – 3 January 1967) was a Scottish-American operatic lyric soprano, then mezzo-soprano, with a substantial career in France and America in the first third of the 20th century. She spent the latter part of her chil ...
(1874–1967). Both McCormic and Garden had been vocal students of the renowned voice teacher Mrs.
Sarah Robinson-Duff Sarah Robinson-Duff (May 1, 1868 – May 11, 1934) was an American operatic soprano and celebrated voice teacher of many important opera singers, including Mary Garden and Alice Nielsen. She wrote the vocal pedagogy book '' Simple Truths Used b ...
''(née'' Robinson; 1858–1934)


Marriages


Filmography

* 1933: '' Paddy the Next Best Thing''


Teaching

In 1944, Wilfred Bain, dean of the University of North Texas College of Music, recruited Mary McCormic to create and direct an Opera Workshop. McCormic transformed herself from diva to artist-in-residence educator. She founded, defined, directed, and, when necessary, defended the school's first Opera Workshop. She built the Opera Workshop from scratch – on a shoestring budget – molding it over 16 prolific years into what has become her crowning legacy that, for years, has enriched the Southwestern United States. Bain is regarded as one of the great music school deans of all time. In books and memoirs of accomplishments, Bain often tells of the hiring of Mary McCormic as one of his great accomplishments at North Texas. The North Texas Opera Workshop was the first collegiate touring opera workshops west of the Mississippi and, at the time of its founding, was the only opera production company in existence in the Southwest. The San Antonio Grand Opera, Houston Grand Opera,
Dallas Opera The Dallas Opera is an American opera company located in Dallas, Texas. The company performs at the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, one venue of the AT&T Performing Arts Center. History The company was founded in 1957 as the Dallas Civic ...
, Opera in the Heights and others were not yet in existence. Through the opera workshop, McCormic pioneered an approach to opera in an era that wiped out major opera companies on the heels of the Great Depression. The new "low-cost workshop" model also offered new opportunities for composers who otherwise would never have their operas produced. And the workshop model gave hope for opera itself, when many in the world dismissed opera as a bygone luxury of the rich. The new "low cost model" also gave access in regions of the world that otherwise had little hope of having opera. Under McCormic, the opera workshop performed locally, toured, and did broadcasts in radio and TV often with near quality of a reputable professional company. When the
Dallas Opera The Dallas Opera is an American opera company located in Dallas, Texas. The company performs at the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, one venue of the AT&T Performing Arts Center. History The company was founded in 1957 as the Dallas Civic ...
was founded in 1957, the UNT Opera Workshop and Vocal Studies provided a steady supply of singers for the Dallas Opera Chorus. In 1966, McCormic retired and moved to Amarillo to make her home with her widowed sister-in-law, Mrs. Odell Harris. The UNT Opera Workshop is an integral part of one of the more comprehensive music schools in the world; a school that, since the 1940s, and in recent years, holds the largest enrollment of any music institution accredited by the
National Association of Schools of Music The National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) is an association of post-secondary music schools in the United States and the principal U.S. accreditor for higher education in music. It was founded on October 20, 1924, and is based in Resto ...
.


UNT Opera Workshop Productions


Directed by Mary McCormic

* ''
The Bohemian Girl ''The Bohemian Girl'' is an English language Romantic opera composed by Michael William Balfe with a libretto by Alfred Bunn. The plot is loosely based on a Miguel de Cervantes' tale, ''La gitanilla''. The best-known aria from the piece is "I D ...
'' (1944) * '' The Chocolate Soldier'' (Spring 1945) * ''
The Bohemian Girl ''The Bohemian Girl'' is an English language Romantic opera composed by Michael William Balfe with a libretto by Alfred Bunn. The plot is loosely based on a Miguel de Cervantes' tale, ''La gitanilla''. The best-known aria from the piece is "I D ...
'' (Summer 1945) * '' The Stranger of Manzano'' (premier, May 1946) * ''
The Bohemian Girl ''The Bohemian Girl'' is an English language Romantic opera composed by Michael William Balfe with a libretto by Alfred Bunn. The plot is loosely based on a Miguel de Cervantes' tale, ''La gitanilla''. The best-known aria from the piece is "I D ...
'' (1946) * ''
Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...
'' (March 1948) * '' Abduction from the Seraglio'' (May 1949) * '' Daughter of the Regiment'' (Jan 1950) † * ''
Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
'' (1950) * ''
Otello ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on William Shakespeare, Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the La Scala, Teatro alla Scala, M ...
'' (Nov 1951) * '' La Boheme'' (Dec 1952) * ''
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 ...
'' (Dec 1953) * '' HMS Pinafore'' (July 1954) * '' Abduction from the Seraglio'' (May 1954) * ''
Die Fledermaus ' (, ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874. Background The original literary source for ' was ...
'' (April 1955) * '' La Boheme'' (1955) * '' Down in the Valley'' (1955) * ''
Trial by Jury A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial, in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are increasingly used ...
'' (1955) * ''
The Saint of Bleecker Street ''The Saint of Bleecker Street'' is an opera in three acts by Gian Carlo Menotti to an original English libretto by the composer. It was first performed at the Broadway Theatre in New York City on December 27, 1954. David Poleri and Davis Cunn ...
'' (Summer 1955, 2nd Act) * ''
Boris Godunov Boris Feodorovich Godunov (; ; ) was the ''de facto'' regent of Russia from 1585 to 1598 and then tsar from 1598 to 1605 following the death of Feodor I, the last of the Rurik dynasty. After the end of Feodor's reign, Russia descended into t ...
'' (Summer 1955, last Act) * ''
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 ...
'' (Summer 1955, duets) * ''
Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lu ...
'' (Summer 1955, duets) * ''
Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, 'Clowns') is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who mu ...
'' (1956) * ''
The Princess and the Pea "The Princess and the Pea" () is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a princess who is tested to become the wife to a lonely prince. The tale was first published with three others by Andersen in a cheap booklet on 8 May 18 ...
'' (May 1956) * ''
La Serva Padrona ''La serva padrona'' (''The Maid Turned Mistress'') is a 1733 intermezzo by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710–1736) to a libretto by Gennaro Federico, after the Play (theatre), play by Jacopo Angello Nelli. It is some 40 minutes long, in two par ...
'' (May 1956) * '' La Boheme'' (Summer 1956) * '' Down in the Valley'' (Summer 1956) * ''
Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...
'' (1957) * '' Trouble in Tahiti'' (1957) * '' Amelia Goes to the Ball'' (1957) * '' The Impresario'' (1957) * '' The Emperor's New Clothes'' (1957) * ''
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 ...
'' (two casts, 1958) * ''
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 ...
'' (a scene, 1958) * '' Comedy on the Bridge'' (1958) * ''
The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy ' ...
'' (excerpts, 1958) * '' La Traviata'' (last act, 1958) * '' Comedy on the Bridge'' (1959) * ''
Cavalleria Rusticana ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (; ) is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from an 1880 Cavalleria rusticana (short story), short story of the same name and subsequent ...
'' (1959) * ''
Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...
'' (1960) * Dec 1958 — McCormic directed the first televised opera in the Southwestern United States on WBAP-TV Fort Worth in a student production of ''
Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...
''''Denton Record-Chronicle,'' November 20, 1958, pg. 4, col. 6 : †
Mary Garden Mary Garden (20 February 1874 – 3 January 1967) was a Scottish-American operatic lyric soprano, then mezzo-soprano, with a substantial career in France and America in the first third of the 20th century. She spent the latter part of her chil ...
supervised the final ten-days of rehearsals"Mary Garden to Supervise NTex Opera," ''Denton Record-Chronicle,'' December 22, 1950


References


External links

: Mary is buried at Llano Cemetery, Amarillo in section D, lot 6 space 1 (February 12, 1981). By her is: :::Pat Harris, Section D lot 6 space 1A (February 22, 1993) :::Mary Elizabeth Harris, Section D lot 6 space 2 (February 6, 1990) :::Willard Harris, Section D lot 6 space 2 (March 26, 1949)
McCormic's Grave Marker
an
Llano Cemetery
in Amarillo
Biography of Mary McCormic (in German)
'' Operissimo concertissimo'', Milan, Zurich {{DEFAULTSORT:McCormic, Mary American operatic sopranos 1889 births 1981 deaths Chicago Civic Opera Texas classical music University of North Texas College of Music faculty University of Arkansas alumni Northwestern University alumni People from Yell County, Arkansas 20th-century American women opera singers American music educators American women music educators