Queena Marian Tillotson (August 21, 1896 – May 28, 1951), known professionally as Queena Mario, was an American soprano opera singer, newspaper columnist, voice teacher, and fiction writer.

Early life

Queena Marian Tillotson was born in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

, Josephine Van Der Grift
"Famous Opera Singer Born in Akron Will Sing At Armory"
''

Akron Beacon Journal The ''Akron Beacon Journal'' is a morning newspaper in Akron, Ohio, United States. Owned by Gannett, it is the sole daily newspaper in Akron and is distributed throughout Northeast Ohio. The paper's coverage focuses on local news. The Beacon Jo ...

'' (March 24, 1925): 1, 9. via

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. It is owned by The ...

the daughter of James Knox Tillotson and Rose Tillotson. Queena was raised in

Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a City (New Jersey), city in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Nicknamed "The Queen City",

, where she graduated from Plainfield High School."Queena Mario Gives Concert Here Tomorrow"
''Courier-News'' (March 2, 1932): 6. via

She studied voice with

Marcella Sembrich Prakseda Marcelina Kochańska (February 15, 1858 – January 11, 1935), known professionally as Marcella Sembrich, was a Polish dramatic coloratura soprano. She is known for her extensive range of two and a half octaves, precise intonation, ch ...

, who advised her name change. She paid for voice lessons by writing newspaper advice columns under the name ''Florence Bryant'', including childrearing advice; "You know a lot when you're 16, you have a lot of theories," she explained of her qualifications.

Career

Mario made her stage debut with the

San Carlo Opera Company The San Carlo Opera Company was the name of two different opera companies active in the United States during the first half of the twentieth century. Henry Russell's San Carlo Opera The first company was founded by impresario Henry Russell, initi ...

in 1918. She also toured with the Antonio Scotti Opera Company. She sang 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 ...

over 300 times, beginning in 1922 and with a last performance in 1938. She also gave concerts. In 1925 Richard Aldrich of ''The New York Times'' described Mario's voice: "The voice is light, it has the grace and flexibility of a light voice, together with agreeable quality and much finished skill in vocalism." Mario taught voice at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

in New York and the

Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, a Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on a full scholarshi ...

in Philadelphia. Among her students were Jeanne Madden,

Frances Bible Frances Lillian Bible (January 26, 1919 – January 29, 2001) was an American operatic mezzo-soprano who had a thirty-year career at the New York City Opera between 1948 and 1978. She also made a number of opera appearances with other companies t ...

Helen Jepson Helen Jepson (November 28, 1904 – September 16, 1997) was an American lyric soprano. Early years Jepson was born in Titusville, Pennsylvania, on November 28, 1904, (Two sources give her birthday as November 28, 1906.) DeLong, Thomas A. (19 ...

and

Rose Bampton Rose Bampton (November 28, 1907 in Lakewood, Ohio – August 21, 2007 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania) was an American opera singer who had an active international career during the 1930s and 1940s. She began her professional career performing mostly m ...

. She can be heard on at least six recordings from 1924 and 1933, made for the

Victor Talking Machine Company The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer, incorporated in 1901. Victor was an independent enterprise until 1929 when it was purchased by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and became ...

. As a writer, Mario published three opera-themed murder mysteries: ''Murder in the Opera House'' ( E.P. Dutton, 1934), ''Murder Meets Mephisto'' (1942), and ''Death Drops Delilah'' (1944).

Personal life

Mario married Metropolitan Opera conductor Wilfred Pelletier on November 23, 1925; they divorced on August 12, 1936. She died in New York in 1951, aged 54 years."Queena Mario Rites Tomorrow"
''The New York Times'' (May 30, 1951): 17.

References

External links

*
Queena Mario's listing
in the San Francisco Opera Performance Archive. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mario, Queena 1896 births 1951 deaths American women novelists 20th-century American novelists American operatic sopranos 20th-century American women opera singers 20th-century American women writers American mystery novelists American women mystery writers Writers from Akron, Ohio Novelists from Ohio Musicians from Akron, Ohio Singers from Ohio Writers from Plainfield, New Jersey Musicians from Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield High School (New Jersey) alumni Novelists from New Jersey Singers from New Jersey Juilliard School faculty Curtis Institute of Music faculty Novelists from Pennsylvania Classical musicians from Ohio Classical musicians from New Jersey American music educators American women music educators American women academics