Sarah Robinson-Duff (May 1, 1868 – May 11, 1934) was an American operatic

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 ...

and celebrated voice teacher of many important opera singers, including

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 ...

and

Alice Nielsen Alice Nielsen (June 7, 1872 – March 8, 1943) was an American Broadway theatre, Broadway performer and operatic lyric soprano. She starred in several Victor Herbert operettas and performed with her own Alice Nielsen Opera Company. Background ...

. She wrote the

vocal pedagogy Vocal pedagogy is the study of the art and science of voice instruction. It is used in the teaching of singing and assists in defining what singing is, how singing works, and how singing technique is accomplished. Vocal pedagogy covers a broad r ...

book '' Simple Truths Used by Great Singers'' (1919) which was based in the tradition of Robinson-Duff's teacher, Mathilde Marchesi. She is considered one of the most important American voice teachers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Life and career

Born in

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's List of municipalities in Maine, third-most populous city, behind Portland, Maine, Portland ...

on May 1, 1868, Robinson-Duff was the daughter of Henry K. Robinson and his wife Frances Robinson (née McClintock).Article
/ref> She was a descendant of John Robinson (1576–1625), the pastor of the "

Pilgrim Fathers The Pilgrims, also known as the Pilgrim Fathers, were the English settlers who travelled to North America on the ship ''Mayflower'' and established the Plymouth Colony at what now is Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States. John Smith had named ...

" before they left on the ''

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English sailing ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, reac ...

''. When she was 18 she married Colonel Charles Duff. Their daughter, Frances Robinson-Duff (1878-1951), became an important teacher of drama whose students included

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress whose Katharine Hepburn on screen and stage, career as a Golden Age of Hollywood, Hollywood leading lady spanned six decades. She was known for her headstrong ...

, Dorothy Gish,

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur (; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress. Often referred to as the "First Lady of American Theatre", she was the second person and first woman to win EGOT, the EGOT (an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and ...

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, and

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among many others. They also had two sons: Roden Robinson-Duff, a physician in Chicago, and Jay Robinson-Duff, a trader on the New York Stock exchange. Robinson-Duff studied singing in Europe with George Henschel and Mathilde Marchesi. Before her teaching career she was active as a soprano in concerts and operas in Europe. She taught singing in Chicago from 1889 through 1897 where one of her pupils was

. Her voice studio was located at No. 63

Auditorium Building The Auditorium Building is a structure at the northwest corner of South Michigan Avenue (Chicago), Michigan Avenue and Ida B. Wells Drive in the Chicago Loop, Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Completed in 1889, it is o ...

. In 1890 she performed in recital with her students at Central Music Hall. In 1897 she relocated to Paris, and celebrated the

turn of the century The turn of the century is the transition from one century to another, or the time period before or after that change in centuries. Usage The phrase "turn of the century" is generally understood to mean the change (whether upcoming or past) clo ...

at a party held by Horace Porter,

United States Ambassador to France The United States ambassador to France is the official representative of the president of the United States to the president of France. The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with France since the American Revolution. Relations w ...

, and his wife. She taught singing in Paris for 22 years. In 1919 she returned to the United States and settled in New York City where she continued to teach voice. One of her students was soprano Florence Kimball, the teacher of

Leontyne Price Leontyne Price ( born Mary Violet Leontine Price February 10, 1927) is an American spinto soprano who was the first African-American soprano to receive international acclaim. From 1961 she began a long association with the Metropolitan Opera. ...

, who became a celebrated voice teacher 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 ...

for 45 years. Her other successful students included

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 ...

Jessie Bartlett Davis; sopranos Frieda Hempel, Mary McCormic,

, and Marcia Van Dresser;

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

s Olive Fremstad and Fanchon H. Thompson; and vaudeville star

Nora Bayes Nora Bayes (born Rachel Eleonora "Dora" Goldberg; October 3, 1880March 19, 1928) was an American singer and vaudeville performer who was popular internationally between the 1900s and 1920s. She is credited with co-writing the song " Shine On, Har ...

. She was quoted in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' as stating: "Breath and brains are the qualifications most necessary for a singer." She died in New York City on May 11, 1934.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson Duff, Sarah 1868 births 1934 deaths American voice teachers American operatic sopranos Musicians from Bangor, Maine