The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-17
sIBYL SANDERSON IS DEAD.
.vERICAN OPERA SINGERS Ca
REER WAS TRAGIC. .
,o,, Beaut, and Vocal Gifts In the Struggle
for Succcss--Her Marriage to Antonio
Terry brought Little Happiness Was
p,m,ar In Paris hut Not Here.
,p,ctal cable Despatch to THE SUN.

pOuular IN taTIs uut wv scVt'
Sp,ct1 cable Despatch to THE sun.
p,r1s, May i6-Sityl SandeIson. the
.,era singer. died to-day at her house
VI, tho Avenue Bots de Boulogne, where
she lived with her mother.
Mis- Saud,rson returned to Paris from
Nice six weeks ago. Shortly afterward
,be contracted cold which developed
into a severe attack Of grip. Her relatives
wore about the bed at the moment Of her
,,ea,h The burial will he on Monday.
Miss Sanderson became Roman Catholic
rbsn she married Antonio Terry, who
died some years ago
sibvl Sanciersons death closes career
which seemed really tragic to those who
followed its tempestuous course She WIS
unoommonly beautiful had good voice
and was a charming figure on the stage.
Put her artstic success was never great
and her life from the time she came before
the public was almost uninterruptedly
wretohed In only one city was the public
faithful to her The Parisians would gladly
have welcomed her to the stage again
when she returned from this country two
years ago An engagement was offered
TO her at the Opera Comique. and she was
10 have sung there in Hams opera. LA
rarmelite,7 which recently brought such
misfortune to Mile. Calv6, who appeared In
the work only once and then left Paris
for several months. But Miss Sandersons
strength had failed. and all who had seen
her here during her last visit to this country
knew that she would never again return
to the stage unless there was some de-
cided change in her health or her habits.
So it happened that her last appearance
in opera was made at the Academy of
Music in Philadelphia on Jan. 1, 1902. There
she sang Juliet, in Romeo ct Julette. II
The, Saturday before she had made her
only appearance during the season in the
METROPOLITAN in the same opera
II was a singular coincidence that Miss
Sanderson should have closed her pro-
iessional career in her own country where
she had, never known anything but failure.
Twice she came back here to sing in opera.
was to sing at the metropolitan Opera
House. On her arrival she astonished
the public by announcing that her real
object in coming here Was to arrange the
details of her marriage with Antonio Terry,
the Cuban millionaire. who had crossed
was then married, but struggling to free
himself by divorce from his wife, who had
been Miss Grace Secor, an American, then
living in Paris.
Miss Sanderson made her debut here IN
'Manon," which was the role she invariably
selected for her first appearances in new
cites. She repeated the opera at matinee.
and then her appearance practically came
10 an end. Her voice was constantly out
Of condition on account OF cold, and her
attention was SO much distracted from her
work by the courtship Of Terry, and the
difficulty surrounding his attempts to Sc
cure a divorce, that after appearing once
in Carmen" as Micdeld, Miss Sanderson
and Mr.. Terry secretly sailed for Europe. :,
Two years ago Miss Sanderson returned
with the Maurice Grau Opera Company,
which was that year to give season in
San Francisco. During the intervening
seven, years, Miss Sanderson had known
little 5qs 9sed On e ns bs
and It looked as II he would never succeed
in that purpose. Jules Massenet, In whose
operas Miss Sanderson had always won her
IeatGe ssn saoe opera W" his opera 70 Mage.
Miss Sanderson had sung only at the Opera
Comiaue until the composer managed to
arrange for her at the Opera an engage
ment, which she was to begin by singing
to Paris from New York, Massenet re-
fused to aid her in the least in her prepare
ton for this important epoch in her career
It was only when he found her in his studio
unconscious from a drug which she had
suicide that Massenet relented and con-
sented to come to the assistance OF his Old
time pupil. =,
After four trials the Terrys were finally
divorced, and after having been reoe,ye .a
Sanderson and Terry. were married. The
first Mrs. Terry had died. The singer
retired from the stage.
1t was supposed that some happiness
was at last to come to the singer. But
within six months. she suffered a stroke
Of apoplexy and for ten months lay in bed
She was at her husbands chateau, and
much that remained Of the Terry millions
always vastly overrated-was expended in
the effort to make her illness more bear
able. Gradually she recovered Then
his widow only small part Of the fortune
he was supposed to have possessed.
Her health improved somewhat, and it
was finally decided that she should return
to the stage Creditors were clamorons.
one-half the income from his estate, but
that had dwindled away until little
remained. His mother, Nine. Terry, had
always refused to be reconciled to the
singer and declined to help her now. Her
own family had been almost impoverished
by the singers demands in the matter OF
costumes and stage necessities. and i ID
said that during her entire career Miss
Henderson never once received salary
large enough to cover her outlay for dresses
and jewels.
To the surprise of all who knew her she
accepted the offer of Berlin music hall
manager and sang first there. Later
she went TO Vienna, announced concert
there and broke down after the first num-
b.r,. SO Affected was she by the GOODNESS
Of the audience. She travelled to Buda,
pest and thence came the contradlcted
story Of her attempted suicide,
The concert tour ended, and Miss Sander
son, as she was still called, returned TO
Paris, cancelling all the dates made for
her appearance in other cities. This was
IN March, 1901.
During the summer following, Maurice
en was in Paris arranging the tour OF
NM company. Miss Sanderson, hearing
mat ne expected to take the singers 10 san
Francisco, called on him. She was anxious
10 sing in San Francisco, where she had
spent her youth and was much better
known than In her native city OF Sacra'
mento. She told him that her creditors
, We're pressing her, and that $4,000 would
oe great relief il she could make that sum
IN tho United States and hand { over Ia
Them on her return to France, Mr.. Grau,
expecting that she would at least bring
nm more money than that during the
three weeks in her own city, engaged her
LOT twenty performances at $500 each.
SotSiby Sanderson came once more 70
her own land. Only seven years had
passed since, as woman OF 20, she had
made her first visit, She was not more than