Evening star., 1921-04-04
ANNIE: LOUISE: CARY
DEAD At N0RNllk
Famous Prima GoGna ct Ffttv
Years Ago Among First
of Great U. S. Singers.

NORWALE. Ccr... April 4@Anni4
Louise Cary. fam,ncs p-,u,a dapna
of fifty years ago. died at her hoa,e
here yesterday. She was the widow
of Charles NJ. Raymond. a former
New York banker. ard as Mrs RAJ
mond she had lived hero since 1883.
She was seventy-nine years old and
death was due to tho infirmities OF
age.
Annie Louise Cary was born in
Wayne. Kennebec county. Me. in
lS41. She first sang publicly in the
Rowe Street Baptist Church. Boston.
at the age of eighteen. She was
graduated from the Gorham Sem
mary in Maine at the age of twenty
one and studied for time under
Lyman w. Wheeler of oBston. In
1856 she went to Europe and studied
under Corsi in Milan. Two years
later she made her debut in opera
at Copenhagen. Later. under the
direction of Maurice Strakosch. she
appeared in opera with Christine
NilsSon
The first public appearance of the
contralto in New York was in 1870.
In 1873 she created the role of Prin-
cess Amneris in the initial presenta-
tion in this country of Aida" In
1874 Miss Cary went abroad and ap-
peared in opera with Adelina Patti.
She returned to America in 1875 and
sang many times until she retired
from opera in 1881.
Among others she had appeared
with We're Tietjens. Lucca, Gerster
Kellogg. Campanini and Carlotu
Patti. She sang on the concert stage
for a year and retired from profess
sionat life when she married Mr..
Raymond. in 1882
Took New York by Storm.
NEW YORK. April Annie Louise
Cary. who died at her home in Nor
walk, Conn. was one of the first Amer
Ican singers to become world famous.
She made her operatic debut in Amer
lea at the Academy of Music. in 1873.
appearing in the role OF Amneris IN
Aida" taking New York by storm
with her art. her superb voice and inn
posing stage presence. AS a girl the
exceptional beauty and extraordinary
range of her voice were recognized her
compass being three and half octaves.
In America, the singer always was
billed as contralto. reducing the COM
pass of her voice to two and half
octaves.
In January 1874, she sang the role
of Ottrud at the academy. being the
first American woman to appear in a
Wagnerian role. although the opera
was given in Italian by the Strakosch
company. She continued singing i'm
opera. concerts and festivals until the
spring of 1882, her last appearance be-
ing at the festival in the Seventh Regi-
mert Armory. under the direction of
Theodore Thomas. In June of that
year she married.
Before her American debut the
singer studied for a year in Milan and
for three years appeared in opero in
various European countries, singing
about forty roles, some of them written
for high soprano voice and others for
baritone.
In September, 1870, she made her
first professional appearance in Amer
lea at concerts with such celebrat ted
artists as Christine Nilsson. soprano,
and Vieuxtemps, violinist. sharing hon.
ors with them. The troupe gave sew
enteen concerts in New York to over
flowing houses at enormous prices.
Miss Cary's ancestors came to this
country from England early in the
seventeenth century. Her father, DIR.
Howard Nelson Cary, was a direct de-
scendant of the Carys of Somerset,
where a village, still called Castle
Cary, was the home of Norman barons
for generations. Her mother, Maria
Stockbrfdge. was directly descended
from Elder Brewster of Mayfiower fame
fame.