New-York tribune., 1922-08-19
(1ellevieveW ard
Actress, Dies I'm
London at IS.
Famous Tragedienne Was
Leader of English.Speak-
ing Stage; Greatest Role
Was in ssForget-Me-Not''
Won Honors in Opera
Turned to Drama After Her
Singing Voice Was Ina
paired; Native of N. Y.
From The Tt4bune's European Bureau

ward, the tragedienne, died TODAY
at hampstead at the age Of eighty
"Ve. Iohe was conscious to the last
ana gave many farewell instructions.
pue to her long Identification with
the English stage, the fact that she
was an American was seldom re-
ailzed. She was born in New York
City.
Genevieve Ward was the daughter
Oh Colonel and Mrs. Samuel Ward.
prominent. in New York society CEN
curry ago, In her girlhood, being pifted
WITH sangularly pure and melodious
voice. she was taken to Europe to study
singing under the great masters of
farls and Italy. While thus engaged
she met and married Count Constantine
de Guerhel, match inspired bv NM
tuai affection and complete congenial-
ity Of disposition.
II was only few weeks after her
marriage that she made her first an
pearance on the operatic stage. This
was IN 1855, when she was only
eighteen years old. The place was Ber-
gamo, the opera was EStella da Nano1i -
ana she appeared under the stage nama
Oh GInevra Guerrabella Her success
was was gratifying and highly encouraging.
anu sne resumed her studies in conf,
aehce OF great career.
voice Impaired in New York
- Other triumphs were In "Tucrav;,
horgia" at Milan in 1856. in "Don CinN
yannlr at Paris in 1859. in "Robin
10000" in London in 1861 and in "I n
1Iavlata" in New York in 1862. Her
return TO her native city was, however
ffasastrous; e. the change of climate un-
,ay rasoraply affected her health, and she
covered from serious illness to
hopeiessly impaired.
For eleven years she remained h
teaching the art of singing. which sho
was no longer able to eSemplif%v % on the the
stage. Then, realizing that her voice
was still good for the spoken drama
she returned to England in% 1874 ~
oegln her real career. Her frst an
pearance on the theatrical STAGE We
at the Theater Royal. Manchesfer as as
Lady Macbeth, and she was instantl,,
nailed by discriminating critics as an
actre3s or exceptional power and
Siafm. her trst appearance in Lon
aon was lnN.Ihe Prayer in the Storm !"
ia MaIGh, 1873, and this was followed
with Charles Wyndham, and with ~
becca in "Ivanhoe" at Drurv Lane IN
1876. LANE IN
Creates Sensation of Season.
BY this time she was generallv roo
ognlzed as one of the leaders of the
Engilsh.speaking stage. But her great
est achleVement was yet to come. In
1879 she took the Lyceum Theater,
London, organized her own comnanv
and produced on August 21 II. C. Meri.
vale's powerful drama of "Forget- Me.
Not, herself assuming the part of
Stephanle de Mohrivart. The perform
ance was the sensation ~f the season in
London, and for several years she de-
voted .a2rself exclusively to repeti-
tlons of 1t, in every English-speaking
country OF the world, until the play
had been given more than two thousand
times.
=, In her letter years she played chiefly
Shakespearean parts, and at seventy
flve could render Rosalind or even
juliet with perfect stimulation of youth.
She played much with Sir Henry Irv-
ing, especially in "Becket." When she
was eighty-four she thrilled her Lon
don audiences with powerfully vital
enactments of Volumnia in "Corio-
lanus" and of Margaret of Anjou in
" "Richard III" At the age Of eighty
one she published with Richard
Whiteing) an interesting autobiography
lcal volume entitled Before and Be-
hind the CURTAIN; at eighty-four she
was made Dame of the British EN-
pire, and later received from the
French Society of Authors rich SOU
venir volume containing the sigma
lures of nearly all important contem.
porary French men and women of let
ters, token of the respect and admi-
ration of the French for the English
stage. In addition to her dramatic
ability she was painter and sculp-
tor of rare talent.