A tale of two divas
Subtitle: the curious adventures of Jean Forsyth and Edith J. Miller in Canada's Edwardian West
By: by Elspeth Cameron ; with Gail Kreutzer
Contributors: Kreutzer, Gail, author
Publisher: J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing
Published: 2016
Place of publication: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Language: eng
Number of pages: 250
ISBN-13: 9781927922330
Copyright date: 2016
Subjects: Sopranos (Singers); Biography; Contraltos; Animal rights activists; Animal welfare; Societies; History
Description: "A Tale of Two Divas tells the story of two Canadian singers who began as soloists in church choirs, but eventually moved on to spectacular careers. Soprano Jean Forsyth and contralto Edith Miller knew each other well. They met when nineteen-year-old Edith studied vocal music with Jean, almost twenty-five years her senior, in Winnipeg in 1894. After that their paths crisscrossed. This tale of two voices contrasts the ways in which Jean and Edith achieved success. Edith Miller's path was clear and committed. An only child from Portage la Prairie when there were only about 700 citizens, she forged through to the very top in England, singing in the Proms, at the Festival of Empire to celebrate the coronation of King George V in 1911, and at Covent Garden before marrying a baronet. Jean Forsyth never married and was drawn to many other interests. What might have been a vocal success story like Edith's was diluted by the compassion for animals that led her to the founding of the Winnipeg Humane Society, her support of various charities, her dabblings as a actress, her journalism, her utter dedication to the many vocal students she launched on careers of their own, and her fulsome enjoyment of many social events."--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.