Jessie Bartlett Davis

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Jessie Bartlett Davis
Jessie Bartlett Davis

Jessie Bartlett Davis (September 1859 – May 14, 1905) was an American operatic singer and actress from Morris, Illinois who was billed as "America's Representative Contralto".[1]

Contents

[edit] Opera and acting

She was born Jessie Fremont Bartlett, the daughter of farmer and country schoolmaster Elias Lynn Bartlett and his wife Rachael Ann. After she and her older sister Belle had become known as singers locally, they were approached by traveling managers and began touring along the West Coast of the United States. Belle died shortly after a tour was arranged.[1]

Bartlett moved to Chicago and went on a one-season tour with Caroline Richings. She studied voice in Chicago, singing in the choir of the Church of the Messiah, and her manager next convinced her to join the Chicago Church Choir Company.

In 1879, Bartlett made her debut in the opera H.M.S. Pinafore, in the role of Buttercup.[1] She spent several years with a number of opera companies before joining the new Boston Ideal Opera. She remained with this troupe until 1901, serving as its prima donna.[2]

Her most famous role was in the 1891 opera Robin Hood, in which she introduced Oh, Promise Me. She starred in other grand operas, including Les Huguenots, Martha, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Il Trovatore and Dinorah.[1]

On March 16, 1897, she opened on Broadway in The Serenade, playing Dolores, and in 1898 recorded Don Jose of Sevilla, a duet from The Serenade, with W. H. MacDonald. From October 19 to November 28, 1903, she appeared again on Broadway in a revival of Edward Jakobowski's operetta Erminie.[3]

She appeared briefly in vaudeville, where she reportedly earned $1,000 per week.[2]

[edit] Songwriter/Writer

Bartlett Davis released the parlor songs collection It's Just Because I Love You So in 1900.[1] The collection reflects the Gay Nineties attitude of the 1890s Victorian era.[1] She helped Carrie Jacobs-Bond launch her songwriting career by volunteering to pay for the cost to publish Seven Songs: as Unpretentious as the Wild Rose, which included the classic wedding song "I Love You Truly."[4] [5]

She was also an author and wrote Only a Chorus Girl, other stories, and a number of poems.

[edit] Personal life

Bartlett Davis married William J. Davis, a Chicago theatrical manager, in 1880. They had a son. The couple had a home in Chicago and a summer home in Crown Point, Indiana.[1]

At the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, the Fine Arts Building included in its list of exhibits "Bust of Mrs. Jessie Bartlett Davis (Marble) (Lent by Mr. Davis, Chicago)", by Aloys Loeher.[6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g It's Just Because I Love You So, The Parlor Songs Association; January 2007, Retrieved January 18, 2008
  2. ^ a b Jessie Bartlett Davis Dies; PDF; May 15, 1905, The New York Times; Retrieved January 18, 2008
  3. ^ Jessie Bartlett Davis, Performer at ibdb.com (accessed January 20, 2008)
  4. ^ Wallechinsky, David; Irving Wallace (1981). The People's Almanac. 
  5. ^ Wisconsin Hometown Stories: Janesville. Wisconsin Public Television. WPNE. 2008-01-17. 45 minutes in.
  6. ^ UNITED STATES Sculpture Group 139 online at home.hiwaay.net (accessed 19 January 2008): Item 78a