Cecilia Young facts for kids
Cecilia Young (also known as Cecilia Arne) was a very famous English singer (a soprano) in the 1700s. She was married to the well-known composer Thomas Arne and was the mother of another composer, Michael Arne.
People at the time said she had a beautiful voice and sang wonderfully. She was part of a famous family of musicians in England. Cecilia had a lot of success because she worked closely with the great composer George Frideric Handel. She sang in many of his operas and oratorios, including the first performances of Ariodante (1735), Alcina (1735), Alexander's Feast (1736), and Saul (1739).
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About Cecilia Young
Her Early Life and Start in Music
Cecilia Young was born in London in January 1712. She came from a family of musicians. Her father, Charles Young, and his brother, Anthony Young, were both organists and composers. Cecilia was the oldest of four children. Her younger sisters, Isabella and Esther, also became successful singers. Even her nieces followed in their footsteps and became singers!
Cecilia first learned music from her father. Later, she studied with a teacher named Francesco Geminiani. She started singing professionally in concerts in March 1730. Two years later, she sang in her first opera. Through her brother-in-law, John Frederick Lampe, Cecilia met the young composer Thomas Arne. She sang in his first opera, Rosamund, in March 1733.
In 1734, Cecilia met George Frideric Handel. He heard her sing and was very impressed. Handel immediately hired her for his opera Ariodante. This opera first opened in January 1735, and Cecilia's singing was a big hit. This was the start of a great partnership between Cecilia and Handel that lasted for about ten years. She sang in many of his works, including the first performances of Alcina (1735), Alexander's Feast (1736), and Saul (1739). She also sang the main role in the first London show of Athalia.
Her Life and Career in the Middle Years
By 1736, Cecilia was in love with Thomas Arne. Her father did not want them to marry because Thomas was Catholic, and her family followed the Church of England. But Cecilia married Thomas on March 15, 1737, against her father's wishes.
After they married, Cecilia sang in many of her husband's stage shows. These included popular works like Comus (1738), Alfred (1740), and The Judgement of Paris (1742). Cecilia's singing and acting skills were very important to Thomas's early successes.
Around 1740 or 1741, Cecilia gave birth to her only child, Michael Arne, who also grew up to be a composer. Until this time, Cecilia had mostly performed in London. But this changed when her sister-in-law, Susannah Arne, moved to Dublin in 1741. Susannah started performing with Handel in Dublin in 1742. She famously sang in the first performance of Handel's Messiah.
Their success inspired Thomas and Cecilia to try their luck in Dublin too. They arrived in June 1742 and stayed for two seasons. The Arnes put on many of Handel's oratorios and some of Thomas's works. Cecilia sang in most of these concerts. She also gave her own solo concert in Dublin, which was very popular.
The Arnes returned to London in August 1744. Thomas Arne then started working a lot with London's pleasure gardens, where people went for entertainment. He became the official composer for Vauxhall Gardens in 1745. Cecilia performed in many of these concerts in 1745 and 1746. One of her songs, Colin and Phoebe, was so popular that it was sung again every night for over three months!
Later Life and Career
In 1746, Cecilia started having health problems that continued for the rest of her life. Because of this, she sang less often. She only appeared in a few stage roles over the next ten years. Her last stage role was in her husband's show Eliza in 1754. Her concert schedule also became much smaller.
To make things harder, Cecilia's marriage was becoming unhappy. In 1755, the couple went back to Dublin for performances. While there, their marriage broke down, and Thomas left Cecilia in Ireland. Thomas wanted a legal separation. He agreed to give her some money each year. Later, a friend wrote that Cecilia was teaching singing. Other records show she received money from the sales of her husband's music.
Cecilia returned to London in 1762. She only performed publicly one more time. This was at a special concert in 1774 for her niece Polly and Polly's husband. Cecilia and Thomas made up shortly before he passed away in 1778. After his death, Cecilia lived with Polly and her husband until she died in London in 1789.
