Florence Wickham facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Florence Wickham
Born	Florence Pauline Wickham 1880 (1880) Beaver, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	October 20, 1962 (aged 81–82)
Education	Beaver College
Occupation	Operatic contralto Composer

Florence Wickham (born 1880, died 1962) was an amazing American singer. She was a contralto, which means she had a very low singing voice. Florence became famous around the world, performing in big opera houses like the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. After she stopped performing, she started writing her own music, including ballets and operettas.

Florence Wickham's Life and Music

Florence Pauline Wickham was born in 1880 in a town called Beaver, Pennsylvania. Her father was a judge. She loved music and studied it at Beaver College. She even won a gold medal for being excellent in music! After her father passed away, her uncle helped pay for her continued education.

Florence studied music with famous teachers in Philadelphia and Berlin. When she was just 20 years old, she performed on stage for the first time. She sang the role of Fides in an opera called Le Prophete in Germany. She also sang as Amneris in Verdi's famous opera Aida.

Later, Florence performed in the United States and in London, England. From 1909, she sang at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City many times. She performed in 22 different roles and was part of several new operas that were performed for the very first time. In 1910, she received a special award and was named a "Court Singer" in Berlin.

In 1911, Florence married Eberhard L. Lueder. Even after marriage, she continued to perform and compose music using her birth name, Wickham. In 1913, she even shared a male role in the comic opera Robin Hood!

After a while, Florence decided to focus on writing music. She wrote an opera called Rosalind. It was based on William Shakespeare's play As You Like It. This opera was first performed in New York in 1938. Her friend, Eleanor Roosevelt, who was the First Lady of the United States at the time, helped support the first performance. Rosalind was also performed in Europe.

Florence wrote another opera in 1957 called The Legend of Hex Mountain. This story was about the Amish people in Pennsylvania.

Ballets by Florence Wickham

Besides operas, Florence Wickham also wrote several ballets. Ballets are stories told through dance and music. In 1954, three of her ballets were performed at the Chautauqua Institution in New York:

• Indian Summer: A fantasy story about early America.
• Musicians of Murano: A ballet about a carnival in an Italian town.
• Gift of Laughter: An Irish fairy tale.

Florence Wickham received an award for women's achievements in 1950. She passed away on October 20, 1962, when she was 82 years old. Her music and letters are kept safe at the New York Public Library.

Florence Wickham's Musical Works

Here are some of the musical pieces Florence Wickham wrote:

Ballets

• Gift of Laughter
• Indian Summer
• Musicians of Murano

Operettas

• Ancestor Maker
• Legend of Hex Mountain
• Look and Long (She wrote the music for this one with Marvin Schwartz, and the words were by Gertrude Stein.)
• Rosalind